MORAGA – In its first of two games at the Saint Mary’s Thanksgiving Classic, the UCSB women’s basketball team fell to California Baptist on Friday by a final score of 68-56.
The Gauchos are now 2-2 on the year, while CBU improves to 3-1.
There were 10 ties and six lead changes in a back-and-forth first 13 minutes of the game. Junior point guard Johnni Gonzalez opened and ended the first quarter with two of her four three-pointers, sending it into the second all knotted at 15-15.
An 8-0 Lancer spurt would give them their first double-digit lead, 30-20, with 5:44 to go in the second. UCSB trailed by as many as 11 points in the opening half, before junior center Ila Lane led a 9-2 Gaucho run to cut the deficit to 38-34 heading into halftime.
UCSB still trailed by 10 early in the fourth quarter. Although she struggled with her shot for most of the day, point guard Danae Miller put in a slick reverse layup in transition and got a jumper to bounce in on the next possession to bring UCSB back within striking distance down 56-52 with 6:53 remaining.
From there, the Gauchos went cold, making just 1-of-15 field goal attempts over the final six minutes as CBU ended the game on a 12-4 run.
Lane recorded her second consecutive double-double, leading the Gauchos with 15 points and 10 rebounds on 6-of-13 (46.2%) from the field.
Miller returned to the lineup following a one-game absence and had a strong day distributing the ball and hitting the glass, achieving season-bests in rebounds (8) and assists (5). However, her back-to-back fourth quarter buckets were her only points of the day.
Accounting for two-thirds of the Gauchos’ three-point makes was Gonzalez, who knocked down 4-of-9 (44.4%) from range for a season-high 12 points.
Junior guard Alexis Tucker was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line for 12 points. She is the only Gaucho to reach double-figures three times so far this season.
UCSB kept CBU off the line, as the Lancers went just 5-of-9 (55.6%) on free throws. The Gauchos were an efficient 14-for-17 (82.4%) from the charity stripe.
The Gauchos shot a season-low 27.7 percent as a team, but outrebounded their opponent for the first time this season, taking a slight 42-41 edge on the glass.
On a day where both teams shot under 27 percent from three, CBU took a huge advantage in points in the paint (48-22).
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