Sophomore guard Zoe Shaw scored a career-high 29 points as the UC Santa Barbara women’s basketball team defeated visiting UC Davis 69-61 on Thursday night.
The win marked the Gauchos’ second victory over the Aggies this season. With the victory, the UCSB improved to 16-5 overall and 8-4 in the Big West Conference.
“We’ve known what she could be. I just told her to be more aggressive, and this is a huge game for her,” said UC Santa Barbara coach Renee Jimenez of Shaw’s performance. “Hopefully this is a really big shift of confidence for her, but I was really, really proud of her tonight and she played 39 minutes, so it was really impressive.”
UC Davis opened the game with a three-pointer in the opening seconds and led 14-12 after the first quarter. Shaw countered early with a three of her own and would go on to make seven shots from beyond the arc.
UC Santa Barbara took control in the second quarter with an eight-point run. Shaw scored all of the Gauchos’ points in the latter half of the period, totaling eight points in the quarter, as Santa Barbara outscored Davis 19-9 to take a 31-23 halftime lead.
The Gauchos extended their advantage early in the third quarter with an 11-0 run, pushing the lead to 45-26. UC Davis responded with a 12-2 run before the end of the quarter, cutting the deficit to 47-38.
The fourth quarter featured frequent trips to the free-throw line, with 18 total attempts between the teams. UC Davis narrowed the margin to seven points multiple times, but Santa Barbara maintained control. Shaw scored 12 points in the final period to help secure the win.
Shaw finished the game shooting 7-of-13 from three-point range and 56 percent overall. Her 29 points were the highest by a Gaucho this season. Zoe Borter added 14 points for UCSB, while Maddie Naro recorded five assists and freshman Chauncey Andersen led the team with nine rebounds.
UC Santa Barbara will travel to face UC Irvine on Saturday, Feb. 7, at 2 p.m. at the Bren Events Center.
