Box Score LONG BEACH, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara women's basketball team was dealt its sixth Big West Conference defeat of the season, losing 69-63 to Long Beach State on Thursday night at the Walter Pyramid.
Despite freshman center Ila Lane's league-leading 14th double-double of the season and redshirt senior guard Coco Miller's 11 points, the Gauchos' 23 turnovers doomed their hopes of emerging victorious on the road for a third time this season.
UCSB led after each of the first three quarters, but its lead evaporated on a 9-0 run from the Beach throughout the first three minutes of the final period.
Both teams jockeyed for position down the stretch, with junior point guard Danae Miller and Lane making free throws to tie the game up at 45-45, and sophomore guard Lauren Lee making a shot under the basket to do the same at 47-all, and Lane nestling a second chance through the cylinder to knot things up at 49-49.
Long Beach finally pulled away with just over three minutes remaining, with a Shanaijah Davison jumper preceding a trip to the line by Jasmine Hardy, in which she converted on both of her free throw attempts to lead 53-49.
Danae Miller twice made it a one-possession game, first with a jumper just inside the right wing, and then with a coast-to-coast layup under the basket.
However, the Beach forced a turnover on the Gauchos' next possession and drew a foul, giving them the opportunity to close the game out with free throws.
The Gauchos stay down south as they prepare to face CSUN on Saturday night at 7 p.m. Both a live video and audio stream, as well as a live stats feed, will be available to track on the women's basketball schedule/results page.
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