SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Sophomore Lina Falk finished with a career-high 20 points to lead three Hornets in double figures, but visiting Long Beach State hit three free throws in the final 30 seconds of the contest to help lift the Beach to a 69-68 victory over Sacramento State on Sunday afternoon at The Nest.
The loss was the Hornets' first of the season as they fell to 4-1 overall on the year despite holding Long Beach State to 34 percent shooting from the field. The Beach improved to 2-1 overall with the win paced by 29 points from Savannah Tucker.
Falk posted the first 20-point game by a Sacramento State player this season, finishing 6-of-14 from the field — including a trio of three-pointers — and hit 5-of-8 from the line to go along with six rebounds and a pair of steals.
Freshman Sofia Alonso came off the bench to add a career-high 17 points to go with five rebounds, five assists, and two blocks, hitting 6-of-13 from the floor and remaining perfect at the line this season at 18-for-18 after hitting her only two attempts of the game.
Senior Jaydia Martin also finished in double figures with 11 points, while junior Benthe Versteeg finished with a career-high 11 rebounds and seven assists.
Sacramento State led by as many as nine points with 7:22 remaining in the fourth quarter before Long Beach State made its move, using an 11-2 run over the next five minutes to tie the contest at 64-all with 2:39 left in regulation.
The Beach turned a turnover into the lead on a basket by Mykelle Richards, but Falk answered back with a bucket inside and then hit two free throws a minute later for a two-point advantage. Two free throws on Long Beach State's next possession tied the game back up at 68 apiece as the two sides looked as if they were headed to overtime.
However, Tucker stole the ball with 0.8 seconds remaining and then was fouled just before the horn sounded, sending her to the line with the chance for the lead. Tucker hit the first, but missed the second as Benthe Versteeg grabbed the rebound and Sacramento State called timeout with 0.2 seconds to play.
After the break, Madison Butcher inbounded the ball to Jaydia Martin, who was fouled, but it was deemed not to be in the act of shooting as the game ended.
The Hornets led for all but four minutes on the afternoon, leading by one at the break and by four at the end of three quarters. A 10-2 burst early in the game turned a two-point deficit into a six-point lead and they led by as many as nine points with 3:16 to play in the second period as Falk scored 10 of her 20 points in the opening 20 minutes.
Long Beach State continued to chip away in waves, trimming the advantage back down to a single point early in the third, but back-to-back three-pointers by Alonso rebuilt the lead to seven points seconds later. An 8-0 run by the Beach regained the lead for the visitors, but Alonso again drained one from long distance, and Martin and Falk added baskets — the latter another three-pointer — to put the Hornets up five with 4:27 to play in the third.
Sacramento State kept the Beach at arms length into the fourth where a 7-0 burst gave the Hornets some breathing room early in the fourth before Long Beach State made its final run.
Overall, the Hornets shot 41 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Beach by a 47-38 count, but Long Beach State turned 22 Sacramento State miscues into 20 points.
A run of three straight against Big West Conference opponents comes to an end on Wednesday (Nov. 20) as the Hornets travel across the Causeway to take on UC Davis at 6 p.m.
