An early offensive push and solid shooting paid dividends for the Seattle University women's basketball team, as they dominated Long Beach State to earn a 78-49 victory Friday evening in the Connolly Center. The win improved the Redhawks to 3-4 on the year, while dropping the 49ers to 2-5.
"We've improved in practices and I think it's (showing). We've really tried to be much more aggressive defensively .. and we just wanted to come out strong. We got our shots to go down (and) we shot a great percentage from the field and the three-point line .. When we do that and get contributions from our bench, good things are happening," said Joan Bonvicini, who is now a perfect 2-0 versus her former team as head coach of the Redhawks.
Seattle U tallied four players in double figures, with sophomore Kacie Sowell (Ventura, Calif.) earning her third double-double of the year. She's scored in double figures in all seven games this season, tallying 12 points and 10 rebounds versus The Beach. Ashley Ward (Irvine, Calif.) also scored 12 points, going 3-for-4 from downtown, and Amani Butler (Corona, Calif.) had 10 points off the bench. Talisa Rhea (Juneau, Alaska) led the Redhawks, scoring a team-high 14 points, behind an SU career-high four triples.
The Redhawks had their best shooting game of the early season, going 29-for-52 from the field to shoot 55.8 percent, while holding Long Beach State to 26.7 percent (16-for-60). Seattle U's outside shot also saw much success during the game, as SU was 10-for-16 from beyond the arc.
Seattle U opened up action with a quick 4-0 run, foreshadowing how the game would play out. The Redhawks would employ several key scoring runs throughout the game to put distance between them and the 49ers and preserve a double digit advantage.
Eight consecutive points from Ward began to open up SU's offensive game and with 12:39 to play, Rhea gave Seattle U their first double figure advantage, 19-7, off a three-pointer. The Beach would respond by cutting their double figure deficit to six with less than seven to play; however their run was upended by back-to-back three-pointers from seniors Elle Kerfoot (Surrey, B.C.) and Rhea to jump SU's lead to 12, 29-17.
Butler followed by igniting an 8-0 Redhawk run heading into the final minutes of the half, as she added four points and an assist to give SU a 37-19 advantage.
Closing out the first half, Long Beach State tallied four consecutive three-pointers to head into halftime down 48-34.
Their late rally did not provide a second half lift for the 49ers, as SU employed a 7-0 push over the first three minutes of action to continue to stymie CSULB's efforts.
At 11:31, SU took off on an 11-0 run over a six minute span to swell their lead to 31, 75-44, and freshman Makenna Clark (Auburn, Wash.) capped things off by sailing in a three-pointer with 1:23 to play for her first career points.
Seattle U forced 24 CSULB turnovers in the game, converting them into 20 points. The Redhawks won the rebounding battle, 48-26, while scoring 10 second chance points off of 10 offensive boards.
The Redhawks will look to carry the momentum from their 29-point victory into their next game on Sunday, Dec. 4, at Boise State. Game time is slated for 1 p.m. PT.