HENDERSON, Nev. - The sixth seeded UC Santa Barbara Women's Basketball team is set to begin their journey in The Big West Championships starting in the first round against No. 7 seed Long Beach State. The Gauchos and Beach met just six days ago in the teams second to last game of the regular season with Long Beach earning the win to split the regular season series.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos come into the Championships after dropping their regular season finale at UC Riverside. A tightly contested game resulted in a sixth straight loss for the Gauchos. In the contest sophomore Skylar Burke recorded her second double-double of the season with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Her totals led the team in both categories.
BATTLING THE BEACH
The Gauchos and Beach split their regular season series during the 2023-2024 season with each team grabbing a win on the road. The most recent matchup was just six days ago as Long Beach State came from behind to defeat the Gauchos, 75-69.
The Big West announced their All-Big West honors today and three Beach student-athletes were named to teams. Casey Valenti-Paea and Sydney Woodley were each named All-Big West Honorable Mention while Jada Crawshaw earned a spot on the All-Freshman team. Woodley was also named to the conferences All-Defensive Team for her work on the defensive side of the ball. Valenti-Paea averaged 9.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists over the season. As a freshmen Crawshaw averaged 6.3 points and 5.1 rebounds in her first campaign with the Beach.
Over their last five games the Beach are 2-3 with wins over the Gauchos and Cal State Fullerton. The Beach fell to UC Davis, UC Irvine, and Hawai'i. Long Beach State finished the regular season as the highest scoring offense in The Big West, averaging 67.1 points per game. They also ranked as the top rebounding team grabbing 38.5 per contest.
THE ROAD AHEAD
As the Gauchos look to return to The Big West Championship Game they will have to win three games in three days to reach the title game and win a fourth in four days to be crowned champions. Santa Barbara opens their quest with a game against No. 7 Long Beach State. With a win they will then take on No. 3UC Riverside on Thursday, March 14. After that they would take on No. 2 UC Irvine to reach the Championships game.
FOLLOW ALONG
The Gauchos and Beach will tip off at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13 at The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nev. For those unable to make the trip the game will be streamed through ESPN+ with a radio broadcast available on SiriusXM 382. The Big West will also have live stats available.
