Lethal Behind the Arc, Gauchos Are Big West Contenders

Year two of the Renee Jimenez coaching era has exceeded all expectations as the UC Santa Barbara women’s basketball team has rolled to a 12-2 record and solidified itself as a contender in the Big West Conference.

The Gauchos have built a formidable identity based on versatility, elite shooting, and grit that has paid dividends in close games. In their most recent victory over UC Davis on January 8, the Gauchos were without key contributors Maddie Naro and Skylar Burke due to injury, but they grinded out a 55-47 win that saddled the Aggies with their first Big West conference loss.

“I feel like the close games we had early in the non-conference really set us up for a game like tonight where you have to find different ways to win, find different ways to score, and get other players to step up,” said Jimenez, who captured her 300th coaching victory with the win. “On a night when you are not shooting well, you have to be able to defend.”

A bad shooting night was an understatement as the two best three-point shooting teams in the Big West conference combined for seven for 50 from three-point range. With their three-for-22 effort against the Aggies notwithstanding, the Gauchos are lethal from behind the arc, and it has been a key to their success.

“What we decided is that we have to space the floor, and we have to shoot a lot of three-pointers,” said Jimenez of her staff’s reflection in the offseason. “We dove into the data and the numbers, and we were like, ‘We need to shoot more threes. We have a group that can shoot it and want to recruit kids that can shoot it.’”

The ability of starting bigs Zoe Borter and Olivia Bradley to stretch the defense makes the Gauchos an extremely tough cover, and what they each lack in size they more than make up for in skill and determination.

“Teams have a really hard time guarding bigger players on the perimeter like Borter and Bradley,” Jimenez said. “That just presents such a mismatch challenge, and they can score with their backs to the basket.”

At 6′1″, Bradley often has to battle against huge post players such as UCLA All-American Lauren Betts, who stands at 6′7″, but she never backs down. The No. 4–ranked Bruins handed the Gauchos their lone lopsided defeat of the season thus far, an 80-57 setback at Pauley Pavilion on November 6. 

In a matchup against Grand Canyon on November 15, the visiting Antelopes struggled to match up with Bradley and Borter on the perimeter, and their 6′4″ starting center Holly Griffiths only played seven minutes in a 72-70 UCSB victory.

“That shows you the versatility and the issues they present for a true big on the other team,” said Jimenez of the Grand Canyon win. “They’ve presented such a nightmare matchup for other team’s post players and forwards that we’ve really been able to ride their coattails a little bit.”

The reality of modern-day college basketball is that the transfer portal is an essential aspect of roster building, and a couple of key portal additions in Maddie Naro, a transfer from Santa Clara, and Zoe Shaw, a transfer from St. Bonaventure, has accelerated the program rebuilding under Jimenez.

“We went out and got Maddie Naro and we got Zoe Shaw, two guards that shot a high percentage at their previous schools,” Jimenez said. “We built it around that and worked really hard at it. I don’t think we realized that we would have this much success this early.”

Another high point when it comes to the Gauchos’ shooting is the return of senior Jessica Grant, who has emerged as one of the top three-point shooters in all of college basketball. Grant is currently shooting 50 percent from three-point range, which is the second-highest percentage in all of NCAA Division 1.

Grant came into UCSB after a prolific high school career from behind the arc where she captured the San Diego County record for three-pointers in a season and the California record for three-pointers in a career, and led the entire country in three-pointers made during her senior season with 162.

UCSB is battling at the top of the Big West standings with UC Irvine and UC San Diego, both of whom are unbeaten in conference play. The Gauchos suffered a 62-61 loss to Cal State Fullerton on New Year’s Day and currently sit in third place with a 4-1 record in Big West Conference play.

Up next for the Gauchos is a matchup with Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday, January 15, at the Thunderdome. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.