Big third quarter lifts UCSB women’s basketball to win at UCSD in Big West opener

SAN DIEGO, Calif. - The UC Santa Barbara Women's Basketball team was nearly unstoppable in the second half of their Thursday night contest at UC San Diego, racking up 49 points over the final two quarters thanks in large part to the leadership of fifth-year guard Alyssa Marin, who scored 18 points in the second half and a game-high 29 on the night. She and Jessica Grant led a three-point barrage in that second half, with Marin going 3-for-4 and Grant 4-for-5 from beyond the arc on the evening. Marin's final three ball of the night marked her 950th career point, moving her closer to the 1,000-point milestone. Grant finished with 14 points herself, a season high for the junior.

With the win, UC Santa Barbara improves to 6-3 (1-0 Big West) on the young season, while UC San Diego falls to 1-8 (0-1 Big West).

FROM HEAD COACH RENEE JIMENEZ
"It's great to start off conference play with a big win on the road," Jimenez said. "UC San Diego's record doesn't reflect how tough of a team they are, so I'm proud of our kids for grinding that game out. Jessica was big-time for us off the bench and was really able to break the game open for us with her perimeter shooting. It's always fun for kids to come back to their hometown and have such a great game. I'm really happy for her."

HOW IT HAPPENED
The first half was a back-and-forth battle, with the Gauchos having the upper hand for most of the first quarter. Skylar Burke keyed Santa Barbara's offense early, scoring the Gauchos' first three points of the game, but Santa Barbara found themselves in a 7-3 hole after two minutes of action. Marin knocked down a jumper to cut the lead down, then Zoe Borter sank a pair of free throws to tie the game and Burke put the Gauchos back in front, 9-7, with a fadeaway jumper. The score stayed that way for two minutes before Borter added to Santa Barbara's advantage. Marin collected four more points from the free throw line by the end of the quarter, though by that time UC San Diego had gotten much closer. At the end of the period, the Gauchos' lead was only 15-13.

In the second quarter, the momentum swung the way of the hosting Tritons, who led for most of the frame. Santa Barbara trailed by as many as seven in the quarter but never fell out of reach, with Marin breaking what had been a cold streak from three-point land for the Gauchos as well as late baskets from Borter and Cayla Williams to keep the deficit at just four points heading into halftime, down 31-35.

Coming out of halftime, the Gauchos nearly doubled their first-half scoring output in the third quarter alone, dropping 28 points in the frame. Marin and Grant started the comeback by engineering an 11-0 run just a minute into the quarter. Marin converted an and-one, then Grant knocked down a rare two-point basket before connecting from her usual range beyond the arc. When Marin drilled her second three-pointer of the night with just over five minutes left, it put Santa Barbara up, 44-37. After the teams went back-and-forth for a couple minutes, Grant drilled another three-pointer, which Martha Pietsch and Marin followed with three-balls of their own for a quick 9-0 Gaucho run. At the end of the quarter, the score was 59-45 in favor of Santa Barbara.

Kanani Coon had scored the last basket of the third, and the Gauchos kept the momentum rolling right into the fourth quarter, with Pietsch making a layup the first time down and Grant nailing her fourth long-range basket of the night to balloon the lead to 19 points, the largest of the evening. The Tritons never came within less than 12 points for the remainder of the game, as the Gauchos continued to attack the basket. Nine of Santa Barbara's 21 fourth quarter points came from the free throw line, with seven of those made by Marin.

UP NEXT
The Gauchos will return to the Thunderdome for their next game, the home Big West opener against UC Davis on Saturday, Nov. 7. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. against the Aggies, and fans can also catch all the action wherever they are by watching live on ESPN+ or with live stats available through ucsbgauchos.com.

(Article courtesy of UCSB Athletics)