SANTA BARBARA, Calif. —  The UC Santa Barbara Women's Basketball team (7-4) got Skylar Burke back on the floor and themselves back in the win column on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Pacific Tigers (5-6), 63-50, in the Thunderdome. Burke, who missed the last game, led all scorers with 18 points in her return, highlighted by a hardly believable over-the-shoulder three-pointer in the third quarter. Alyssa Marin finished with 16 points of her own, bringing her within touching distance of the 1,000^th point of her career. S
 
FROM HEAD COACH RENEE JIMENEZ
"Our words all week were compete and intention, and what does that look like, what does it feel like, what does it sound like," Jimenez said. "I'm really proud of them. Skylar Burke was out most of the week, she probably practiced, I don't know, a little bit the last couple of days at 50, 60 percent speed, but once her adrenaline got going, she does what she does, which is bring a great spark. She picked up some really good charges early, and it was really our guys off the bench that came in and ignited that flame … It was great to see some of those guys come off the bench and get us going."
 
On Burke's wild three-pointer in the third quarter: "You know, one, she didn't realize there were seven seconds on the clock still, so I was going 'no' as she just chucked it," Jimenez said. "She came over and was like, 'sorry,' and I go no, no, we never apologize for making shots. We'll talk about it later when we watch video, but we take them how we can get them. That was a fun shot though. Leave it to Skylar to make something like that. It looked like she hit it as hard as she can off the glass and it happened to go in."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
After a slow start put Santa Barbara in an 11-5 hole midway through the first quarter, the offense and defense started to click, and the Gauchos went on a 10-0 run in just three minutes to take a 15-11 lead. Santa Barbara's first-quarter scoring was bench-heavy, with the backup brigade contributing all 10 points of that momentum-changing run and 18 of the Gauchos' 21 total points in the period. Jessica Grant drained two threes to lead the team with six points in the frame, with Burke and Martha Pietsch adding five each. Flora Goed tallied a bucket as well. Even after their 10-0 run ended, Santa Barbara maintained their lead, with the defense stepping up to make sure they did not relinquish their advantage, allowing just two more free throws before the horn, giving the home team a 21-13 lead at the break. It was nearly a 24-13 lead, as Burke had drained a half-court shot at the buzzer, but the officials ruled the shot had just barely not left her hand in time. Santa Barbara's defensive fortitude continued in the second quarter, and going into halftime, the Gauchos led, 25-20.
 
After the break, Santa Barbara controlled the third quarter and started to pull away. Laurel Rockwood put home a layup on the Gauchos' first possession of the half to get the offense going, but Pacific picked themselves up too and the teams more or less traded buckets, with Santa Barbara maintaining a lead of anywhere from six to nine points in the opening three and a half minutes of the quarter. But after that point, the Gauchos went on another run and extended their lead to as many as 17 points. That run included one of the wildest shots the Thunderdome has ever seen, courtesy of Burke. After getting trapped right in front of her own bench and with her back to the basket, the junior guard heaved a one-handed lob over her shoulder, only for it to bank in and bring the crowd to their feet.
 
Pacific did claw back into the game with a 6-0 run in the final minute and a half of the third, but the Santa Barbara defense shut the Tigers out for the first two minutes of the fourth to reassert dominance. Marin orchestrated a quick 5-0 run of her own during those first two minutes of the fourth. She also scored six of the Gauchos' last 10 points down the stretch, keeping the Tigers at arms' length. The 17 points Pacific scored in the final frame did make it their best quarter of the night, but they never came within less than 11 points of the Gauchos, and Santa Barbara won by 13.  
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Sunday's game also saw the return of Olivia Bradley, who played her first minutes after an injury kept her sidelined for nearly a full year. She finished with three points, making one basket from the floor and one from the charity stripe in 10 minutes of play.
• Alyssa Marin's 16 points on Sunday put her within touching distance of the 1,000 career point milestone. The fifth-year Gaucho is now just 13 points away from the mark and is averaging just under 18 points a game this year.
• Skylar Burke's 18 points not only led all scorers on Sunday, but also accounted for half of Santa Barbara's 36 total bench points. Those 36 points are the most that the Gauchos' substitute squad has scored against a Division I opponent this year; they did drop 41 off the bench against Division III Cal Lutheran.

 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos' last game of 2024 comes on the road next Thursday, Dec. 20. Santa Barbara will visit Eastern Washington that day, with tip-off scheduled for 6 p.m. from Reese Court in Cheney, Washington. For fans unable to make the trek north, the game will be live on ESPN+. The Gauchos will next be in the Thunderdome on Jan. 2, when they host Hawai'i in Big West play.