Gauchos give #15 UCLA a scare but can’t finish off the Bruins in 68-57 loss

UC SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - A fantastic start had UCSB in position to stun #15 UCLA.

The Gauchos led 20-4 after one quarter and scored the first two points of the second quarter for an 18 point lead over the Bruins.

But UCLA finally got their offense going and slowly reeled the Gauchos in as the Bruins got out of Santa Barbara with a 68-57 victory.

It was Alumni Night at UCSB as the Gauchos welcomed back more than a dozen of their past players.

Of course the star Gaucho alum was on the UCLA bench as Cori Close is the head coach of the Bruins.

She is in the UCSB Athletics Hall of Fame as she both played and coached at UCSB.

For awhile it didn't look like it would be a happy return for Close.

Alyssa Marin scored a team-high 17 points for UCSB and when the Camarillo High School-alum banked in a three-pointer at the end of the first quarter, the Thunderdome erupted as the Gauchos led by 16 points.

UCSB saw their lead cut to 8 points at the half and they entered the fourth quarter trailing 48-44.

UCLA was led by Charisma Osborne who tallied a game-high 19 points.

Bruins freshman Gabriela Jaquez, a former teammate of Marin at Camarillo, scored 12 points to help UCLA move to 8-1.

Senior Ila Lane scored 13 points while freshman Jessica Grant made 4 three-pointers and scored 12 points for the 5-2 Gauchos.