SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Basketball team continued its spotless season Monday night, defeating the Seattle U Redhawks 92-48 at home. The win outdoes the Gauchos' 89-49 defeat of Seattle in 2025 and brings Santa Barbara's 2026 season-opening record to 3-0.
Zoe Borter had an outstanding performance from the arc, making a career-high six three-pointers on only six attempts. In addition to shooting 100% from deep, she shot 80% overall and scored 22 points for the highest individual point total for the Gauchos' season so far.
Naomy Zonzon-Huyghe also stood out, making 16 points for a new career-high and the second-highest Gaucho total of the game. The junior guard also achieved her career record in free throws made with five.
FROM HEAD COACH RENEE JIMENEZ
"When you get down to a team that presses like that, when you get up 16-3, it doesn't affect them. So the players are like, you know, jumping through the roof because they're so excited about their start, but, two, three turnovers cuts that gap really quickly. So, I really didn't feel comfortable until, like, the middle of the 4th quarter," Jimenez said. "And that's the hard thing. I played against John Bonner for 15 years, not. And so I've been on both ends of it. I've been on with teams like this and I've handled it really well and it just doesn't phase them. Then I've been on the other end of it where it's just every everything just feels like they're everywhere on top of you. I think adding Mauriana this year to help with that in terms of, like, someone else who can handle press, like, really helps, just super great poise on the floor that they both have tonight. You know, and I think just even like having Nicole and Liv is really a big presence in the middle of that press break really helped us. So, I'm really happy with our kids and how they handled it."
FROM SOPHOMORE NICOLE STEINER
"I just wanted to start out hard, I crashed for a rebound and got an offensive board and put it back. That started me early and helped fuel more of them," Steiner said. "Got a lot of o-boards and good looks from my teammates."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos scored 3.6 times their opponents in the first, exiting the period 21 points ahead of the Redhawks at 29-8. Forward
Nicole Steiner began the scoring for the game, making two layups and a jumper to make it 6-0 in just two minutes. A layup from Zonzon-Huyghe made it an 8-0 lead, then Seattle U made it on the board to see 8-3. Borter responded with the first of her three-point baskets, while three more layups from Zonzon-Huyghe and
Chauncey Andersen put the Gauchos ahead 17-3. The Redhawks interrupted the 11-point run with a free throw, but the Gauchos carried on. With two minutes left, they were up 19-8. Santa Barbara then ended the quarter with another ten points, six of them from Borter, and finished ahead at 29-8.
The second quarter began with three free throws from Seattle, but another six consecutive points from the Gauchos put them up 35-11. The Redhawks collected a couple of points, but a Zonzon-Huyghe layup and a three from freshman
Charlotte Lipkin had the Gauchos ahead 40-16. The Redhawks recovered another eight points before the quarter was through, but the Gauchos finished it out 47-24. At the half, Steiner led the offense with 13 points, having gone 6-for-7. Zonzon-Huyghe was 4-for-5 and reached 10 points for the team's second double-digit total. Steiner also led in rebounds with five, while the Gauchos had 19 as a whole. The team also ended the half shooting 63.3%
Santa Barbara made the most points of any quarter this year during the third, tallying 30. They also maintained an average of 31 points ahead of their opponents, compared to 21 points ahead in the second quarter. Borter opened the period with a layup, then three-point buckets from Borter, Zonzon-Huyghe, and
Maddie Naro gave the Gauchos their first 30-point lead at 58-28. Two more back-to-back threes from Borter made it 66-32 with just under four minutes left. The Gauchos piled on eight more points, then
Karisma Flores sank a three with five seconds left to give the Gauchos a 37-point lead – their biggest lead yet – and the quarter ended 77-40.
Flores then opened the fourth with another three, making it 80-40. Andersen then made two straight layups, bringing it to 84-40, Gauchos. Both teams then made eight points, and the game ended 92-48.
STAT RECAP
After Borter's 22 and Zonzon-Huyghe's 16 points, Steiner recorded the third double-digit point performance with 15. In total, five Gauchos reached double digits, with Naro grabbing 11 and Flores ten. Naro also provided six assists, while Zonzon-Huyge gave five. Steiner made six total rebounds, with four of them offensive. The Gauchos shot 59% overall and made 12 three-point shots. Lipkin only shot threes and made two out of three attempts.
UP NEXT
The Gauchos host California on Saturday, Nov. 14 at noon in The Thunderdome.
