SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The UC Santa Barbara Women's Basketball team hosted Hawai'i on Saturday for the teams' second match up of the season and the Gauchos' penultimate 2025-26 home game. The Rainbow Wahine will return to Oahu with a 58-52 road win after outperforming the Gauchos' offense. The Gauchos also launched a program-high 41 three point attempts versus Hawai'i.

FROM HEAD COACH RENEE JIMENEZ
"We got wide open shots. I don't think we knew we were gonna take 40, but we thought we'd make some, which would open up lanes and we'd get good stuff to the rim," Jimenez said. "And really our goal was to put together two 18 to 20 point quarters. That was our goal, because we knew we could outscore them, and we knew our defense would be really good, which I thought until the force our defense was really solid until the fourth quarter."

HOW IT HAPPENED
Two minutes into the quarter, Hawai'i started the scoring with a three. Skylar Burke evened the field, putting the Gauchos on the board with her first three-pointer since December. The game stayed 3-3 for the first five minutes of the quarter, obliging a scoring surge during the latter half, during which Hawai'i made ten points and the Gauchos nine. Burke went 3-3 in three-pointers, accomplishing a season high in threes and accounting for three quarters of the Gauchos first period points. Zoe Shaw also sank a three, and the Gauchos left the first barely behind at 13-12. 

The second quarter also finished with Hawai'i just one basket ahead of the Gauchos at 27-25. The Gauchos made three more threes, but the Rainbow Wahine once again outscored their hosts by one, making 14 points to the Gauchos' 13. 

The Gauchos outperformed Hawai'i in the third period, making 10 points to Hawai'i's nine. Burke put three free throws through, while Olivia Bradley provided the Gauchos with a lead after a layup. Hawai'i acquired a final bucket for the quarter, however, and finished marginally ahead again at 36-35. 

Hawai'i activated in the fourth, reaching 20+ points in a quarter for the first time for either team. They opened the period with a nine-point scoring run and bolstered their lead with six free throws. The Gauchos put in five free throws of their own and two threes, but it would not be enough to reach the Rainbow Wahine, who ended ahead at 58-52. 

Skylar Burke led the Gaucho offense for the first time this season, bringing home 16 points. Two more Gauchos reached double-digits, Borter making 12 and Andersen 10. Maddie Naro picked up a career-high nine rebounds to lead the team. 

UP NEXT
The Gauchos visit UC Riverside on Feb. 26 at 6:00 p.m. before returning home on Feb. 28 for Senior Day versus UC Irvine at 2:00 p.m.