Walter Pyramid - Long Beach, Calif.

All-Time Record vs. the Beach: 55-31

Last Meeting: Feb. 29, 2020: at UCSB 55, Long Beach State 47

TV (Friday): BigWest.TV | Live Stats (Friday): StatBroadcast

TV (Saturday): BigWest.TV | Live Stats (Saturday): StatBroadcast

 

G10: UC Davis 67, UCSB 65: Four players for UC Davis and UCSB ended with double-digit point tallies, but the visitors hit the big shots in crunch time to seal their fourth victory of the season. The Aggies were led by Cierra Hall with 22 points on 8-of-14 shooting and a 5-of-5 showing at the free throw line. Senior point guard Danae Miller's 15 points were the most for the hosts, and she tacked on five assists and six fouls drawn.

 

G11: UC Davis 78, UCSB 61: UC Davis completed its sweep of on Saturday afternoon, despite freshman guard Anya Choice connecting on four three-pointers, including three in the second quarter, en route to a team-leading 18-point performance for the Gauchos. In response, UC Davis' starting five all finished in double-digits and turned an eight-point halftime lead into an eventual 17-point victory.

 

The Beach are riding an eight-game winning streak that sees them tied at the top of the Big West standings with UC Davis and sporting a 9-1 overall record entering this weekend's matchups. Justina King is the star of the show, scoring 15.2 points per game on 37.4% shooting, while Kristyna Jeskeova averages 7.5 rebounds per matchup.

 

The Gauchos rank in several statistical categories nationwide, both individually and as a team. Danae Miller's 2.67 assist-to-turnover ratio is not only the best mark in the Big West Conference, it's also 27th among all NCAA Division-I athletes. As a team, UCSB is tops in the Big West and 23rd in the country in three-point field goals per game (9.3) and 39th in three-point percentage (36.1%)..

 

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.

 

The blue and gold was picked to finish third in the conference in the preseason Big West Coaches Poll, 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.

 

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.