DAVIS, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara Women's Basketball team dropped a pivotal matchup against the UC Davis Aggies Thursday night. The difference in the game was the second quarter in which the Aggies outscored the Gauchos 35-7.

HOW IT HAPPENED
After a tightly contested opening quarter, the Gauchos had no answer for the Aggies in the second. UC Santa Barbara and UC Davis were separated by just two points after the opening frame with the Aggies ahead 18-16. UC Davis started the second quarter on a 24-0 run to extend their lead to 26. The rest of the half was more of the same as the Gauchos went into halftime with a lot of work to do.

The Gauchos came out of halftime with new energy and focus, which resulted in them cutting the Aggie lead to eight points. Alyssa Marin scored the first nine Gaucho points hitting three, threes in consecutive possessions, forcing Davis to take a timeout. Marin continued to her hot shooting making two more threes after the Aggie timeout. She also added four free throws to help the Gauchos cut the lead to single digits. UC Davis battled back and took a 13-point lead to the fourth quarter.

UC Santa Barbara was unable to cut the lead down to single digits again and the Aggies got back into their rhythm on offense. UC Santa Barbara fell 82-62 when the final horn buzzed.

LOOKING AT THE NUMBERS

• Alyssa Marin set three new career-high marks in points (31), made three-point field goals (7) and made free throws (10). All seven of Marin's made field goals were from beyond the arc. Her 31 points accounted for half of the Gaucho offense tonight.
• Skylar Burke finished a perfect 4-for-4 from the charity stripe. She finished with nine points.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will play Cal State Bakersfield for the second time this season on Saturday, Feb. 3. UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Bakersfield will tip off at 1 p.m. inside The Thunderdome. Santa Barbara will welcome back program alums with a special recognition to the 2003-04 Sweet 16 team at halftime.