An offensive rebound and put-back by Cal State Fullerton’s Cristina Jones with one second remaining erased a thrilling UC Santa Barbara comeback and lifted the visiting Titans to a 62-61 victory on New Year’s Day at the Thunderdome.
The narrow loss snapped the Gauchos’ nine-game winning streak, as their good fortune in tight games finally ran out.
“We lost it on an offensive rebound. We really didn’t deserve to win that game. We were really lucky to even have the opportunity, but to then lose on the one thing we were talking about was tough,” said UC Santa Barbara coach Renee Jimenez, referring to Cal State Fullerton’s rebounding dominance. “We didn’t decide to change quickly enough.”
A contrast in styles between the two teams created several statistical anomalies that ultimately swung the game toward the Titans. Cal State Fullerton took 73 shots, while UCSB managed only 42. The huge disparity in field-goal attempts was caused primarily by the Gauchos’ 27 turnovers and the Titans’ 24 offensive rebounds.
Cal State Fullerton pressed relentlessly from the opening tip until the final buzzer, a strategy that has made the Titans the Division I leaders in turnovers forced.
Despite the pressure, the Gauchos were in control for the majority of the first three quarters due to incredible shooting from three-point range. UCSB shot 7-of-12 from beyond the arc in the first half and 11-of-23 overall, led by Jessica Grant, who finished with a team-high 12 points on 4-for-7 shooting from deep off the bench.
Grant opened the second quarter with a three-pointer that increased the UCSB lead to 25-18, but Cal State Fullerton responded with an 11–2 run capped by a Jana Falsdottir steal that led to a Maddy Tauro transition layup, giving the Titans a 29–27 lead at the 4:42 mark of the second quarter.
However, the Gauchos finished the first half strong and took a 37-33 lead into the locker room at halftime.
UCSB maintained control in the third quarter but went cold in the fourth, shooting 1-for-6 from three-point range. Meanwhile, the Titans ramped up the pressure and took a 58-52 lead on a Dylan Swindle layup with 4:44 remaining.
Trailing 60-54 with 35 seconds left, Zoe Shaw gave the Gauchos life with a step-back three-pointer, cutting the deficit to 60-57. After a UCSB steal on the ensuing Fullerton possession, Shaw broke free from the Titans’ pressure and was fouled on a layup attempt. She converted both free throws to trim the Titans’ lead to 60-59 with 31 seconds remaining.
The Gauchos then forced Cal State Fullerton into a travel with 28 seconds left, and Skylar Burke rebounded a Zoe Borter three-point attempt that was blocked. Burke made a short jumper and was fouled but missed the ensuing free throw, giving UCSB a 61-60 lead with 10 seconds to play.
The Titans rebounded the miss, raced up the court, and after a missed layup, Jones grabbed the offensive rebound and converted from close range with one second remaining.
“One thing we’ve learned how to do is execute in close games, and I thought we did a great job executing down the stretch,” Jimenez said. “But your luck’s going to run out. You can put yourselves in positions to win, but we probably had three games where we won on either a buzzer-beater or with three seconds left. At some point, your luck’s going to run out, and it’s going to go the other way.”
With the loss, UCSB dropped to 10-2 overall and 2-1 in Big West Conference play.
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