Box Score SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara women's basketball team continued its Thunderdome dominance on Thursday night, coming out firing in the first half to pull away and defeat Cal State Bakersfield 59-47.
The Gauchos (12-7, 6-4) were led by the trio of Alexis Tucker (15 points), Danae Miller (14) and Ila Lane (13), winning their second straight game by the exact same score.
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Half
- Santa Barbara started strong with a great offensive first half, shooting 56 percent (14/25 FG) over the first 20 minutes.
- Miller made her first three shots from beyond-the-arc. Her third triple began a 11-2 run that helped UCSB start to find separation in the second quarter. The spurt was capped in style when Alyssa Marin dimed up Kennedy Johnson on a backdoor cut, who finished a twisting layup plus a foul.
- On three straight possessions, Johnni Gonzalez, Johnson and Lane all hit tough contested shots in the paint to double up the Roadrunners' (2-14, 1-6) at the 2:39 mark, 32-16.
2nd Half
- After coming out of the half leading 34-19, the Gauchos went cold in the third, but the defense helped maintain the lead as both teams shot under 27 percent in the quarter.
- In the fourth, Tucker showed off her soft touch with a one-handed teardrop to beat the shot clock and senior Taylor Mole hit a baseline floater of her own to give the Gauchos their largest lead of the night, 53-35, with 4:55 remaining.
NOTABLE
- UCSB has now won four straight at the Thunderdome, improving to 8-1. With three home games left, the Gauchos have a chance to reach double-digit wins at the dome for first time since 2010-11.
- Lane and Tucker both led all players with six made shots, combining to go 12-of-19 (63.2%) from the field. Lane improves her conference-leading shooting percentage to 55.6 percent for the season. Tucker showed off her offensive arsenal with a variety of one-handed pull-ups and tough fadeaway jumpers, seeing her shoot at least 60 percent (6/10 FG) for the sixth time in 18 games.
- Miller knocked down three triples for the fourth time this season. She leads the Gauchos this year with 28 three-pointers (1.6 per game)
- The Gauchos enjoyed advantages of 17-7 in assists and 40-33 on the glass. They also finished with a 42.9 team field goal percentage compared to 28.3 percent for the Roadrunners.
NEXT UP
On Saturday UCSB welcomes Cal Poly to town for the second and final Blue-Green matchup of the regular season. The Gauchos defeated the Mustangs 63-42 the last time they met on Jan. 6. Tip-off is set for 4:00 p.m.
