Historic Gaucho Glory Reigned for the 1999-2000 Women’s Basketball Team

Where Are They Now? Looking Back on Santa Barbara’s NCAA March Madness of 25 Years Ago

The 1999-2000 UCSB Basketball Media Guide cover, featuring Erin Buescher | Photo: John Zant

March Madness was raging in Santa Barbara 25 years ago. On the heels of a 30-win season, a 26-game winning streak, and a top-15 national ranking, UCSB was one of the schools chosen to host the first two rounds of the 2000 NCAA women’s basketball tournament.

It was a memorable time in the life of Cori Close, who is about to venture into the 2025 tournament as head coach of UCLA’s No. 1–ranked team. A few days after the Bruins won the Big 10 tournament title and achieved their own 30-win season for the first time, Close reflected on the week the Gauchos were the talk of the town.

“I’ll never forget the way the community came out,” she said. People lined up hours before the tickets went on sale at the Thunderdome, and the entire allotment of 5,800 sold out in 90 minutes.

“I used to be so excited when we got 200 people to a game,” Close recalled of her playing days in the early ‘90s, the start of the Gaucho women’s grassroots journey. “UCSB taught me how to dream, how to build things. Mark French was so formidable.”

French, a former UCSB baseball player, was the architect of the program. He assembled a coaching staff of fellow alums — Close and Barb Beainy, outstanding players in 1992 when the Gauchos first made it to the NCAAs, and Tony Newnan, a basketball junkie who started helping French out in 1990.

Newnan has been at Close’s side throughout her 14-year tenure at UCLA.

The Gauchos made 12 appearances in the NCAAs during French’s career. Two were especially noteworthy: in 1992, with a gutsy team that fought Stanford down to the wire in the second round; and 2004, when Connecticut staved off the Gauchos in the Sweet 16.

But the 1999-2000 season was in many ways the most spectacular, a 34-game extravaganza of drama, comedy, and tragedy.

Cori Close, now the head coach of the No. 1-ranked UCLA women | Photo: Courtesy

Early on, the Gauchos went east and upset Illinois. During their winning streak, they throttled Oregon, USC, Nebraska, and Vanderbilt. Along with a spotless record in the Big West, all those wins were necessary to keep UCSB in the running for a home date in the Big Dance.

Game nights in the Thunderdome became an event, as the Gaucho women went through their layup line to the tune of Lou Bega’s “Mambo No. 5.”

There was a trio of seniors: Stacy Clinesmith, a dynamic point guard from Washington; forward Kristi Rohr, the pride of the Santa Ynez Valley, on her way to becoming UCSB’s career scoring leader; and shooting guard Tawnée Cooper. Their most talented player was versatile 6′3″ junior Erin Buescher, a three-time Big West Player of the Year, who captivated fans with her joyful presence on the court. Another junior was forward Nicole Greathouse, an all-star athlete from Ventura. Kayte Christensen, a high-intensity sophomore, was a starter until she broke her wrist in late January. Freshman guards Jess Hansen and Debby Caine were future stalwarts.

They developed a passionate following in the community, a scenario that foreshadowed the way the nation was recently swept up by Caitlin Clark and a new generation of players, turning last year’s women’s NCAA tournament into a bigger TV draw than the men’s.

Buescher, whose braids were copied by little girls, was Santa Barbara’s Clark. But unlike Clark, the UCSB star did not thrive in the spotlight. “Erin was always super friendly and seemed outgoing, but she was very private,” said Christensen, who works now as TV analyst for the NBA’s Sacramento Kings.

Buescher liked to have fun. She would leave game tickets for Leonardo DiCaprio at will-call (he never showed up). Once, she whimsically attempted a half-court shot for no discernible reason — neither the game clock nor the shot clock was an issue.

But as the 2000 NCAA tournament approached, a spectral anxiety seemed to lurk in the air. French tried to lighten the mood by dyeing his hair blond to resemble Clinesmith’s. “It’s not about my hair,” he said. “It’s about our season, our women. I hope everybody gets a hoot for two or three minutes and then pay attention to the game.”

Tragedy may be too strong a word to describe what happened in front of a sold-out Thunderdome on the night of March 18, 2000, but the world of sports produces such emotional highs and lows that an outcome can feel tragic.

After North Carolina ousted Maine in the opening game of the NCAA tournament, the Gauchos took the floor against Rice. From the opening tip, it was a struggle. The Owls used their quickness to interrupt the flow of UCSB’s game. It came down to the final seconds with the Gauchos trailing, 67-64. They ran a play for Greathouse, who had an open look from three-point range (she was three-for-three to that point). The shot caromed off the rim. A great season came down to a sad end.

“I remember leaving the building and hiding in my room,” Close said. “I cried, talked, and went on long runs.”

But any coach or player will tell you that they learn more from setbacks than from successes, and the Gauchos got it right the next time they hosted a Big Dance in 2004. They dominated Colorado in the opening round and then won a thriller against Houston to punch their ticket to the Sweet 16.

“I needed to be tougher, not my natural approach,” said French, who retired after the 2007-08 season.

The moneyed power conferences rule Division 1 basketball now, and UCSB cannot compete nationally as it did 25 years ago. Close is coaching at the highest level. She is taking lessons learned while working with French — and from a relationship with the late John Wooden — while dealing with the stratospheric expectations at UCLA.

Legendary basketball coach John Wooden (second from left), with UCSB coaches Cori Close (left), Tony Newnan, and Mark French | Photo: Courtesy

“Santa Barbara was such a huge piece of my life — who I was becoming as a young woman, a coach, and a human being,” she said. “Now there’s more money, more TV, bigger crowds, but the mission hasn’t changed. I still want to teach, mentor, and equip young women for life beyond UCLA and basketball.”

Here’s how some of the players of the 1999-2000 Gauchos turned out:

Buescher shockingly transferred from UCSB to The Master’s, a small Christian college, before her senior year. She played professionally in the WNBA and in Greece, where she lives with her husband and three children. “I saw her in Greece,” Christensen said. “She grew up a lot. We were all such kids then.”

Greathouse teaches math at a high school in Texas where her son, Jaden, was a standout in football and basketball. Jaden Greathouse was a star receiver at Notre Dame last season, scoring two touchdowns in the national championship game against Ohio State.

Clinesmith has been assistant coach of the Gonzaga women’s team the past 11 years and was recently inducted into the Inland Northwest Sports Hall of Fame.

Rohr lives in Oregon, the mother of three girls she coaches in youth leagues. She took time off from teaching to deal with breast cancer, the news of which “had my UCSB teammates coming out of the woodwork.”

Looking back at her Gaucho years, Rohr said, “We didn’t realize at the time how special it was. It lasted for a while. That was pretty good.”