HENDERSON, Nev. — The UC Santa Barbara Women's Basketball team (18-13, 12-8 Big West) out-scored Cal Poly (14-17, 8-12 Big West) by 10 points in the final quarter of Wednesday's Big West Championship First Round game, but came up just short of a comeback, falling by a 56-54 scoreline.
Alyssa Marin scored 23 points to lead all scorers, while
Skylar Burke put up 14 despite having to leave a portion of the game with a knee injury.
FROM HEAD COACH RENEE JIMENEZ
"I'm proud of our team, I'm proud of how we battled all season," Jimenez said. "We finished, I think we went 8-4 in our last 12, continued to get better and I didn't think there was another team in the conference that did that over the course of a year. We had moments this year where we could have tanked. We chose not to, and they rolled with us as a staff and we're forever grateful to our six seniors and forever grateful to Alyssa (Marin)."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos had to dig their way out of a big hole after a nightmare first quarter saw them fall behind, 19-6. Only Marin and Burke scored in the first as Santa Barbara simply could not get shots to fall, making just two of their 12 attempts from the field and one of seven from three. Cal Poly was hot in the first, compounding the Gauchos' misfortune, shooting for of five from three-point range.
But Santa Barbara started to turn things around in the second, shooting 5-of-11 in the quarter to cut into the deficit. The Gauchos went on a 9-2 run to start the second quarter, with Burke making a three,
Cayla Williams a layup down low and Marin converting an and-one. Burke then split a pair of free throws to cut the Mustang lead to just six with just under six minutes to go before halftime. A pair of Marin layups cut the deficit to just four with three minutes before the break, but the gap was back up to nine at halftime, 28-19.
Santa Barbara's shooting woes were back in the third quarter, but they made up for them with better defense, holding Cal Poly to just 29.4% shooting from the floor and no makes on nine three-point attempts in the frame. While the Gauchos were able to more or less match the Mustangs make-for-make in the quarter, they were not able to cut into the lead and the fourth quarter began with the Blue and Gold down, 42-30.
The fourth quarter was the Gauchos' finest on the night as they scored 24 points on 9-of-20 shooting to claw their way back into the game. Marin and
Zoe Borter made the first two shots of the frame, both from three, to cut the deficit to six with eight minutes to play.
Olivia Bradley's layup got the Gauchos even closer after Cal Poly's first basket of the period, then after two Mustang free throws,
Laurel Rockwood and Marin scored back-to-back baskets to pull the Gauchos within three with just over five minutes left, down 45-42. Santa Barbara stayed within touching distance after that, never trailing by more than seven. Six times they came within a possession of the Mustangs, including after Bradley's layup made it 55-52 with just 14 seconds to play. After a Cal Poly timeout, the Gauchos forced a turnover on the inbounds pass.
Jessica Grant got a chance to tie the game but just missed. Still, there was drama left in the game, as when Cal Poly collected the rebound and was fouled, the Mustang player committed a foul herself. Cal Poly made one of their two free throws, then it was the Gauchos' turn to shoot two. Marin made them both and the Gauchos got the ball, down 56-54 with a second and change left, but they could not get a shot up before the buzzer.
BY THE NUMBERS
- With her 23 points on Wednesday, Alyssa Marin ends her career with 1,234 points for UC Santa Barbara, the 21st-most scored by a player over her career in the program's history.
- Head Coach Renee Jimenez finishes her first season leading the Gauchos with an 18-13 record, the first coach to win 18 games in her first season at UC Santa Barbara since Lindsay Gottlieb in 2008-2009.
