SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The UC Santa Barbara Women's Basketball team (12-9, 6-5 Big West) returns home with momentum on their side after a comeback win at CSUN and dominant win over Long Beach State last week. The Gauchos will look to match their longest winning streak of the season when they host Cal State Bakersfield (1-20, 1-10 Big West) on Thursday. If they can keep the momentum going against the Roadrunners, they will carry it into what is typically the hardest road trip of the season, traveling to play preseason conference favorites Hawai'i (15-6, 9-2 Big West) on Saturday.
 
LAST TIME OUT
After a disappointing homestand, Santa Barbara had something to prove to both the conference and themselves last week, and they did just that. The Gauchos notched wins over CSUN and Long Beach State on the road, with breakout performances from Zoe Borter and Skylar Burke. Borter scored 20 points to lead Santa Barbara to a second-half comeback win over the Matadors on Thursday, with the Gauchos scoring 25 points in the third and fourth quarters of that game. They kept right on rolling on Saturday, scoring over 20 points in the first and second quarters of Saturday's game in Long Beach, led by Burke. She finished with a career-high 25 points on 9-of-9 shooting, adding 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the season. Burke earned Big West Player of the Week honors for her efforts, but it was a complete team performance; Jessica Grant added 13 points and Olivia Bradley had her first double-digit day of the season with 10 more. On the boards, Cayla Williams grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds while adding eight points to finish a bucket shy of her first career double-double.
 
SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS
Cal State Bakersfield has just one win this season, a narrow victory over CSUN. When the Gauchos visited the Roadrunners in January, they handed them what was a 15^th straight loss, though only by four points. Cal State Bakersfield snapped their skid right after that game but have since started a new one, losing each of their last five games.
 
Defensively, the Gauchos will want to avoid a repeat of the fourth quarter from these teams' last meeting, when the Roadrunners out-scored Santa Barbara, 26-19. The Gauchos will also want to make sure they stay strong on the glass, as Cal State Bakersfield ranks among The Big West's top five teams in defensive rebounds. However, that is the only stat in which the Roadrunners are among the conference's top five as a team.

Ary Dizon has contributed heavily to her team's success on the glass, leading the team in rebounds as well as scoring. More importantly, she is The Big West's leader in blocks, averaging 2.3 per game. She got two against the Gauchos earlier this year, though Santa Barbara's defense did limit her to just five points in the game. Instead, Caitie Gingras led the Roadrunners in scoring against the Gauchos, with 14, with Cheyenne Forney adding 14 as well and Taylor Caldwell 13 more. Gingras has stepped up as Bakersfield's second-leading scorer, averaging 7.5 points per game, many of which have come from behind the arc. Gingras leads her team and ranks fifth in the conference in total three-pointers made, with 29.
 
SCOUTING THE RAINBOW WAHINE
Hawaii has found their stride in Big West play, sitting at the top of the conference standings coming into the week. They dropped their first two Big West games of the season, including a 72-62 defeat in Santa Barbara, but since then they have won nine in a row, allowing 50 or more points just twice in that span.
 
The Rainbow Wahine's dominant defense is built from the inside out, as they lead The Big West in blocks while ranking second in the conference for rebound margin and opponent field-goal percentage. The Gauchos are one of only five teams to score 70 on Hawai'i all season, with the others being Long Beach State, Clemson Portland and No. 1 UCLA. On the flipside, Hawai'i's offense has only scored 70 points once this year, so if the Gauchos can repeat the trick on Saturday, they will have a good chance to come home with a win.  
 
Scoring 70 points means working around freshman center Ritorya Tamilo, who leads the team in both blocks and rebounds, while also ranking third on the squad in scoring. The Gauchos managed to contain her in their first meeting, allowing her just six points, three rebounds and a solitary block, but one of Hawai'i's other stars went off instead. Lily Wahinekapu, the team's leading scorer and assister, dropped 17 points on the Gauchos and dished out 75% of her team's assists in the first meeting. Daejah Phillips was the Rainbow Wahine's top rebounder in that game with seven, adding 13 points. Mia 'Uhila added 12 more off the bench, but the Gauchos were able to contain another one of Hawai'i's players to watch: Brooklyn Rewers, who managed just five points. She comes into this meeting ranked second in both points and rebounds for Hawai'i.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
The Gauchos and Roadrunners will tip off at 7 p.m. from the Thunderdome on Thursday, Feb. 6. The Gauchos will then fly over to the islands, taking on Hawai'i from SimpliFi Arena at the Stan Sheriff Center in Manoa at 9 p.m. Pacific Time on Saturday, February 8. Both games will be live on ESPN+ with live stats available at ucsbgauchos.com/WBBLiveStats.