Nov. 18, 2009

Long Beach State (1-1) at
New Mexico State (1-1)
Date: Friday, Nov. 20
Time: 6:05 p.m. PT
Location: Pan American Center
Series Record: NMSU leads, 12-8

Long Beach State (1-1) at
Texas-Pan American (0-1)
Date: Sunday, Nov. 22
Time: 11 a.m. PT
Location: South Padre Island Convention Center
Series Record: LBSU leads, 1-0

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LONG BEACH - The Long Beach State women's basketball team kicks off a four-game road swing this week as it heads to New Mexico State and Texas-Pan American. The 49ers will take on the Aggies at 6:05 p.m. (PST) on Friday, Nov. 20, before making their way to the Lone Star State on Sunday for an 11 a.m. (PST) showdown with the Broncs.

THE RECORDS
LBSU enters the weekend with a 1-1 record. The 49ers defeated 2009 NCAA Tournament team Prairie View A&M, 76-68, in their season opener last Friday, but dropped a 75-70 decision to Loyola Marymount earlier this week (Nov. 16).

New Mexico State also owns a 1-1 mark as it earned a split on the road last week. Texas-Pan American, meanwhile, dropped its season opener and sits at 0-1. The Broncs will take on Texas Southern (Nov. 18) before playing host to The Beach on Sunday.

THE SERIES
Long Beach State trails in its all-time series with New Mexico State, 12-8, but the 49ers have won the last two meetings, including a 74-61 victory on Dec. 22, 2008, at the Walter Pyramid. LBSU is 1-7 when playing in New Mexico.

The Beach leads in its series with Texas-Pan American, 1-0. The 49ers defeated the Broncs, 78-58, in the only meeting between the two teams last year at the Walter Pyramid.

SCOUTING THE AGGIES
New Mexico State (1-1) earned a split in a pair of road games last week. The Aggies defeated Cal State Northridge, 79-72, in their season opener before falling at Cal Poly two days later. Danisha Corbett leads NMSU with a team-best 18.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per outing, while Madison Spence is averaging 17.0 ppg. Head coach Darin Spence is in his seventh year at the helm of the Aggie program where he has accumulated a 78-105 record.

A GLANCE AT TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN
Texas-Pan American dropped its season opener at Oral Roberts, 98-65. The Broncs were paced by Maria Erlingsdottir and Rose Esther Jean, who each netted a team-high 11 points. Bianca Torre also finished in double figures with 10 points. UTPA will play host to Texas Southern on Wednesday, Nov. 18. Texas-Pan American is led by first-year head coach Denny Downing.

FIGUEROA JOINS 1,000-POINT CLUB
It didn't take long for senior Karina Figueroa to find herself among the 49er elite as she surpassed 1,000 career points in her first game back after redshirting the 2008-09 campaign. Figueroa, who needed 16 points to hit the milestone, led The Beach with a team-high 23 points in a season-opening victory against Prairie View A&M. Figueroa is the program's 21st 1,000-point scorer as she now has 1,028 points in her three-plus year career.

FOR THE RECORDS
In addition to eclipsing the 1,000-point milestone, Figueroa also ranks among the 49er career leaders in five other statistical categories. She is currently fourth on the charts in free throw percentage (.790), eighth in 3-point field goals attempted (231), ninth in 3-point field goals made (75) and 10th in 3-point field goal percentage (.325). Figueroa is also tied for ninth in scoring average with 13.7 points per game.

Senior Lauren Sims, meanwhile, ranks third in 3-point field goals made (106), sixth in 3-point field goals attempted (283) and is tied for third in 3-point FG percentage (.375). Classmate Ally Wade also ranks among the leaders in 3-point FGs made (10th, 74) and attempted (5th, 288).

UP NEXT
Long Beach State concludes its four-game road stretch next weekend when it heads to Florida for the Unviersity of Miami Thanksgiving Tournament. The Beach begins action with a 4 p.m. (PST) match-up against the host Hurricanes on Friday, Nov. 27. The 49ers will then take on either Massachusetts or Rice on Saturday.