Courtesy of UCSB Athletics

The UC Santa Barbara women’s basketball team knocked off the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo Mustangs on Saturday, Feb. 14, in a well-rounded 63-54 win. The Gauchos, who had lost four of their last five games, desperately needed the momentum — and they certainly delivered. 

“There’s little things individually that we need some of these guys to bring to the table that would make it a lot easier for us. We’re just trying to find ways to build a confidence back up and make them believe again,” Head Coach Renee Jimenez said after the game.

And find a way to build confidence back up they did, delivering a statement performance against UCSB’s longtime rival. It was a Zoe Borter masterpiece, as the junior Gaucho forward had a game-high 18 points on 45% from the field, 50% from three and 100% from the free throw line. 

The Gauchos started off strong and the Mustangs simply couldn’t stop them. Sophomore guard Zoe Shaw put UCSB on the board first with a wing 3-pointer followed by Cal Poly’s answer in the form of a layup from freshman forward Dulci Vail. From there the Gauchos stepped on the gas, going on a strong 11-4 run in six and a half minutes, capped off by freshman guard Chauncey Andersen’s 3-pointer, drawing cheers from the crowd.

 UCSB would shoot 28 total threes to Cal Poly’s 13 and, though they shot a little under their 3-point average of 34%, Cal Poly simply had no answer for the volume shooting. On the year, the Gauchos rank second in both 3-point percentage and in 3-point field goals made. 

The second quarter saw steady production from UCSB, with contributions from Borter, star sophomore forward Olivia Bradley and junior guard Maddie Naro, pushing UCSB’s lead to 36-22 at the half.

 The Mustangs opened the third quarter with a rejuvenated push, calving the Gauchos’ 16-point lead to just 8 points halfway through the quarter. Cal Poly freshman forward Charish Thompson led the charge, scoring 8 unanswered points alone in just three and a half minutes. UCSB turned to Borter and Bradley to stop the bleeding, but poor shot selection and fouls kept them from completely rebuilding the lead. 

The fourth quarter once again saw a scare for UCSB, as Cal Poly managed to pull within 3 points of the Gauchos, but would never take the lead. With 3:23 left, a UCSB defensive foul led to a side-out-of-bounds layup for Mustang sophomore guard Vanessa McManus followed by a Vail 3-pointer to bring the score to 52-49, Gauchos. However, a Gaucho team effort staved off the comeback attempt, with Borter dropping in two free throws to ice the game with 22 seconds left. 

The Gauchos now head into the last five games of the season at fifth place in the Big West Conference standings. They’ll want to continue this momentum as they look to secure favorable playoff seeding. They will travel to face California State University, Northridge next on Thursday, Feb. 19 at 6 p.m.