LONG BEACH, Calif. - The Pacific women's basketball team comeback bid fell short at Long Beach State Wednesday night as the 49ers held on for a 66-58 win.

Desire Finnie led Pacific with 13 points, while Jessica Blakeslee and Callie Owens each added nine. Chelsea Lidy and GeAnna Luaulu-Summers each chipped in seven.

LBSU entered the game shooting .298 from three-point range, but hit a season-high 43 percent (9-of-21) for an early lead as Pacific had to  play from behind all evening. The Tigers mounted a late comeback, pulling within six after trailing by 16, but Long Beach State closed it out from the free throw line.

Cece Wilson hit 5-of-6 from three-point range to lead Long Beach with 20 points.

Najah Queenland penetrated and kicked out to Finnie for an open three and Lidy added an old-fashioned three-point play for a 6-0 Pacific lead. Long Beach hit a pair of inside buckets before Lidy fed Clayton for a lay-up. Alzena Henry finished inside for the 49ers to tie the game at 8-8. Simons posted back-to-back buckets for the Tigers, but Henry answered as LBSU led 15-12. Finnie added a jumper, but Long Beach State scored six points off three Pacific turnovers to lead 21-14 after the first quarter.

Lidy hung and hit to open the second as Pacific closed within 21-17, but Cece Wilson responded with a three-pointer. Callie Owens and Finnie added jumpers as the Tigers pulled within 27-22. After a pair of free throws from Simons to bring the Tigers within three, Wilson hit another three to stretch the lead back to six, at 32-26. But the 49ers tacked on another three-pointer to lead 35-27 at the half.

The 49ers shot 45 percent from the field (14-of-31) to the Tigers 34.5 percent (10-of-29) in the first half of play.

Pacific held a 21-16 advantage on the glass in that time, as Simons led the way with six boards to go with six points in nine minutes of action.

In the third, Lidy opened with a bucket and Finnie added a jumper, but Long Beach hit another three for a 10-point lead at 41-31. Jenelle Grant and Blakeslee drained threes, bringing the Tigers within 46-39, but Madison Montgomery answered for LBSU with an inside bucket.  The 49ers scored seven straight points to lead 53-39 before Blakeslee added a three before the buzzer to pull within 11.

But after trading free throws, another three from Wilson stretched the Long Beach State lead to 58-44 with 6:10 to play. Luaulu-Summers hit a three from the wing, and cut the deficit to a dozen with a jumper. Blakeslee added a triple as the Tigers pulled within nine. Owens went coast-to-coast as a 7-0 run brought Pacific to a 63-56 margin with 2:48 to play. Owens finished after an offensive rebound to cap an 11-4 run. Pacific held the 49ers without a field goal for 4:02, but LBSU stopped the Tigers on their final four possessions to curb the comeback.

Simons finished with nine rebounds and six points for the Tigers.

Pacific falls to 3-5 on the year, while Long Beach improves to 5-4.

Pacific is back in action on Saturday, at 5 p.m. against Fresno State in Stockton Arena. The Tigers will play a double-header with the men's team at the downtown arena as it prepares to host the NCAA Women's Basketball tournament Regionals in March.