SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Women's Basketball team (16-11, 10-7 Big West) has two weeks left before The Big West Championship, and while their ticket is already punched, they have three games to try and improve their seeding for the tournament. The first of those games is a Blue-Green Rivalry matchup with Cal Poly (11-15, 6-10 Big West) on Thursday, then it will be Senior Day for the Gauchos when they host CSUN (4-21, 2-14 Big West) at the Thunderdome on Saturday.
LAST TIME OUT
The Gauchos went 2-0 with a pair of big wins last week, defeating Cal State Fullerton on the road then taking down Long Beach State at the Thunderdome.
Olivia Bradley had a good night against the Titans and a great one against the Beach, scoring 14 and 18 respectively. She added 11 rebounds on Saturday for her first career double-double, and on Monday she was named Big West Player of the Week.
Alyssa Marin also tallied double digits in each game last week, dropping 18 on the Titans, and
Jessica Grant put up 18 against Long Beach State as well.
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
Since the Gauchos last saw Cal Poly, the Mustangs have gone 3-7 and come into the week on a two-game skid. The last time they were at home, Cal Poly blew out CSUN, 75-34, but they have since suffered back-to-back double-digit losses on the road at UC San Diego and UC Riverside.
The Mustangs do boast a strong defense, especially around the perimeter. Cal Poly leads the nation in three-point defense, with opponents shooting just 24.8% from deep against them. Overall, the Mustangs are allowing 60.2 points per game, putting them 89th nationally in scoring defense. However, they struggle to score themselves, averaging just 57.1 points per game, making them the 321st-ranked offense out of 353 Division I programs.
Two Mustangs who have little trouble scoring are Annika Shah and Mary Carter, who lead Cal Poly with 13.7 and 12.2 points per game respectively. Shah is an eager three-point shooter, leading The Big West in total threes made and threes made per game. Her 39.4 three-point percentage ranks second in the conference behind only UC Santa Barbara's Grant and is 57th in the country. Carter is shooting 34.5% from deep herself and is also a strong inside presence, ranking fifth in The Big West with 32 blocks on the season.
SCOUTING THE MATADORS
CSUN has won just one game since they last saw the Gauchos, and they have lost five in a row coming into the week. The Matadors will face UC San Diego on the road on Thursday before visiting Santa Barbara on Saturday.
In three of their last four games, CSUN has allowed 75 or more points, and in each of their last three they have been held under 60. The Matadors allowed as many as 100 to UC Irvine and scored as few as 34 against Cal Poly. As a result, they have the second-worst point differential in the country, being out-scored by an average of 19.1 points per game. Still, being in a big hole does not necessarily count the Matadors out, as they shoot more three-pointers per game than any team in The Big West, 24.9, which is 34th most in the country. If they get hot, they can shoot their way out of trouble or into a big lead
Kelly Tumlin is CSUN's leading three-point chucker, averaging 6.9 attempts per game. Morgan Edwards is the Matadors' most accurate long-range shooter, making 34.7% of her three-point attempts so far this season. Edwards is the team's second-leading scorer behind Erika Aspajo, who is making her way back after missing two weeks with an injury. The Gauchos held Aspajo, who is averaging 10.1 points per game, to just three in their first meeting of the season.
FOLLOW ALONG
Santa Barbara and Cal Poly will tip off their Blue-Green Rivalry matchup at 6 p.m. on Thursday from Mott Athletics Center in San Luis Obispo. On Saturday, the Gauchos will tip off against the Matadors at 4 p.m. in The Thunderdome. Santa Barbara will celebrate their graduating seniors after the conclusion of Saturday's game. Both of this week's games will be broadcast live on ESPN+ with live stats available at ucsbgauchos.com/WBBLiveStats.
