Courtesy of UCSB Athletics

The UC Santa Barbara women’s basketball team dropped a close game against the UC San Diego Tritons in a tough 72-65 loss on Saturday, March 7. Though the Gauchos and Tritons remained in lockstep through three quarters, the Gauchos stumbled in the final period and ultimately ended a tumultuous 2026 regular season in the loss column. 

Turnovers and attempted shots told the story of this one, as the Gauchos posted 19 to the Tritons’ eight, with UCSD senior guard Makayla Rose contributing 4 steals alone. Additionally, the Gauchos only took 26 2-point shots to the Tritons’ 53, a staggering difference. 

The Gauchos started off strong but the Tritons quickly hit back. UCSB sophomore forward Olivia Bradley and junior forward Zoe Borter began the scoring for the Gauchos with a strong layup and top-of-the-key 3, respectively, to give the Gauchos an early 5-0 lead. Borter had a fantastic performance, tallying 21 points on 80% from the field and a stunning 83% from the 3. 

In the second quarter, Rose made her presence felt, scoring 8 total in the quarter. She ended with a game-high 25 points and played all 40 minutes of the game. The Gauchos stuck through it though, utilizing ball movement and well-rounded scoring from Borter and senior guard Skylar Burke. A driving layup from junior guard Maddie Naro gave the Gauchos a 36-33 lead going into the half, boosting UCSB’s confidence. 

However, the Gauchos came out of the break stumbling, as they scored only 10 total points in the 10-minute long third quarter. Turnovers began to rear their ugly head, as the Gauchos posted 5 in the first five-and-a-half minutes of the period. The quarter ended in a scoring flurry for both teams, with back-to-back 3s from Borter and Gaucho sophomore guard Zoe Shaw sent UCSB into the final quarter down only 2 points. 

In the fourth quarter, the Gauchos seemed to just collapse, as they just couldn’t stop the Tritons’ inside scoring. They stayed about even with UCSD until about four minutes left in the game, at which point 3 straight layups from Rose and freshman guard Lev Feiman put the Tritons up 65-60. The Gauchos never recovered, putting up 4 fouls and 3 missed shots in the final minute. 

Though the Gauchos did walk away from La Jolla with a loss, it wasn’t all bad. The team totaled 46% from the field, 38% from 3 and 88% from the free-throw line, notably better than their season averages of 42%, 34% and 72%, respectively. Hopefully UCSB can bring this efficiency and keep the turnovers down in their first tournament game. 

The Gauchos have now officially ended the regular season ranked No. 6 in the Big West Conference, setting them up for a key first-round matchup against UC Riverside. UCSB split the season series against UCR 1-1 in two close games.