LONG BEACH — Kayla Williams has already shown what she can do in a full season. But it’s what the UC Irvine guard can do in a handful of minutes that separates her from other talented players.
On Saturday afternoon, the Anteaters and Long Beach State were grappling for control of their Big West Conference women’s basketball game at the Walter Pyramid. The score was tied at 20 with three minutes left in the first half when the redshirt freshman blew the game open.
She scored 10 points in a 14-0 run to end the half that sent the Anteaters on their way to a 70-47 win. She scored off an offensive rebound, hit a 3-pointer, banked in a jumper, then hit a three-point play with 0.5 seconds left.
Long Beach State never recovered, while the Anteaters (17-10 overall, 12-4 Big West) took over sole possession of second place and stayed in contention for the regular-season title with one week left in the season.
Williams finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Naomi Hunt added 13 points and Chloe Webb had 10 points and seven rebounds.
Long Beach (18-6, 11-5) struggled from the perimeter, shooting 32% overall and 1 for 12 from 3-point range. Patricia Chung (11 points) and Savannah Tucker (eight) came off the bench in the second half to lead LBSU. The Long Beach starters shot a collective 6 for 34, and Big West Player of the Year candidate Maddi Utti (14.4 ppg) was held to four points on 2-for-8 shooting in 33 minutes.
Williams was only doing what she expects to do, be a leader.
“We just kept the pressure on,” said the 2021 Big West Freshman of the Year and first-team all-conference selection. “It starts on defense and getting into transition as soon as we can.”
“(Williams) is a kid who works as hard as anyone, listens to the coaches, asks good questions and is the most likable player on the team,” UCI head coach Tamara Inoue said. “She’s a professional-level player.”
Inoue was excited about her team’s hard work that made the game a route. Long Beach coach Jeff Cammon, meanwhile, was surprised his team came up flat in a game with title implications.
“We weren’t as tough tonight as we’ve been most of the season,” he said. “We didn’t have our usual energy. I think it’s more mental than physical.
“We have to get back to what we do well, play gritty and get the 50/50 balls.”
Cammon made one move that might help the team in the final week: He sat his starters for most of the second half to save their legs with games at UC Davis and UC Riverside on tap next week.
UC Irvine closes the season at home, hosting Cal Poly and Cal State Bakersfield, the two teams at the bottom of the conference standings.
Hawaii (15-9 overall) leads the title race at 11-3 and has tiebreaker advantages over UCI and Long Beach because of head-to-head wins. The survivor of the final week will snap UC Davis’ string of five consecutive regular-season titles and receive the top seed for the conference tournament.
Hawaii last won the title in 2015, while Long Beach last won it in 2006. UC Irvine has never won a Big West regular-season title.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism