LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The seventh-seeded UC Santa Barbara women's basketball team was eliminated from the 2021 Big West Tournament by second-seeded UC Irvine in an instant classic on Wednesday night at the Michelob Ultra Arena at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

In what was the game of the season in the Big West, the Gauchos (7-14) converted on 18 three-pointers to shatter their previous program record of 15 and the previous Big West Tournament mark of 13, but surrendered 46 points in the paint as the Anteaters survived in a wild 92-90 contest.

UCSB junior guard Taylor Mole set a new career-high with 24 points in the game, and her 19 points in the first half were the most scored in a single half by a Gaucho this season. Mole also picked up 11 boards for her seventh double-double of the season. Senior point guard Danae Miller added 18 points on five triples and three free throws, four assists, and three steals. Junior Megan Anderson put up 16 points on a 4-of-7 night from beyond the arc, and redshirt senior Doris Jones scored 15 points and had six rebounds.

The Gauchos led the Anteaters by one after the first quarter, but they found some separation late in the second quarter on an 11-1 run, in which Mole scored nine of those points beginning with a four-point play after getting fouled on a made three-pointer, that put UCSB ahead 35-26 with just over four minutes to go in the half.

Despite two triples from Miller and one from redshirt junior guard Bri Anugwom the rest of the way, Irvine managed to head into the locker room down by just six at the half, 46-40, after Chloe Webb banked in a buzzer-beating triple.

UC Irvine inched closer in the third quarter, with Sophia Locandro finding her footing under the basket for eight points on four short-range makes, and both Jayde Cadee and Dani Guglielmo each made a pair of threes to answer to the six that the Gauchos put up in the frame.

UCSB would lead 70-67 heading into the fourth, but it was immediately snatched away by Irvine with back-to-back threes by Haleigh Talbert and Cadee. The teams battled back and forth throughout the final period, but it came down to the wire as Irvine broke an 87-87 tie by earning free throws on two different possessions, and converting on three of the four chances at the charity stripe to lead 90-87 with just 27 seconds left.

12 seconds later, the Gauchos spread the ball around to Anderson in the corner, who buried a clutch three to tie the game back up.

However, the Anteaters would manage to feed the ball to Talbert on the opposite side of the court, taking the lead once again, this time with seven seconds left.

The Gauchos would have one last opportunity in the dying moments of the game as they earned a foul next to the basket but failed to convert at the free throw line, bringing an end to the contest and to the season for the blue and gold.

Several records were matched or broken in the game. The Gauchos' 29 three-point attempts tied for the second-most in tournament history and their 90 points set a new Big West Tournament single-game record for most points scored.

The 182 combined points between the two squads were the fourth-most in tournament history and it was the first time two teams scored over 80 points in a Big West Tournament game since 1998, when UCSB defeated Nevada 95-88 in overtime.

Both the Gauchos and Anteaters also laid claim to the first time a team has scored over 90 points in regulation since 1996.

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