Women's team prepares for Oregon State
It’s a party that’s been 25 years in the making.
The Long Beach State women’s basketball team will play No. 2 seed Oregon State (29-4) in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday in Corvallis, Oregon. It is Long Beach's first trip to the postseason tournament since 1992.
"Any match up is a good match up. We're just happy to be in the tournament," Coach Jody Wynn said shortly after finding out who the team would play in the Stockton Regional. "It's nice to stay on the West Coast and to compete against the champion of the Pac-12 that has a fantastic team and an amazing coach.
Long Beach State defeated UC Santa Barbara in a close Big West championship game Saturday that nearly turned into another early end to their season. The team had led by as many as 19 points, but the Gauchos pressed the Beach down the stretch and pulled to within one point in the final seconds.
Santa Barbara missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer that sent Long Beach into a celebratory frenzy and into the NCAA Tournament with the automatic berth.
Wynn said that Long Beach proved to others that it is a championship-caliber team.
“People doubted us because we didn’t have the height, but you can’t measure heart. You can’t measure toughness,” she said after the conference championship.
Long Beach will be making its 18th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, its first since 1992. The team has reached the Elite Eight five times and the Final Four twice (1987, ’88).
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