Courtesy of UCSB Athletics
The UC Santa Barbara women’s basketball team fell to the UC San Diego Tritons on Thursday, Jan. 29, in a 52-49 low-scoring nail-biter. Both teams played stifling defense all game, but the Gauchos fell just short and now find themselves fifth in the Big West Conference standings, with UC San Diego at No. 1.
The first two minutes were scoreless before star sophomore forward Olivia Bradley started things off with an impressive hesi layup to put the Gauchos on the board. Bradley was one of only two Gauchos who found any momentum on offense, ending the night with 15 points on 38% shooting from the field and 50% from 3. Due to the Gauchos’ tight help defense in the paint, the Tritons struggled to find success outside of fast breaks and 3-pointers, of which they only made 24% of their attempts despite an average of 31% 3-point shooting on the year.
In the second quarter, Bradley once again made her mark by opening the quarter with a 3 to put the Gauchos up 15-13. Senior Triton guard Sabrina Ma and junior Gaucho guard Maddie Naro traded 3s with 8:45 to go in the half, and it became clear that made buckets were in short supply for anyone other than Bradley. However, freshman guard Chauncey Andersen would soon add her name to that list for UCSB, coming alive in the second quarter with a spin shot to extend the Gaucho lead to 7 points with 2:30 left in the half. The Gauchos would stumble a bit, though, as back-to-back Triton 3-pointers in the last minute brought UCSD to within 1 at the break, 28-27.
The third quarter saw very little production from the Gauchos, as they only scored 6 total points in the 10-minute period. Junior Triton guard Dymonique Maxie was able to capitalize on the Gauchos’ lack of firepower, scoring 5 points of her own in the period to bring the score to 39-34, UCSD, before the final period.
In the final quarter the energy shot way up as Andersen began to flourish. She would score 9 points in just the first four minutes of the period, bringing the Gauchos up 6 with 6:16 to go. She ended the night with a team high of 17 points in just 26 minutes and 13 rebounds to boot. However, the Tritons just would not go away, with back-to-back turnovers within 3 minutes that smothered the Gaucho’s momentum and opened the door for a late UCSD comeback.
It all culminated in a tense final 24 seconds, with the Tritons having possession tied at 49. UCSD senior guard Makayla Rose would emerge the hero of this one, driving to the basket and scoring a tough layup plus the and-1 with just 6 seconds left to put UCSD up 3. The Gauchos had no answer.
After falling short to California State University, Fullerton as well on Saturday, the Gauchos have now dropped three spots in the standings since before their game against UCSD. Their next visitor will be the UC Davis Aggies on Feb. 5 at 6 p.m. in the Thunderdome.
