SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara's Women's Basketball team is set to compete in their last two highly anticipated matchups before the Big West Championships in Henderson, Nev. The Gauchos will look to snap their four-game losing streak this weekend at home against Long Beach State on Thursday, March 7 before looking to finish the regular season on a high note on the road against UC Riverside on Saturday, March 9. UC Santa Barbara has been on the winning side of previous matchups against The Beach and the Highlanders this season, but the Gauchos currently trail UC Riverside by a game in conference play.
LAST TIME OUT
UC Santa Barbara came up short at home to Cal State Fullerton 78-65, giving the Gauchos back-to-back losses at home against Big West opponents.
Alyssa Marin recorded a team-high 19 points for the Gauchos while
Alexis Whitfield recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in the match.
BATTLING THE BEACH
Long Beach State and UC Santa Barbara will face off for the second time this season, with their last matchup ending in the Gauchos favor 69-56. Long Beach State currently possesses the 8th and final spot for the Big West Championships with a total record of 12-16 and a 7-11 record in Big West action. Long Beach has come out on top in four of their last six games, with their losses coming against the top two teams in the conference.
Long Beach State has three players in double-digit scoring, with Savannah Tucker averaging 12.3 points and Sydney Woodley averaging 10.5 points and recording a team-leading 57 steals. Casey Valenti Paea also averages 10.2 points per game and shoots over 87 percent from the free throw line in conference matchups.
Despite their losing record, Long Beach State averages the most points per game in the Big West with 67.1 points per contest.
HANDLING THE HIGHLANDERS
In the Gauchos and Highlanders' last matchup, UC Santa Barbara took care of business defeating UC Riverside at home 64-56. The Highlanders remain comfortably in fourth place in the Big West with an 11-7 conference record. UC Riverside had won four straight before losing their most recent matchup at Hawai'i.
The two stars of the show for the Highlanders feature guard Jordan Webster, who averages 17.1 points and 2.5 steals per game. Matehya Bryant, who also scores in double figures with 11.7 points and averages 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block per contest.
UC Riverside allows the third least amount of points on defense in the Big West, with opposing teams averaging 57.6 points per game.
CHAMPIONSHIP IMPLICATIONS
The Gauchos sit a game back of a top-four spot in The Big West standings, which would give them at least a single-round bye in The Big West Championships. With two wins and some help, the Gauchos could slot in as high as the No. 3 seed for the Championships.
FOLLOW ALONG
Tipoff for UC Santa Barbara and Long Beach State will begin at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 7 inside the Thunderdome. The matchup will be live streamed through ESPN+ and live stats will be available.
The Gauchos will hit the road on Saturday, March 9 to face the Highlanders at 6 p.m. at the SRC Arena in Riverside, Calif. The game will be streamed through ESPN+ and live stats of the match will be available.
