Mott Athletics Center - San Luis Obispo, Calif.

All-Time Record vs. the Mustangs: 56-30

Last Meeting: February 26, 2020: at Cal Poly 56, UCSB 52

TV: Big West TV | Live Stats: StatBroadcast (Friday) | StatBroadcast (Saturday)

 

G17: UCSB 68, UC Riverside 52: Doris Jones' 22 points and Danae Miller's career record-tying nine assists helped the Gauchos take down UC Riverside in the first night of the two teams' series. UCSB was on fire in the first half, shooting 77.8% from the field in the first quarter and 53.3% in the second, as it set the tone early in its third consecutive win.

 

G18: UCSB 83, UC Riverside 76: UCSB kept its hot streak going on Saturday night. Doris Jones scored 35 points, matching Erin Buescher's performance on Feb. 12, 1999 at Long Beach State for the fifth-highest single-game point tally in program history, and added 10 rebounds in the win. Danae Miller added 17 points for the Gauchos, while Lauren Lee joined Jones in double-digit rebounding with 10 as well.

 

Cal Poly comes into this week's contest with an 11-9 overall record and a .500 mark in league play at 7-7. The Mustangs are 6-3 at home, having won three of their last four at the Mott Athletics Center.  In their most recent series, the Mustangs played at UC Davis and lost both games, 63-47 and 62-53. Cal Poly is led by Abbey Ellis with 15.8 points per game and Sierra Campisano with 15.4. Campisano also has the highest rebounds per game average on the team with 8.8 per contest.

 

UCSB's final pair of Big West games take place this weekend, and there's still lots up in the air regarding the Gauchos' seeding in the upcoming Big West Conference Tournament. The simplest breakdown is as follows: if the Gauchos lose both games against Cal Poly this weekend they will remain in the seventh seed, if they sweep the series and Hawai'i and UC Davis split theirs, they will be seeded sixth, and if both UCSB and UC Davis sweep their series, the Gauchos will earn the fifth seed. Regardless, UCSB's first game at the Big West Tournament will be on Wednesday, March 10, in a matchup between the second and seventh, third and sixth, or fourth and fifth seeds.

 

The Gauchos rank in several statistical categories nationwide, both individually and as a team. Danae Miller's 2.59 assist-to-turnover ratio is the best mark in the Big West Conference and it's also good for 25th among all NCAA Division-I athletes.  Taylor Mole's average of 8.1 defensive rebounds per game is good for 18th in the nation and first in the Big West. Mole also leads the conference in rebounds per game with 9.6 per matchup. As a team, UCSB leads the league in both three-pointers made (148) and attempted (429).

 

Earlier this season, the Gauchos converted on 27 triples in their two-game series against Cal State Fullerton on New Year's weekend, including 14 in the second game, just one short of the single-game record set at UC Irvine on Jan. 28, 2017. On Feb. 19, the Gauchos equalled that record against CSU Bakersfield, thanks in no small part to Taylor Mole's six threes, along with four from Megan Anderson, three from Alyssa Marin, and one each from Danae Miller and Doris Jones.

 

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.

 

On March 1, Jones picked up her second Big West Player of the Week honor following a weekend series against UC Riverside in which she averaged 28.5 points per game. In the second game, her 35 points scored were the fifth-most points in a single game in program history, matching Erin Buescher's February 1999 performance against UC Irvine. She also added 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the game. Jones has scored at least 10 points in all but three games this season for the Gauchos.

 

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.