Brown Gets 31 Points; Long Beach Women Rout UCLA

The seventh-ranked Cal State Long Beach women’s basketball team, which will officially begin its Christmas break today, got an early start Monday night against UCLA, dominating the boards and getting a game-high 31 points from center Cindy Brown to breeze to a 100-65 win at Pauley Pavilion.

The 49ers (7-1) outrebounded UCLA, 63-36, Brown leading the way with 11 and Cheryl Dowell adding 10 off the bench. There were plenty to be found, what with the Bruins hitting only 13 of 41 attempts from the field (31.7%) in the second half to finish the game at 30%.

Not coincidentally, that was when Long Beach got its running game started and turned an 11-point lead at halftime into a 35-point bulge. Guard Penny Toler scored 11 of her 18 points during the final 20 minutes.

“They are quick to the ball, and against that kind of team you must block out every time,” UCLA Coach Billie Moore said after her 12th straight loss to Long Beach. “We just tried to outjump them, and you can’t do that with a good team. Their rebounds came in bunches of three and four. You can’t beat a good team giving up that many second chances.”

Guard Dora Dome, although hitting only 9 of 21 shots, had 21 points for UCLA (4-1), the fourth time the junior from Fairfax High has led the Bruins in scoring this season.

“We put a lot of emphasis on this game,” Long Beach Coach Joan Bonvicini said. “Even though UCLA isn’t in our conference anymore, they were 4-0. So it was an important game NCAA-wise and rivalry-wise.”

Long Beach does not play again until Jan. 3, when it plays host to Fairfield. UCLA, however, leaves Wednesday morning to play North Carolina Thursday in Chapel Hill and then No. 1 Tennessee Saturday in Knoxville, a trip that might be long enough without Monday’s performance to consider, too.