SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Women's Basketball team (10-9, 4-5 Big West) saw Martha Pietsch put up her highest point total in Blue and Gold and got impressive performances from Zoe Borter and Kanani Coon, but they fell just one shot short against the visiting Cal State Fullerton Titans (4-16, 2-8 Big West) on Saturday, 64-61. Pietsch went for 12 points, with the Gauchos' star guard Alyssa Marin adding 13 more, but they were the only two in double digits. Borter shot 50% from the floor but finished with just eight points, while Coon went 3-of-5 from the floor for nine points, adding five rebounds to match her career high.   
 
FROM HEAD COACH RENEE JIMENEZ
"Secret's out on (Pietsch) now," Jimenez said. "Pietsch has been out a bit, she's been really sick and trying to figure some stuff out, so it's nice to have her back in the mix. We could really use her going forward, that will help us stretch the floor."
 
"I thought we started the game well, we're continuing to change up our lineup and I thought that group with Flora (Goed) and Pietsch in really started us well, and then we subbed and guys coming off the bench have to be able to sustain that momentum that we had."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos did start the game very well, racing out to a 12-4 lead by the first media timeout. Flora Goed was heavily involved in that run, making back-to-back layups down low, with Marin and Coon each contributing a three-pointer as well. After Goed's second make, the Titans called their first timeout of the night and managed to regroup, out-scoring the Gauchos over the remainder of the quarter, but only by two points. Anya Choice made a layup and a free throw to help Santa Barbara stay ahead, and Marin was fouled on a three-point attempt late in the frame, converting all three free throws to help the Blue and Gold to an 18-12 lead at the buzzer.
 
After shooting 41.7% from the floor in the first quarter, Santa Barbara got even hotter from the field in the second, shooting 57.1% in the period. It started with Pietsch hitting her first two three-pointers of the night, with the Titans barely keeping themselves within three possessions. Coon provided some nice baskets for Santa Barbara in the quarter, including a nifty spin through traffic for a layup. Things got frantic in the final two minutes of the half, with the teams trading baskets back-and-forth. They went layup-for-layup then three-pointer-for-three-pointer, but Fullerton was unable to answer Marin's final three-pointer of the quarter, and the Gauchos carried a nine-point lead into the half.
 
However, in a little more than five minutes of the third quarter, Fullerton had erased that deficit and had the game tied at 42. The visitors shot lights-out in the third, 8-of-12 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. After a slow start to the quarter, the Gauchos did recover late in the third quarter, keeping it a one-possession game for the final 4:14. Pietsch hit another three-pointer during that crucial stretch, and after a Cayla Williams three, Santa Barbara went into the fourth quarter holding a two-point lead.
 
That fourth quarter turned out to be terrifyingly similar to the nightmare fourth quarter that the Gauchos suffered in Thursday night's loss, as Fullerton shot 50% from the field while Santa Barbara made just one field goal on six attempts over the final 10 minutes. The Titans out-scored the Gauchos, 14-9, in the quarter and went on to win, 64-61. The Gauchos had a chance to tie it in the final seconds, but their final shot bounced off the rim.
 
BY THE NUMBERS

• Martha Pietsch scored 12 points, all on three-pointers, her largest haul since transferring to UC Santa Barbara and two shy of her all-time career high (14) from Oregon State.
• Kanani Coon matched her career high on the boards with five rebounds, all of them on the defensive end. She had four in just 12 minutes against UC San Diego on Thursday night.
• Laurel Rockwood also notched a career high on Saturday, notching a pair of assists on the night, her first collegiate multi-assist game.

 
UP NEXT
The Gauchos hit the road next week, traveling to CSUN on Thursday and Long Beach State next Saturday. Santa Barbara will tip off at 11 a.m. against the Matadors in Northridge on Thursday and 2 p.m. against the Beach on Saturday. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with live stats available at ucsbgauchos.com/WBBLiveStats.