The Gauchos struggle to maintain their early momentum in a 46-42 loss
The UCSB women's basketball team got off to a great start in the first quarter of the Big West Tournament quarterfinals against UC Riverside.
But the Gauchos couldn't keep up the pace and dropped a 46-42 decision at The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nev., on Wednesday.
UCSB ended its season 15–12, while the 14–10 Highlanders went on to face top-seeded Hawaii in the semi-finals.
Despite taking the lead for more than 26 minutes of play, the Gauchos struggled at the offensive end. He scored 23 points in the first quarter and just 19 points for the rest of the game.
"It's just mind-boggling that we fought so aggressively, honestly," UCSB coach Bonnie Henriksen said after the game. "We had opportunities and we weren't aggressive enough."
UCSB scored 9 of 12 off the field and 2-3 at three-pointers in the first quarter to take a five-point lead.
In the next 30 minutes, however, UCSB scored 8–37 from the ground.
"It's hard to understand how you go from being so good. I told these guys that we were in great rhythm, we were in sync, moving along, and then we just weren't there," Henriksen said. It's frustrating, especially for our seniors. It's disappointing to go out like this, but we just didn't make it. ,
Henriksen said the team was taking more disciplined shots and not forcing anything in the first quarter.
Junior transfer Alexis Tucker led the Gauchos with 14 points, with 10 coming in a 4-of-6 shooting in the first quarter.
Tucker said the team's decision making could have been better.
“We could have made some better decisions down the stretch, and then we did some fouls. So there were some things that were going on in the game that weren't going our way," Tucker said. "We did a good job of staying in, but we just had to put in a few shots."
Junior forward Ila Lane scored eight points but played only 25 minutes as she broke down early in the second quarter and third.
"I'm not going to try to dismiss the fact that it's impressive, but that's no excuse. You still have to play," Henriksen said.
In his final game as a gaucho, guard Dane Miller finished with nine points to go with a game-high five assists.
She said after the game she was grateful to have played her final year after being concerned about the COVID-19 pandemic.
"This year meant a lot. I was lucky enough to have it last year because of COVID, so I really wanted to come back and come back with this heavy-handed team and come back with the ring." wanted,” said Miller. “We came up short but we did a great job. We fought many ups and downs on and off the court. I still enjoyed every moment of it. I just wish it had a better result."
UCSB led 23–18 after the first quarter. The team scored just six points in the second and still managed to hold the lead till halftime.
Megan Anderson hit a three-pointer and Tucker made a coast-to-coast layup to take a 36-28 lead, with 5:30 left to go in the third quarter.
Santa Barbara then went almost the rest of the way without any points. Miller made a driving layup with one second remaining in the period to give his team a 38-36 lead.
UC Riverside made the first basket of the fourth quarter to tie the game at 38.
Gaucho will vacate on his next five offensive properties. Riverside dropped a 3-pointer to take a 41-38 lead with 5:57 to go into the game.
Anya Choice brought UCSB within one point, with a time of 5:34 left. But at the final 5:23 the Gauchos will go goalless again. He missed his next seven shots and had two turnovers on that stretch.
A basket from Lane with 11 seconds left cut UCR's lead to two, but the Highlanders iced the game at the free-throw line.