Feb. 3, 2002

Box Score

Santa Barbara, Calif. - Santa Barbara, Calif. - The St. Louis Rams and New England Patriots weren't the only ones enjoying a Super Sunday inside a dome.

The UC Santa Barbara women's basketball team dished off a collective 29 assists - one shy of the school record - en route to an emphatic 77-53 victory Sunday over conference rival Idaho in the Thunderdome.

In completing the season sweep over the Vandals, UCSB won its ninth straight game and improved to 13-5 overall and 7-0 in the Big West Conference. With UC Riverside's 63-54 loss at Long Beach State Sunday, Santa Barbara is now in sole possession of first place in the league.

A primary beneficiary of the Gauchos' crisp passing was sophomore center Lindsay Taylor, who poured in a game-high 21 points - her best total since the 2001-02 season opener - and made 10 of her 11 shots from the floor. The Chandler, Ariz., native also blocked three shots to give her 33 rejections in her last nine games, and is now averaging 18.5 points and 7.8 rebounds in four career games against Idaho.

UCSB's only deficit was at the 15:43 mark of the first half, when freshman forward Keisha Moore buried a jumper to put the Vandals up 8-7. At that point, the home team raced out on a 15-0 run, which included three easy layups from Taylor. Santa Barbara then outscored UI 20-3 over the final 6:36 to play before intermission, capped by a 16-foot Jess Hansen bucket just before the buzzer which put her squad ahead 42-21. The Gauchos shot a scintillating 54.3% in the first half compared to 28.0% by Idaho while dishing off 16 assists.

After emerging from the locker rooms, UCSB continued to distribute the basketball - and the minutes. The Gauchos opened the second half with a 7-0 run and buried its first five shot attempts. The Santa Barbara lead grew as large as 36 points on two occasions, and the 1,889 in attendance leaped to their feet when freshman swing player Bethany Blair scored her first points as a Gaucho on a 12-foot jumper with 7:29 remaining. All 12 UCSB players in uniform logged at least six minutes of action, while nobody was on the court for more than 25.

In addition to Taylor, the UCSB guard trio of Hansen, fellow junior Debby Caine and freshman Mia Fisher was sensational with a combined 19 assists and only six turnovers. Hansen dished off seven helpers without a single error, while Caine also tallied seven to give her an impressive 35 assists vs. just 11 turnovers in Big West play. As a team, the Gauchos ended their streak of six straight games with a negative assist-to-turnover ratio by committing just 15 miscues against the Vandals.

When the guards perform well the forwards usually follow suit, and that was the case Sunday. Senior Kayte Christensen scored 12 points and grabbed seven boards and freshman Kristen Mann enjoyed an eight-point, eight-rebound afternoon.

UI, which suffered its 11th straight defeat at the hands of the Gauchos, now stands at 8-13 overall, 2-8 in league play. Senior forward Darci Pemberton led all Vandals with 19 points and nine rebounds.

UCSB concludes its current three-game homestand on Wednesday, Feb. 6 when Cal State Fullerton invades the Thunderdome for a 7:00 p.m. Big West Conference clash.