Dec. 16, 2003

Box Score

CINCINNATI, Ohio - After letting a 17-point second-half lead slip away Tuesday night, the UC Santa Barbara women's basketball team rallied in overtime to defeat Cincinnati 71-70 in the Fifth Third Arena.

The 20th-ranked Gauchos earned their first road victory of 2003-04 and improved to 5-2 overall. Meanwhile the Bearcats lost at home for the first time in five tries this season and now stand at 6-3.

"That was a good win, and it came at a good time," UCSB head coach Mark French said. "We decided that we needed to change the effort we put forth, and we did so against a very solid Cincinnati team. To beat them on their home court is quite an accomplishment."

Santa Barbara senior center Lindsay Taylor led all players with 23 points, and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds while also matching her personal best of six blocked shots. However in overtime it was junior teammate Kristen Mann's star who shined brightest, scoring the visitors' final five points including the eventual game-winning three-pointer from the left wing with 1:12 remaining. Both teams misfired on their next possession, and UC then had the final opportunity to score when it inbounded the ball with 11.3 seconds remaining. However Micah Harvey and Ann Stevens both missed open looks at layups in the final seconds as the Gauchos escaped with a victory.

In the first minute of in overtime, the Bearcats grabbed their first advantage of the entire contest at 66-64 on a 15-foot jumper by Brittany Young and the home would go on to build a four-point lead on two separate occasions. That came on the heels of a second half in which Cincinnati stormed back from a 48-31 deficit with 16:10 to play thanks largely to an 11-0 run in which it buried three straight three-pointers. UC first caught Santa Barbara at 62-62 on a jumper by Debby Merrill at the 2:53 mark, and then both squads squandered an opportunity to hit a game-winning shot in the final seconds of regulation.

The Gauchos found themselves embroiled in a nail-biter after thoroughly controlling the first half. UCSB took an early 5-4 lead, but in a blink of an eye, the Bearcats quickly found themselves trailing by 10 after a 9-0 Gaucho run. UC struggled to find it's shooting range as they went nearly five minutes without a point, before Valerie King hit a three to stop the bleeding at the 9:58 mark. Following a Treasure Humphries three, the Bearcats again hit a funk, going 2:23 without another score. Meanwhile, the Gauchos scored six straight points to reopen a 10-point lead. The Bearcats found themselves down by 12 at the five-minute mark but a 10-4 run got them back to six at 30-24 with just over two minutes left. UCSB embarked on another spurt down the stretch, though, scoring five of the final seven points of the half to carry a 35-26 lead into the break.

The stingy Gaucho defense held Merrill scoreless in the first 20 minutes, while fellow All-American King was limited to only four points on one of four shooting. Taylor established her presence inside early on, scoring eight points with eight rebounds in the first half.

Also finishing with double-digit scoring totals for Santa Barbara were junior guard Mia Fisher with a season-high 17 points and Mann with 16. Senior guard April McDivitt - playing in front of four busloads of family and friends from her nearby hometown of Connersville, Ind., struggled from the floor but dished off six assists with only three turnovers. As a team the Gauchos shot 44.4% and won the battle of the boards 39-34, one game after being out-rebounded by 25 at Florida. Their 12 turnovers were a new season-low.

Despite her slow start, King led UC with 15 points, with Stephens and Harvey adding 10 apiece. Merrill nearly missed a double-double with nine points and 10 boards but went just three-of-12 from the floor. The Bearcats were able to rally thanks to a 10-of-18 three-point shooting performance, however the home team shot just 38.7% overall.

UCSB concludes its three-game, three-state road trip on Friday, Dec. 19 with a showdown with eighth-ranked Purdue. Tip-off in Mackey Arena is slated for 7:00 p.m. EST/4:00 p.m. PST.