SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Women's Basketball team (10-7, 4-3 Big West) returns home with momentum on their side after a major upset win over UC Davis on the road last Saturday. The Gauchos' defeat of the Aggies earned them a split last week, but they will look to go one step further this week, hosting the UC San Diego Tritons (8-11, 4-3 Big West) this Thursday and the Cal State Fullerton Titans (2-16, 0-8 Big West) on Saturday. 

LAST TIME OUT
Santa Barbara has split another week of conference play, falling to UC Riverside and defeating UC Davis this past weekend. In the turning point game against the Aggies, the Gauchos showed growth following their two-match-loss streak. Jessica Grant was a trailblazer in this matchup, posting a new career high in points with 19 while going 7-for-8 on field goals. Zoe Borter and Alyssa Marin helped keep the offense balanced as well, with Borter notching 16 points and 8 boards while Marin added 11 points for her 15th double-digit game of the season. Skylar Burke led the Gauchos on the glass yet again, securing nine rebounds in the 63-50 win.
 
TACKLING THE TRITONS
Santa Barbara beat UC San Diego on the road in their first meeting of the year, but the Tritons come into Thursday's game with the same 4-3 conference record as the Gauchos, thanks to wins over Cal State Bakersfield, Cal State Fullerton, UC Riverside and an upset of Long Beach State. Cal Poly and UC Irvine are the other Big West teams to hand UC San Diego a loss so far this year. 

The Tritons rank first in the conference in turnover margin and steals, posting a margin of 4.79 and averaging 11.89 steals per game. UC San Diego also displays success in the team field goal percentage column with a position of third in the conference shooting at a .396.
 
Leading the Tritons, Sumayah Sugapong ranks first in the conference in both steals and assists averaging 2.6 and 3.9 respectively. She also leads her team in scoring with 12.8 points per game and in free throws, averaging 2.7 per contest. Sabrina Ma follows closely behind, ranking second in the conference for steals with 2.3 per game, and excelling from distance, standing third in three-point field goals per game with 2.3 and fourth in three-point field goal percentage at .400. Kayanna Spriggs leads the team's defense, averaging 7.0 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game.
 
TAKING ON THE TITANS
Cal State Fullerton has yet to find success in Big West play, with a record of 0-8 in the conference and 2-16 overall, drawing wins from Chapman University and Bethesda University of California.

The Titans have found success, however, in Big West statistics in terms of 3-point opponent field goal percentage and turnover margin, ranking second and fourth in the conference in these respective categories. 

For Cal State Fullerton, Aaliyah Stanton leads the way offensively. She ranks fifth in the conference in scoring while averaging a team-high 14.3 points and 4.6 field goals per game. She also sets the pace in assists for her team, contributing 2.0 per game. Eva Levingston dominates the boards, leading both the conference and her team with an impressive 8.2 rebounds per game. Aixchel Hernandez excels in the paint, ranking second in the conference in both blocked shots with an average of 2.0, and rebounds notching 7.7 per game. Emily Strachan finds success at the line as the team's free-throw leader with a .789 percentage, placing her fourth in the conference.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
The Gauchos and Tritons will tip off at 7 p.m. from the Thunderdome in Santa Barbara, California on Thursday, Jan. 23. UC Santa Barbara will then be back on Saturday, Jan. 18, tipping off against the Titans at 4 p.m. from the Thunderdome. Both games will be live on ESPN+ with live stats available at ucsbgauchos.com/WBBLiveStats.