Long Beach State’s last-second shot ends Cal Poly women’s basketball season

IRVINE — For more than 39 minutes Wednesday night, Cal Poly met every challenge Long Beach State threw its way.

The sixth-seeded Mustangs weathered a furious second-half comeback by the No. 3-seed 49ers in a back-and-forth game that seemed destined to come down to the final possession.

That’s exactly what happened during the second round of the women’s Big West Conference Tournament at Bren Events Center.

The ball eventually made its way into the hands of first-team all-conference guard Raven Benton, and the junior took care of the rest.

Benton made an 18-foot jump shot with 0.6 seconds remaining, sending the 49ers into the tournament semifinals and a date with second-seeded Hawaii on Friday afternoon. For the third time this season, Cal Poly came out on the wrong end of a close contest with Long Beach State.

“I’m really proud of our Mustangs,” head coach Faith Mimnaugh said. “They showed that we’re capable of excellence. We’ve beaten a number of really good teams this year. Unfortunately, we didn’t get it done today.”

In the first two meetings during the regular season, Cal Poly (15-16) turned the ball over a combined 52 times in two tight losses. That’s not particularly surprising against a 49ers team that led the conference in steals at 10.3 per game.

After setting the school record for fewest turnovers in a game against CSUN the night before, the Mustangs turned it over only six times in the first half. But eventually Long Beach State (24-7) settled in and returned to its normally disruptive ways.

The 49ers opened the second half on a 17-5 run, while Cal Poly attempted only two shots in the first five minutes of play. They forced 10 Mustang turnovers in the period and 18 for the game.

“When we make mistakes we tend to spin,” second-team all-Big West forward Hannah Gilbert said. “We get over anxious and excited. I think we started to play not to lose, instead of playing to win.”

The 6-foot-3 junior forward made all six of her attempts from the field and finished the game with 12 points and five rebounds in 32 minutes. Sophomore Dynn Leaupepe added 11 points, four rebounds and four assists.

After being held scoreless during the first round against CSUN, senior guard Beth Balbierz found ways to contribute at both ends Wednesday night. Playing in the 118th and final game of her career, Balbierz scored a game-high 17 points on 6-for-17 shooting and grabbed six rebounds.

“They’re a very well coached team,” Long Beach State head coach Jody Wynn said. “All three games that we had with Cal Poly this year have been battles all the way down to the end.

“It was no different tonight.”

Benton finished with 11 points and four rebounds, and junior Anna Kim added 15 points and six rebounds in 34 minutes to lead the 49ers. As a team, Long Beach State swiped 11 steals and scored 18 points of Cal Poly’s 18 turnovers.

The 49ers have forced 21.5 turnovers per game this season, the ninth-best total in the country. They benefited from Cal Poly starters Lynn Leaupepe and Balbierz fouling out in the closing minutes, and Mimnaugh was forced to use two timeouts during Long Beach State’s third-quarter surge.

It all led to one last shot for Benton, who delivered the final blow to the Mustangs’ season.

“The toll of constantly facing pressure, it only takes like two possessions and the lead is gone,” Mimnaugh said. “I can’t get a substitute out there quick enough when they turn up the heat and we’re headed downhill.”

This story was originally published March 9, 2016 at 9:25 PM with the headline "Long Beach State’s last-second shot ends Cal Poly women’s basketball season."