Box Score SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – In a battle of the top two records in the Big West Thursday night at the Thunderdome, the UC Santa Barbara women's basketball team hung close for three quarters before Long Beach State finished strong to defeat the Gauchos 68-54.
It was the first loss for Santa Barbara (7-4, 1-1) since November, which made a season-high 10 three-pointers in the loss to the Beach (10-1, 3-0).
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Half
- Both offenses looked sharp early on, as the Gauchos started 6-of-9 from the field and 3-of-4 on threes. Senior point guard Danae Miller's triple put them up 18-12 at the 2:52 mark of the opening period, the largest lead of either team in a tightly contested first half.
- UCSB scored 20 first quarter points for the third time this year, taking a 20-18 lead into the second. It was just the second time all season that LBSU has trailed by two points through one.
- It was a different story in a rather sluggish second quarter. LBSU closed on a 6-0 spurt to take a slight 33-31 edge into halftime.
2nd Half
- After the break, the Gauchos continued to shoot the lights out from the outside, keeping them in the game anytime Long Beach looked like it might be putting together a run. Miller hit all of her three-point attempts in the third, hitting her third of the quarter to put the Gauchos up 44-42 with 1:51 to go.
- Through three quarters, UCSB was shooting 50 percent from deep (9-18 3FG), but just 28 percent on two-point attempts.
- Turnovers became the story from there, as the Beach turned mistakes into points and scored 12 unanswered to take a 58-46 lead. The Gauchos had 21 giveaways on the night to LBSU's 11.
- Long Beach senior forward Maddi Utti put in eight of her game-high 21 points in the fourth quarter, a period which the Beach won in lopsided fashion 22-10 to seal the win.
NOTABLE
- Miller tied a career-high going 5-for-8 (63%) on three-pointers for her team-high 15 points. It was the fifth time in her career she made five threes.
- Junior center Ila Lane recorded her conference-leading fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
- Guards Megan Anderson (3-8 3FG) and Johnni Gonzalez (2-4) accounted for the rest of the Gauchos' makes from the outside as they made double-digit threes for the first time since hitting a program record 18 in last year's Big West Tournament First Round.
NEXT UP
This Saturday, Jan. 15, UCSB returns to the Thunderdome floor to face Cal State Fullerton (6-6, 1-1).
