Seven Gauchos reached double figures as the UCSB women’s basketball team scored more points than it ever has before on Sunday in a 117-28 win over Bethesda.
UCSB was led by forward Taylor Mole‘s 16 points (6-8 FG), as the team went for season-highs in field goals (49), rebounds (54), assists (34) and steals with a season-low six turnovers.
It didn’t take long for the Gauchos (4-3) to establish their dominance. They jumped out to a 16-0 lead in the first five minutes and led 27-11 after one.
UCSB held the Lady Flames to just two points in the second quarter, taking a 58-13 lead into halftime.
During the second half, UCSB got everyone involved throughout the game, crossing the 100-point mark for the first time this year on a Kennedy Johnson jumper to make it 101-21 early in the fourth.
Johnson later pulled in an offensive rebound and put it back up and in to give the Gauchos a 115-28 advantage, breaking a record set back in 1998 for the most points ever scored by the program.
UCSB shot 53.3 percent from the field as a team, crossing the 50 percent mark for the second straight game and the second time this season.
Of the seven Gauchos to reach double-digits, Taylor Mole (16 points), Laurel Rockwood (13), Kennedy Johnson (12), and Kiana Vierra (10) all set season-bests.
All-time program highs last met in 1998 (114 points vs. Cal Poly; 44 field goals and 30 assists vs. Northwestern) were surpassed on Sunday.
Point guard Danae Miller scored 11 points on 5-of-6 (83.3%) from the field. It was the second-most efficient shooting day of her career, behind only a 5-of-5 outing in a win over UC Irvine back on Jan. 31, 2019. She was honored before the game for becoming the 28th member of the program to reach 1,000 career points.
UCSB honored Miller with a commemorative 1,000 point basketball. She is the 28th player in Gaucho history to join the 1,000 point club.
The Gauchos will play just two more games before the start of conference play on Dec. 30 vs. UC San Diego. Their next game will pit them against Sacramento State at 4 p.m. Saturday at UCSB Thunderdome.
email: sports@newspress.com.