SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Basketball team currently sits atop The Big West standings at 7-2 after a win last week over previously No. 1 Hawai'i. Big West action continues for the Gauchos as they hit the midway point of conference play. The Gauchos will travel to Davis, Calif. to face UC Davis for the second and final time during the regular season before returning home to host Cal State Bakersfield.
LAST TIME OUT
Last week was the Gauchos bye week having just one game on the schedule. UC Santa Barbara took care of business with a 65-53 win over Hawai'i last Thursday, Jan. 25. In the game, Alexis Whitfield recorded her eighth double-double of the season with 23 points and a career-high 19 rebounds. Her performance was recognized by the NCAA as an elite performance and she was also named Big West Player of the Week.
ATTACKING THE AGGIES
UC Davis sits a game behind Santa Barbara in the Big West standings posting a 6-3 record in conference. After dropping their first two Big West contests the Aggies have gone 6-1 over their past seven games.
Since UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis last met the Aggies have upped their game going 6-2 holding seven of their eight opponents under 60 points during that span. They continue to shoot the three at a high-level sitting third in the conference in three-point field goal percentage and leading the league in three-pointers made per game.
Senior Evanne Turner leads UC Davis in scoring, averaging 15.0 points per game. She also dishes out 2.5 assists per game. Senior Tova Sabel sits just behind Turner averaging 13.9 points per game. Sophomore Megan Norris leads the team in rebounding averaging 7.1 per contest
SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS
Before taking on the Gauchos, Cal State Bakersfield will travel to Long Beach State to take on the Beach on Thursday, Feb. 1 The Roadrunners enter the weekend with a 6-12 overall record and 3-6 record in The Big West. Bakersfield had started Big West action with a win over UC San Diego but that was followed by a stretch with six consecutive losses. Since then they have rattled off two more wins and sit just outside a potential spot in The Big West Championships.
As a team, the Roadrunners are averaging 59.4 points per game ranking them seventh in the league. They shoot the ball at a .360 clip and .314 from three-point range, one of seven teams to shoot better than 30 percent from deep.
Individually, Shaunae Brown is one of two Roadrunner athletes to average in double-figures for points per game so far this season. Brown posts 15.2 points per game while grabbing 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists. Jordan Olivares is the other Roadrunner who averages in double-figures, scoring 11.9 per contest. Olivares leads the team in assists per game, dishing out 2.6 per game.
FOLLOW ALONG
The Gauchos and Aggies will tip off on Thursday, Feb. 1 at 6 p.m. inside the University Credit Union Center. UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis' game will be streamed through ESPN+ with live stats also available.
On Saturday, Feb. 3, the Gauchos will host Bakersfield to wrap up their week of competition. The game is scheduled to tip off at 1 p.m. in The Thunderdome. The Gauchos will also welcome back alumni with a special recognition of the Gauchos 2003-04 team that made it to the Sweet 16 that season. The game can be viewed on Spectrum Sports. For those who do not have that provider, the game can still be streamed through ESPN+.
