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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - It was only appropriate that on super hero night, the Gauchos took turns sharing the cape.
UCSB posted a season best 22 to 12 assist to turnover ratio, extending their campaign high four-game winning streak with a 74-62 triumph over the University of Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine Saturday evening at the Thunderdome.
"I think the confidence comes from embracing how hard it is to be successful and finding a way to succeed. The unselfishness, that they all trust each other, you get a sense of that," said head coach Bonnie Henrickson.
Drew Edelman battled on the blocks for team-best 19 points and six rebounds, while Drea Toler came off the bench with 17 points and swiped three steals, and Onome Jemerigbe scored 11 points, snared six rebounds and dished a game-high six assists.
"Our point guards do a great job of distributing the ball and taking care of it, I give a lot of credit to them for it," said Coco Miller, who contributed five assists, four points and three rebounds.
The win closed out a perfect three-game home stand for the Gauchos (9-9, 4-1), who finish the week tied atop the Big West Conference.
UCSB came out firing, knocking down their first four shots from the field and netting four of their first five attempts from beyond the arc. Sarah Porter made three of four from the land of plenty, putting up nine points, but did not return to action after the opening ten minutes.
11 points off five Hawai'i (6-11, 2-3) turnovers helped the Gauchos jump ahead early, and hold an eight point advantage through the first quarter. For the game, UCSB converted 13 giveaways by the guests to 18 points, while riding Edelman's determined play down low and Toler's surgical slashes for a 32-18 points in the paint edge.
"Once we played Cal Poly we saw how physical and fast paced and physical playing in conference could be," Edelman said.
UCSB never trailed, leading 31-26 at the half, and allowing the Rainbow Wahine as close as 33-33 in the opening minutes of the third quarter. From there Makala Roper stopped the 5-0 spurt with a three ball, then Aliceah Hernandez heated up with a pair of triples en route to scoring all eight of her points in quarter three.
"We've continued to fix areas where we've struggled, we've been able to answer some runs by getting some stops," said Henrickson.
With a five point lead entering the final frame, the Gauchos put the hammer down. Edelman drew a charge on the first possession of the quarter, then proceeded to produce five of UCSB's eight straight points to jump out to a 13 point lead. From there it would get no closer than eight as Toler put up ten of her points in the fourth.
Th Gauchos have a pair of road games next week, visiting Cal State Northridge on Wednesday, January 25th at 7PM, then traveling to UC Irvine on Saturday, January 28th at 2 PM. Both games will have a live audio play-by-play broadcast on UCSBgauchos.com, with the CSUN game featuring streaming video at ESPN3.com, and a special rooters bus trip for the game to Irvine.
"We've got a long way to go. We're excited, and we're proud to find a way," Henrickson said.
