Box Score SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara women's basketball team made its first six shots in the fourth quarter to pull away from Hawaii in a 65-51 win Thursday night at the Thunderdome.
The Gauchos (10-6, 4-3) were led by junior guard Alexis Tucker's 19 points (7/13 FG) and got yet another double-double from junior center Ila Lane, who finished with 13 points (4/6 FG) and 11 rebounds.
Senior point guard Danae Miller left the game midway through the second quarter and didn't return, but guards Johnni Gonzalez and Anya Choice stepped up to handle the backcourt load. Gonzalez tied a season-best with eight assists, while Choice went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field – all in the second half – for her season-high 11 points.
With the win, UCSB improves to 7-1 at home this season.
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Half
- Hawaii (7-8, 3-2) was held to just five points through 10 minutes, the fewest points the Gauchos have allowed in the first quarter this year. UCSB led 15-5 through one.
- After a Tucker three-pointer gave UCSB its largest lead of the first half 18-5, the Gauchos went without a bucket for the final 5:34 and went into halftime leading 26-24.
2nd Half
- The Rainbow Wahine fought back to tie it for the first time since the opening minutes of the game. With things tied 28-28, the Gauchos went back ahead with a 7-0 run.
- It was still just a four point game with over nine minutes left in the final period. Senior guard Lauren Lee's left-handed layup at the 9:00 mark started one of the Gauchos' best offensive stretches of the season.
- Back-to-back three-pointers from Choice and senior guard Taylor Mole pushed it to a 14-point lead. Choice made her fourth straight shot on the next possession, Tucker and Lane added another two layups and Mole's free throws with under two minutes left made it a 20-point Gaucho advantage, 64-44.
NOTABLE
- The Gauchos shot a staggering 85.7 percent (6/7 FG) from the field in the fourth, 55 percent (13/20 FG) in the second half, and a conference season-best 51.1 percent for the night. The hot shooting saw them go up by 20 points for the second time during Big West play.
- On the other side of the ball, UCSB held the Big West's top three-point shooting team to just 21.7 percent on threes (5/23 3FG) and the conference's top scorer forward Amy Atwell to just nine points (4/12 FG), her lowest total since the first week of the season.
- Lane notched her Big West-leading sixth double-double of the season.
- Santa Barbara finished with a 36-27 rebounding advantage and 18-11 edge in the assist department.
NEXT UP
Next week, the Gauchos head back on the road for games against UC Irvine (Thursday at 7PM) and UC San Diego (Saturday at 4PM).
