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FULLERTON, Calif. - Facing the grind of a second road game in three days to open conference play, UCSB used a lockdown third quarter to outpace the Cal State Fullerton Titans for a 56-49 win Saturday night at Titan Gym.
"In spurts we played pretty well. It's ugly, but it's a win, and it's a step in the right direction," said head coach Bonnie Henrickson
After Onome Jemerigbe hit a three pointer with a second remaining to send the teams to halftime, the Gauchos held Fullerton scoreless for the first 4:24 of the third quarter. A late 11-2 run helped push the lead to 14, which UCSB rode the rest of the way to improve to 6-9 on the season and 1-1 in Big West conference play.
Jemerige finished with nine points on three-for-three shooting from beyond the arc while handing out a game-high six assists. Sarah Porter lead all Gaucho scorers with 15 points on her most efficient shooting game of the year, making five of seven attempts with three of five coming from downtown, and posted a personal season-best three steals. Drew Edelman chalked up her third double-double of the season with 12 points and a game-best 11 rebounds.
Despite a 17-13 turnover disparity, UCSB made better use of of the giveaways to the tune of a 17-14 advantage on points off turnovers. With of those points in the second quarter, the Gauchos turned a 14-12 deficit at the end of the first to a 27-24 edge after 20 minutes.
A strong third quarter was highlighted by UCSB making seven of their 11 field goal attempts, with three of four from three. Porter put up six of her points in the third on a pair of threes, while Aliceah Hernandez made her only triple of the game. All the while the Gauchos held CSUF to two of 14 shooting to extend the advantage to 13 heading in to the fourth.
"We got some opportunities in transition, or some deflections, or a good rebound outlet and get some numbers. That's where we make the run, we get some stops, turn them over, and we get some opportunities to get loose," Henrickson said.
The lead grew as large as 17 in the final quarter with 6:14 remaining, with Coco Miller and Jemerigbe splashing treys, and Drea Toler cutting to the bucket for two of her six points. Miller scored nine, while Toler also finished with five assists.
UCSB has an extended break before their next game, with a bye on Thursday before hosting defending Big West regular season conference champion UC Riverside on Saturday, January 14th at 2PM.
"Good response, it'll be good for us to get home and have an extra day to prep with not playing on Thursday with a really good Riverside team coming in," said Henrickson.
