Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021 at 3:00 p.m. PT

UC Santa Barbara at UC San Diego

RIMAC Arena - San Diego, Calif.

All-Time Record vs. the Tritons: 3-0

Last Meeting: November 26, 1982: UCSB 78, at UC San Diego 62

TV: ESPN3 | Live Stats

 

G7: UCSB 83, Cal State Fullerton 54: A 29-point performance from redshirt senior forward Doris Jones and a double-double from junior Taylor Mole helped UCSB kick off 2021 with an 83-54 defeat of Cal State Fullerton. Jones' season-high showing on 11-of-19 shooting, including four triples, gave the Gauchos their first conference victory of the year and its third victory of at least a 29-point margin in the past four seasons.

 

G8: UCSB 79, Cal State Fullerton 60: UCSB picked up its second win of 2021 as it swept its season series against Cal State Fullerton with a 79-60 victory. The Gauchos went a near-perfect 11-of-13 from beyond the arc in the second and third quarters of the game and held the Titans to 22 first-half points as they improved to .500 in Big West play. UCSB's 14 triples on the night was one short of the program record for most three-pointers in a single game.

 

The Tritons have been one of the hardest hit teams in the Big West in regard to COVID-related cancellations and pauses as they've only played two full games, only more than CSUN and UC Davis. UCSD split its only series at home to Cal Poly, losing the first game 90-68 but winning the second 74-63 to claim its first Division-I victory in program history. Sydney Brown leads the Tritons with a 20.5 point-per-game average, followed by Parker Montgomery with 11.5 and Tyla Turner with 10 points per contest. Brown also leads the Big West newcomers with 8.5 assists per matchup.

 

On Jan. 4, Doris Jones earned her first career Big West Player of the Week Award and the first for the Gauchos in the 2020-21 season. The Houston transfer scored 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field and added six rebounds, three blocks, and two steals in UCSB's 83-54 win over Cal State Fullerton on New Year's Day. The following night, the Oakland native put up 17 points with six rebounds, three assists, and a block as the Gauchos defeated Fullerton 79-60 to improve to 2-2 in conference play. In total, Jones committed just four turnovers in 59 minutes of court time, while shooting 54.5% (18-of-33) from the floor and 45.5% (5-of-11) from beyond the arc.

 

In 6-4 redshirt senior center Natalia Bruening's absence since Dec. 18, the Gauchos have transitioned to a small-ball scheme as their lineups have featured just one player over six feet in height, junior transfer Taylor Mole, in four of the six games played since then. There's no better example of the team having fully embraced the philosophy than its last two games at Cal State Fullerton over New Year's weekend, as UCSB had 38 assists on 57 makes over the course of the series. The Gauchos also converted on 27 triples, including 14 in the second game of the series, just one short of the single-game record set at UC Irvine on Jan. 28, 2017.

 

If the Big West Coaches Poll released on Nov. 10 is anything to go by, UCSB will be a contender for the league crown in the 2020-21 season. The blue and gold was picked to finish third in the conference, finishing nine points back of second-placed UC Irvine and 22 behind four-time defending champions UC Davis. The Gauchos finished fourth in the media poll, behind Davis, Irvine, and Hawai'i. 

 

In terms of individual recognition, senior point guard Danae Miller added a selection to the Preseason Big West Women's Basketball All-Conference First Team to her ever-growing list of accolades, after earning selection to the All-Big West Honorable Mention list at the conclusion of the previous season and to the Second Team the year before that.

 

This season, UCSB Athletics and Fall Productions are working together to begin a new chapter in delivering high-quality broadcasts to fans. Each of the Gauchos' eight Big West Conference home games will be streamed on ESPN3, beginning with UCSB's back-to-back conference-opening series against UC Irvine on Dec. 27 and 28. UCSB's away matchups at UC San Diego and CSU Bakersfield will also be aired on ESPN3. The TV schedule is subject to change and updates will be communicated on UCSBGauchos.com.

 

Freshman guards Alyssa Marin and Anya Choice are the newest Gauchos on the block. Marin holds the record for most three-pointers made in a single season at Camarillo High and was named Camarillo Girls Basketball Player of the Year, Ventura County Player of the Year, and Ventura County Star Player of the Year following the 2018-19 season. Hailing from Cardinal Newman HS in Santa Rosa, Calif., Choice was the 2019 North Bay League MVP and San Francisco Chronicle North Bay Player of the Year in 2018-19, and was the Chronicle's Girls Player of the Year in 2019-20.

 

On Dec. 16, the NCAA Division I Council granted a blanket waiver allowing all tranfer student-athletes to compete immediately. The decision will allow San Jose State transfer Megan Anderson and Colorado State transfer Taylor Mole to suit up for the Gauchos this season, pending the conclusion of fall quarter. Anderson, a Fresno native, started in every game over the past two seasons for the Spartans, averaging 8.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.8 steals in a team-leading 31.7 minutes per game in her most recent campaign. Mole averaged 1.6 points and 1.1 rebounds per game in her two seasons with the Rams. Mole set career-highs in points (12), shooting (4-4 3PT, 4-8 FG), blocks (2), and minutes (28) over the course of the 2019-20 season.