The UC Santa Barbara women’s basketball team earned their 12th win of the season on Thursday, Jan. 8, beating UC Davis 55-47 on the road in the University Credit Union Center. This win over the Aggies marks Head Coach Renee Jimenez’s 300th career win and 29th overall with the Gauchos.

Courtesy of UCSB Athletics

“Davis is always a tough place to win, they are a good team and well coached, we knew this was going to be a grind it out type game … We stayed together, trusted the game plan, and made plays when it mattered,” Jimenez said.

The game started with both teams trading blows and the Gauchos leading scorer, junior forward Zoe Borter, leading the way with three layups to even out the game at the end of the first quarter with a score of 13- 13. This back-and-forth game style continued throughout the second quarter with UCSB keeping a slight offensive edge over UCD. The score going into halftime was 29-24.

The third quarter proved to be a defensive showdown between both teams, as it was the lowest-scoring period of the game. The Gauchos scored 11 points in this quarter, with the standout score being a 3-point shot from sophomore guard Zoe Shaw. The third quarter came to a close with a score of 40- 31. The consistency on offense and dominance on defense for the Gauchos continued into the fourth quarter, where they totaled 15 points and secured a 55-47 win over the Aggies.

An important part of this game was the Gauchos’ defensive showing with the team totaling 44 rebounds and 4 steals at the end of the fourth quarter. Borter was a large contributor in this showdown, totaling 17 points as the Gauchos’ highest scorer of the day. Jimenez marked the importance of this in a postgame interview.

“I’m proud of our guys for how they responded, especially on the glass and on the defensive end … We talked all week about rebounding, finishing possessions and playing with physicality, and the players took that personally. They were communicating and trusting each other. When we defend and rebound like that, it gives us a chance to be really good and win a lot of games,” Jimenez said.

The Gauchos will be back home in the Thunderdome on Jan. 15 at 6 p.m., where they will host the California State University, Bakersfield Roadrunners.