SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The 2023-24 season has arrived for the UC Santa Barbara Women's Basketball team as the Gauchos open their campaign on home court.
The Gauchos are coming off a 21-12 overall record last season with a 12-8 mark in The Big West, a mark that saw them earn the No. 5 seed in The Big West Championships. As the fifth seed the Gauchos went on to defeat UC Davis in the quarterfinals and Cal State Bakersfield in the semifinals to earn a spot in The Big West Championship Final. Looking to build off that success the Gauchos aim for a consistent, get better everyday mentality from their group.
"Consistency throughout the season is a big theme this year for us," explained Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson. "It's boring to talk about but we just want to get better every day, especially with so many young players. I think for us we just need to stay together, commit to working hard and getting better every day."
UC Santa Barbara returns eight players from a season ago, most notably the Gauchos return three seniors in Anya Choice, Alyssa Marin and Alexis Whitfield. All three are expected to play a big role in the Gauchos' success this season.
"I met with Alyssa, Anya and Alexis last spring and told them that our staff's expectation of them is to be consistent and solid every day," explained Henrickson. "We have talent around them, we don't have experience. They are the most experienced players in our program. The pressure those three is to be solid, not great, they don't have to go for 30 every night but they have to be solid and consistent and they have shown that in our practices so far."
Other key returners that will help play a big part in UC Santa Barbara's success are Skylar Burke and Jessica Grant. The two sophomores return after an impressive first season. Grant appeared in 30 games, scoring in double figures six times en route to being named an All-Big West Freshman Team selection. Burke appeared in 22 games and was a spark plug off the bench for the Gauchos.
The Gauchos welcome seven new faces to the 2023-24 squad that all will be helpful and impactful. Four of the seven are freshmen while the remaining three are transfers. They are all still trying to find their niche and fit into their role.
"It's been a lot of teaching, even for the returners," explained Coach Henrickson. "This group is a fun one to be around and a fun group to coach. There is a humility about them, especially with the newcomers. There are enough of those types of boxes that they check off that in time those qualities will really help us."
Last month, The Big West released its Preseason Coaches' Poll where the Gauchos were picked to finish fourth in the conference. UC Santa Barbara accumulated 65 points sitting behind Hawai'i, UC Irvine and UC Davis.
The Gauchos open the season with six games in the month of November as they host San Francisco, Southern Utah who was an NCAA Tournament team last season and UC Santa Cruz. The Gauchos' other three games will be on the road as they travel to Idaho State and San Diego for The Dana on Mission Bay Thanksgiving Classic. They open the classic with UNLV who is currently receiving votes in the AP Top 25 Poll.
"What we are going to face are some really good bigs early," said Coach Bonnie Henrickson. "Which is good because that is what we will get once we get into conference play. We've worked on some different wrinkles and defensively there isn't one thing we can play straight up the whole game. It'll challenge us, but as long as we continue to learn and grow that's what matters."
The Gauchos begin their 2023-24 campaign tomorrow night in The Thunderdome as they host the University of San Francisco at 7 p.m.
