SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – In their final home game of the season, the UC Santa Barbara Women's Basketball team upset the Big West-leading UC Irvine 70-62. Seniors Skylar Burke, Jessica Grant, and Martha Pietsch saw their home collegiate careers finish in magnificent fashion and five Gauchos scored double-digit points, making Santa Barbara just the third conference team to down the Anteaters this season.
FROM HEAD COACH RENEE JIMENEZ
"Today was the first time I felt like I had us back at the team that we were in November in December," Jimenez said. "And finally. It took some time to get Skylar back in the mix, but they played with confidence; they played together. We've talked a lot the last couple weeks about just trying to get like 1% better every day. And I feel like they really latched onto it, and they're really starting to believe they are still that team."
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Gauchos had a phenomenal first quarter, scoring 24 points for their third-highest first-period point tally of the season. The Gauchos were off to a running start, installing a 7-3 lead two minutes in. Olivia Bradley supplemented five more points and had the Gauchos at 12-3 with six minutes still left to play. The Anteaters added four free throws and a layup before their time was up, but the Gauchos made nine points in one minute and ended the quarter up at 24-9.
During the first, Bradley went three for three, Zoe Borter amassed nine points, and the Gauchos shot 69% overall. Irvine made just 13% of their shots.
The Gauchos reached a 20-point lead in the second quarter at 32-12 thanks to eight straight points and three point buckets from Bradley and Maddie Naro. Both teams continued to score in abundance but the Gauchos exited the half still ahead by 17 at 39-22. Both Naro and Bradley reached double digits by halftime.
UC Irvine began to pick up speed in the third quarter, this time scoring 16 points to the Gauchos' 13. However, the Gauchos remained in charge 52-38 at the end of the period.
The Anteaters bridged the divide during the final 10 minutes after 16 points from four-time Big West Player of the Week Hunter Hernandez. The Anteaters even reached a one-point margin at 65-62. The Gauchos made 11 points from free throws, however, and managed to stay in the lead, pulling back ahead with five frees to finish the game. Senior Skylar Burke made the final point of the game and her final point in the Thunderdome.
Borter reached 18 points, while Bradley, Naro, Zoe Shaw, and Burke also reached the teens. Naro matched her career-high in assists with eight, while Borter set a new career-high in free throws made at seven and shot 100% from the line.
Shaw shot 100% overall, going 5-5 and 2-2 in threes. Bradley led the team in rebounds with 7, while Burke and Shaw both snatched six.
UP NEXT
The Gauchos will play their final game of the regular season on March 7 in La Jolla against UC San Diego.
The Big West Tournament will take place in Henderson, Nev., from March 11-14.
