The UC Santa Barbara women’s basketball team did many things well in a critical Big West Conference contest against visiting University of Hawaii, but shooting wasn’t one of them.
The Gauchos endured a prolonged shooting slump and came up short in a defensive slugfest with the Rainbow Warriors, 58–52, on Saturday afternoon at the Thunderdome.
“We really tried to focus on drawing two and kicking. I mean, we got wide-open shots. I don’t think we knew that we would take 40 (three-pointers), but we thought we would make some, which would open up lanes and we’d get good stuff to the rim,” said UCSB coach Renee Jimenez. “Even when we got stuff to the rim, we were so shocked that we got there that we missed layups.”
UCSB came into the game a half-game ahead of Hawaii in the Big West standings, but the Rainbow Warriors were red-hot, having won 10 of their last 11 games. They also enjoyed size advantages at every position, which made attacking the rim a risky proposition for the Gauchos.
As a result, UCSB launched from beyond the three-point arc early and often, but finished an abysmal 10-for-41 from three-point range (24.4 percent) and 17-for-64 on field goals overall (26.6 percent).
The Gauchos were held scoreless until the 6:16 mark of the first quarter, when Skylar Burke knocked down a three-pointer that tied the score at three apiece.
Burke came into the game with only four made three-pointers on the season but made three in the first quarter alone to keep the Gauchos afloat. Her final three-pointer of the quarter came with 29 seconds left and gave UCSB a 12–10 lead.
However, Hawaii’s lead ballooned to 24–17 at the 3:42 mark of the second quarter on two free throws by Saniyah Neverson.
The Gauchos were not deterred by the deficit and closed the first half on an 8–3 run, capped off by a basket inside by Julia Puente-Valverde that trimmed Hawaii’s lead to 27–25 at the break.
A driving layup by Olivia Bradley gave the Gauchos a 35–34 lead with 40 seconds remaining in the third quarter. However, the Hawaii offense came alive in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Gauchos 22–17 to pull away.
“Our defense was really solid until the fourth quarter,” Jimenez said. “We spend so much time in the gym, and they put so much work into our shooting that they have to believe it’s going in.”
UCSB was led offensively by Burke, who scored a game-high 16 points. Zoe Borter and Chauncey Anderson chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively. The Gauchos will travel to UC Riverside on Thursday, February 26. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
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