Borter and big second half leads UCSB to comeback win at Northridge
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NORTHRIDGE, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara Women's Basketball team (11-9, 5-5 Big West) put together back-to-back 25-point quarters to overcome a slow start against CSUN (3-16, 1-9 Big West) on Thursday, defeating the Matadors, 68-53, in Northridge. Zoe Borter led the second-half charge for Santa Barbara, finishing the game with 20 points on a career-high eight made field goals. Alyssa Marin added 12 points for the Gauchos and Jessica Grant nine more on 3-of-6 shooting from three-point land. Skylar Burke topped the team charts in both assists and rebounds, with five of each.
FROM HEAD COACH RENEE JIMENEZ
"Our defense and rebounding continues to give us chances to win," Jimenez said. "The last few games, it has really felt like there was a lit on the basket and we just couldn't break through on the offensive end, but today we were able to start shooting the ball and finishing with confidence in the second half. I'm proud of our kids and the resilience they have shown these last couple weeks. We have been telling them over and over that those shots will fall but that they need to shoot them with confidence. It was nice to see that happening for them, they deserved this one."
HOW IT HAPPENED
Despite the 11 a.m. tipoff, both teams got off to fast starts, with Laurel Rockwood the focal point of Santa Barbara's early offense. She scored the Gauchos' first six points of the day, matching her season high inside five minutes, but was unfortunately forced to the bench due to an injury before she could improve on that. At the first media timeout, the Gauchos were down one, 10-9. Santa Barbara re-took the lead with a nifty layup from Anya Choice, but then the Blue and Gold's offense cooled, going scoreless over the final three minutes of the first quarter. The Gauchos trailed, 18-13, after the first 10 minutes, and things did not get much better in the second quarter. Not offensively, anyway.
Kanani Coon hit a three-pointer a minute and a half into the second quarter, which turned out to be one of just two field goals the Gauchos made in the frame, the other being a Choice layup with 16 seconds left in the half. However, while Santa Barbara's offense only mustered five points, their defense held the Matadors to just six of their own, keeping the game well within reach.
And the Gauchos came out of halftime firing. A Cayla Williams three-pointer and a couple layups from Borter highlighted a 10-5 scoring run that had the Gauchos down just one, 29-28, at the media timeout, and Santa Barbara kept that momentum going after the break, assembling a 10-4 run to not only retake the lead but stretch it to a 39-33 advantage with 1:53 left to play in the third. Borter was heavily involved, contributing seven of those 10 points.
The Matadors did claw their way back into the game, though Marin's six points in the final two minutes of the third kept Santa Barbara in front. Heading into the fourth quarter, the score was 43-39, in favor of the Gauchos. Santa Barbara turned that four-point margin into an 11-point one in a blink of an eye though. Coon made a layup on the first possession of the quarter, then Borter hit a jumper the next time down. After a Matador turnover, Grant drained a three-pointer and CSUN called timeout. It was not enough to stop the Gauchos' momentum though, and Santa Barbara kept right on rolling to the final buzzer. The Matadors only came as close as seven points from the Gauchos, getting there with three minutes left to play, but a three-pointer from Borter and a layup from Burke quickly restored Santa Barbara's double-digit advantage. With CSUN fouling late, it finished as a 15-point win for the Blue and Gold.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Gauchos scored 25 points in both the third and fourth quarters of Thursday morning's game, their first game with multiple 20-point quarters since their 80-66 win on Dec. 5 at UC San Diego. The 25 points are also the Gauchos' largest single-quarter haul since putting up 28 in that December meeting with the Tritons.
Zoe Borter's 20-point outing on Thursday was her first ever against a Big West opponent and just the second of her career. The first came on Nov. 30 against Seattle U.
As a team, the Gauchos shot 52.9% (18-of-34) from inside the arc on Thursday.
(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics)