Gauchos beat Long Beach State to clinch first-round conference tournament bye

The path to another Big West Conference Tournament title got a bit easier for the UCSB women’s basketball team after earning a first-round bye. The Gauchos beat Long Beach State 59-50 to secure the bye in next week’s tournament.

Trailing by four at halftime, UCSB used a 7-1 scoring run to start the second half and never trailed again. Sweets Underwood recorded another double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds while Angelei Aguirre added 13 points. Nicole Nesbit contributed 12 points and 8 assists for the defending Big West Conference Tournament champions.