SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Basketball team hosted UC Riverside Thursday night, who came away from the contest with a 69-62 win. The Gauchos now stand with an 8-6 Big West record and maintain their fifth place slot. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 
The Gauchos grasped a lead following the first quarter, sitting at 16-14 after the first stage of the showdown. The teams traded bundles of points, often four at a time, and entered the final minute 14-14. Two free throws by Skylar Burke pushed the Gauchos into the lead, ahead by a basket.  

The second quarter proved more difficult for Santa Barbara, as the Highlanders outscored the Gauchos 24-11 and were up 38-27 at the half. Santa Barbara dotted Riverside's scoring spread with layups, but the Highlanders were persistent and led by two-time Big-West Athlete of the Week Hannah Wickstrom, who scored 11 points. 

Santa Barbara broke out after the half, this time outscoring the Highlanders 20-10. Halfway through, the Highlanders still had a 12-point lead. But, with three minutes left, the Gauchos put on an 11-point scoring run that was sparked by four points from Chauncey Andersen. Burke put in two more free throws to make it a six-point difference at 48-42. The shift happened when Maddie Naro entrusted the ball to a wide open Zoe Borter, who rose to the occasion and sank a three. Naro laid on another layup and the Gauchos went out of the third almost caught up 47-48. 

The fourth saw its first tie at 49-49, then Zoe Shaw pushed ahead a lead at 51-49 with a layup. Here, the Highlanders began to chip away at the Gaucho defense and slowly put up buckets. Though the Gauchos were only down by four at 64-60, Riverside made five free throws to bring them ahead at 69-60. Borter was able to finish off the game with a jumper, but the Highlanders clinched a 69-62 success. 

Though the teams were nearly equal in field goal percentage, the Highlanders shot 16% better in three-pointers, a feat that would ultimately provide them the win. 

Zoe Borter yielded 20 points, collecting double-digits for the 18th time. Chauncey Andersen succeeded with 13. Andersen went 5-8 and also led the team in rebounds, pulling 11. Borter led in assists with four. 

UP NEXT
The Gauchos are back in The Thunderdome on Saturday, Feb. 14 to take on the Cal Poly Mustangs at 2:00 p.m.