Gonzaga women increase difficulty with nonconference opener against Long Beach State

Long Beach State women’s basketball coach Jeff Cammon isn’t quite sure what kind of team he has this year.

That’s no surprise, because he has 10 new players, and they haven’t seen any action this year apart from two closed-door scrimmages.

“We have a lot of new faces,” Cammon said. “We lost a lot from last year, but we were able to bring in a really good group.”

How good? Cammon will find out Thursday at the McCarthey Athletic Center, when LBSU takes on Gonzaga in a season opener that tips off at 7:30 p.m.

The Zags have one game under their belts, a 78-36 exhibition win over Western Washington. Thursday’s game will be a major step up in difficulty.

Gonzaga coach Lisa Fortier has mentioned it more than once during preseason interviews: Long Beach is probably the toughest nonconference home game the Zags will face this year.

The Zags, however, should be a heavy favorite.

Formerly nicknamed the 49ers, the Beach return only six letter winners from a team that went 19-9 overall and 12-6 in the Big West Conference. Cammon lost five players to the transfer portal but picked up five others, including Malia Bambrick, who averaged 10 points a game last year at Pepperdine.

Also in the mix is St. Bonaventure transfer Tori Harris, a guard who is the younger sister of Philadelphia 76ers star Tobias Harris.

Long Beach is led by two returnees, senior guard Ma’Qhi Berry (7.7 points, 2.5 rebounds per game last year) and junior guard Kianna Hamilton-Fisher (7.5 ppg, 2.7 rpg).

“I think we’re deeper than we’ve ever been, but that remains to be seen,” said Cammon, who’s entering his sixth year in charge of the program.

“But we’ll be like we always have, trying to spread you out,” Cammon said.

Cammon’s squad appears inexperienced in the frontcourt, where 6-foot-2 senior Lauren Green is the only experienced player.

LBSU is picked to finish third in the Big West Conference behind Hawaii and UC Santa Barbara.

Cammon said he’s impressed by the Zags, calling GU “the best midmajor in the country.”

“They’re just very sound in what they do,” said Cammon, who expected the Truong sisters, Kayleigh and Kaylynne, “to ball screen and high-low you do death.”

Cammon also must cope with GU forward Yvonne Ejim, whom he called a “load on the inside.”

For the Zags, Thursday’s game may be another chance to refine the rotations and minutes played for the backups.

All of them saw action against Western Washington, but Fortier may go with a smaller rotation this time.

The game’s late start was forced by a conflict with the GU volleyball team, which plays Santa Clara in a match that begins at 4 p.m. in the Charlotte Y. Martin Center next door.