Box Score SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Hosting UCLA on Saturday night at the Thunderdome in its marquee non-conference matchup of 2022, the UC Santa Barbara women's basketball team came out on absolute fire, stunning the nation's No. 15 team by taking an 18-point first half lead. The Bruins would slowly chip away though, going ahead in the third quarter and pulling away late to win it 68-57.
The Gauchos fall to 5-2 despite the valiant effort, while UCLA improves to 8-1.
ON THE STAT SHEET
- Alyssa Marin was a big reason for UCSB's hot start. The junior guard came out firing, knocking down her first five shots including three first quarter triples. She finished with a team-high 17 points on 6-of-9 from the field and 4-of-7 from range.
- Senior center Ila Lane was the Gauchos' second-leading scorer with 13 points (6-10 FG) to go with six rebounds.
- Freshman guard Jessica Grant provided a big spark off the bench, hitting 4-of-
- UCSB held UCLA to just four first quarter points. It was just the third time this season the Bruins scored in single-digits for an entire quarter, with their previous low being eight.
- The Gaucho defense also forced UCLA into 17 turnovers – one shy of a season-high.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Everything seemed to be going right for the Gauchos following the opening tip. After conceding the first bucket 91 seconds in, UCSB would embark on a 17-0 run, led offensively by Marin and Lane. On the defensive end, the Gauchos stifled a Bruin team that couldn't seem to find any sort of rhythm. A buzzer-beating three by Marin capped off UCSB's electric start, making it a 20-4 game through one. Marin ended the first 4-of-4 from the field for a game-high 11 points.
- Santa Barbara took its largest lead of the night early in the second, when Marin hit a mid-range jumper to make it 22-4. UCLA responded by knocking down its next three attempts, going on a 9-0 run and raising the pressure by picking up full court. The Bruins were able to cut the lead to single-digits, but at halftime, UCSB still led 33-25 while holding UCLA to just 1-of-9 on threes and forcing 10 turnovers.
- The visitors kept their momentum going to open the second half, taking their first lead since the opening minutes 39-36 on a three by Emily Bessoir midway through the period. Excellent ball movement from the Gauchos would get it to Grant for a pair of timely threes. She cut into a four-point UCLA lead by swishing another one from the left corner, and Anya Choice dropped a sweet dish inside to Lane for a layup to put the Gauchos back up 44-43.
- A 7-0 Bruin run that extended into the fourth would see them go ahead for good. A great drive and layup by Kennedy Johnson made it a two-point game, 51-49 with 7:51 to go. UCSB was able to stay within five points with just over four minutes remaining, but it would be all UCLA down the final stretch as it finished with a double-digit win.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson on the game...
"I'm proud of the toughness and confidence we came out with. We battled and defended, got good shots and good looks. We knew they were going to go on a run, but we're going to learn more from this than if we beat somebody by 40, so we'll take the good, learn from the bad and grow from there. Just really proud of our effort. We really handled and embraced the moment."
UP NEXT
Santa Barbara will head back on the road for its next game at California Baptist on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 1:00 p.m.
