LONG BEACH -- Cal State LA's women's basketball team completed its tough exhibition schedule with a competitive effort at Long Beach State.

The Golden Eagles led by two points after one quarter and trailed by just three points at halftime in a hard-fought 77-67 loss to The Beach Wednesday night in Walter Pyramid. Cal State LA had a rough third quarter, but finished well down the stretch to finish up an exhibition schedule that included stops in Arizona, Stanford and Long Beach State.

Freshman Ashanti Dias led the Golden Eagles with 14 points in 11 productive minutes, while Lily Buggs had a strong game as well with 11 points and a team-high six rebounds in 21 outstanding minutes. Olivia Hodges was sensational in the fourth quarter and finished with 10 points and three rebounds.

Jada Crenshaw led four Long Beach State player in double figures with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Savannah Tucker had 14 points and 10 rebounds, Rachel Loobie had 11 points and seven rebounds and Patricia Chung had 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Gabriella Rones had six points courtesy of a pair of 3-pointers for the Golden Eagles, while Sofia Fidelus also had six points with three rebounds and two assists. 

In all, 14 players saw time on the court for the Golden Eagles and 10 players scored.

Cal State LA shot 30.6 percent for the game (26-of-85) and was 5-of-26 from 3-point range. Long Beach State shot 33.3 percent (24-of-72) and was 3-of-18 from 3-point range. The Golden Eagles were 10-of-12 from the free-throw line, while Long Beach State was 26-of-34. Long Beach State had a 63-46 rebounding edge, while Cal State LA forced 21 turnovers while committing 13.

Dias scored the final six points of the opening quarter to give the Golden Eagles a 24-22 lead and a steal by Fidelus led to another Dias basket to open the second quarter make it 26-22. A pair of free throws by Buggs gave the Golden Eagles their final lead of the game, 36-35, before The Beach scored the final four points to take a 39-36 halftime lead.

The Golden Eagles were just 3-of-22 from the field and were outscored, 21-8, in the third quarter, but fought back and played well in the final period. Hodges took over down the stretch and scored eight straight points to carve Long Beach State's lead to 73-65, but that's as close as the Golden Eagles would get.

Cal State LA will open the regular season on Friday with a game against Seattle Pacific in the CCAA/GNAC Classic at Cal State Dominguez Hills. The Golden Eagles will face Western Washington on Saturday in the second day of the tourney.