RIVERSIDE, Calif. — Zoe Borter tallied her highest career point total in a Big West game on Thursday night, but the UC Santa Barbara Women's Basketball team (9-7, 3-3 Big West) suffered back-to-back losses for only the second time this season, falling to UC Riverside (8-8, 4-2 Big West), 62-52. Even with Borter's game-high 16 points, the Gauchos could not keep pace with a Highlander offense that shot 72.7% from the floor in the first quarter and 61.5% on the game, a figure that made Santa Barbara's 40.5% shooting — usually a respectable figure — pale in comparison.
 
FROM HEAD COACH RENEE JIMENEZ
"We aren't losing games right now because the other teams are better; we are losing because we aren't showing up ready to play with energy and intention," Jimenez said. "Those are our non-negotiables and we haven't been bringing enough of either. The score board reflects what happens when we take those things for granted. We have to learn lessons, own them and make sure they don't continue to happen. Every game is an opportunity to prove who we are, and next time, we need to show up with pride and purpose."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The game had all the makings of a proper shootout in the first quarter, as neither team could pull away from the other in the opening 10 minutes. While the Highlanders did shoot an impressive 8-of-11 (72.7%) from the floor, in the opening frame, only one of those makes was from three-point land. Meanwhile, Santa Barbara was letting it fly from beyond the arc, sinking three of their first three-point shots of the night. The Gauchos' long-range shooting did cool off later in the frame, but they finished the quarter with a respectable 46.2 shooting percentage and, thanks to three offensive rebounds (to UC Riverside's zero), just a one-point deficit.
 
However, things took a turn for the worse in the second quarter as Santa Barbara's cold streak continued while the Highlanders continued to shoot well above expectation. Coming into Thursday night's action, UC Riverside shot, on average, 36.8% from the field. If the Gauchos were waiting for a regression to the Highlanders' mean, it wasn't coming. UCR went 8-of-13 from the floor in the second quarter, making them 16-of-24 (66.7%) for the half. It didn't help that Santa Barbara committed eight turnovers in the second while forcing just one from UC Riverside. All told, the hosts out-scored the Gauchos, 21-5, in the quarter for a 39-22 halftime lead.
 
Santa Barbara did battle back after halftime, putting together a 10-2 run to start the third quarter, clawing to within 13 points. The Gauchos were still cold from beyond the arc, with Alyssa Marin's three-pointer the only one of four attempts from deep that Santa Barbara sunk in the quarter. They did good work on defense, forcing six Highlander turnovers and holding their hosts to just three made field goals, but while the Gauchos did out-score UC Riverside in the third, it was by just one point.
 
Santa Barbara out-scored the Highlanders again in the fourth, and it was by more than one this time, which did make things interesting with six minutes left to go. Marin sank a couple free throws, then Jessica Grant drained her second three-pointer of the night to get the offense going. Later, Olivia Bradley grabbed her own rebound off a miss, put back the layup and drew a foul, converting the and-one to bring Santa Barbara within 10 points. A couple free throws from Borter the next time down brought the Gauchos within single digits, then Skylar Burke stole the inbound and laid the ball in to cut the deficit to seven and force a UCR timeout.
 
However, the Highlanders grabbed the momentum back right out of the timeout, re-establishing their double-digit lead with a three pointer, and the Gauchos would never come within less than 10 again.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Alyssa Marin scored 13 points for the Gauchos on Thursday night, second on the team behind Borter's 16. Marin now has scored double digits in 14 of the Gauchos 16 games this season.
• Thursday night was only the second time that Santa Barbara out-rebounded their opponents and still lost; the other was at Grand Canyon, when the Gauchos committed 11 more turnovers than the Lopes.
• UC Riverside's 61.5 field goal percentage on Thursday night is the best that a Gaucho opponent has shot in a game since November 30, 2013, when San Diego State shot 65.9% from the floor in a 71-67 win. Santa Barbara shot 52% from the field themselves in that game.

 
UP NEXT
The week does not get any easier for the Gauchos, as they will head north and face UC Davis in Davis on Saturday. The Aggies beat Santa Barbara by 22 back in December and is tied for first place in The Big West standings. Tipoff from the University Credit Union Center in Davis is set for 2 p.m. The game will be live on ESPN+ with live stats available at ucsbgauchos.com/WBBLiveStats.