IRVINE, Calif. (Feb. 15, 2023) — There were moments to hold on to for UC Santa Barbara women's basketball (16-8, 9-5 Big West) in Wednesday night's overtime loss at UC Irvine (20-5, 12-2 Big West), just not the score. Alexis Whitfield scored a career high 17 points to pace the Gauchos, adding 12 rebounds for her second double-double of the season in a career-high 33 minutes off the bench. Ila Lane climbed yet another spot on UCSB's career rebounds list, moving up to sixth all-time with 837.

HOW IT HAPPENED
In the early moments of the game, the emphasis was squarely on defense, with the two teams barely scoring double digits combined before the first media timeout. The Anteater defense gave the hosts an early 11-4 edge, but Alexis Whitfield keyed a 10-2 run over the final three and a half minutes of the frame to give the Gauchos a lead going into the second. Jessica Grant immediately expanded that lead with a corner three, but the home team had the lead again with five minutes to go until halftime. Once again, UCSB went on a run and held a one-point advantage when the buzzer sounded.

Irvine scored the first basket out of the break and held a lead for most of the third quarter before the Gauchos scored the last four points of the quarter to tie it, 38-38, heading into the fourth. Eighteen points from each team later, that's how things stayed at the end of regulation. Alexis Tucker did well to put up a buzzer-beating attempt after finding herself in a tough spot, but the senior's turnaround jumper only found iron.

The less said about overtime the better from a Gaucho perspective. The bottom line is a 56-56 tie turned into a 74-60 loss after the five extra minutes.

BY THE NUMBERS
• Alexis Whitfield's double-double was one of the most complete performances of the season. Not only did she score a career-high 17 on a game-best 8-12 shooting, her 12 rebounds came at both ends of the floor, plus she added two steals, a block, and an assist without turning the ball over or committing a foul in a career-high 33 minutes
• Ila Lane's 837 career rebounds are more than all but five women (and only three men) have recorded in Gaucho history. With Lane averaging 8.7 rebounds a game and six games left in the regular season, the senior from Moraga could feasibly climb as high as third in the women's basketball record books.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will look to bounce back with a return home to the Thunderdome, facing UC Riverside on Saturday, February 18 at 4 p.m. Saturday is UCSB's annual Pink Game for breast cancer awareness. Special Pink Game t-shirts will be given away to the first 300 fans in attendance. For fans who cannot make it to the Thunderdome, the game will be live on ESPN+ with live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com