Overview:
The Gauchos will open next week’s Big West Conference Tournament in Henderson, Nevada with a 2:30 p.m. game against No. 7 seed UC Riverside.
Mark Twain once declared that there are “lies, damned lies, and statistics.”
A tried-and-true statistic bore false witness to the UC Santa Barbara women’s basketball team on Saturday.
The Gaucho offense clicked well enough to score over 63 points at UC San Diego, and that had been good enough to gain victory 17 out of 17 times this season.
But corrupting that number Saturday were the 19 turnovers that led to their 72-65 defeat.
“This game really came down to turnovers,” UCSB coach Renee Jimenez said. “We aren’t a team that turns the ball over 19 times a game — that’s really uncharacteristic of us.
“And against teams like UCSD, they are going to take advantage of those moments.”
The Gauchos (20-9, 12-8 Big West Conference) finished the regular season in sixth place in the league standings.
They will play seventh-place UC Riverside (10-20, 8-12) at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the first round of the conference tournament at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada.
“We have some great growth in the last three weeks and we need to ride this momentum into the Big West tourney,” Jimenez said. “We are probably one of the scariest No. 6 seeds and a team you don’t want to see on your side of the bracket.
“I love our chances to make some noise in Henderson.”
UCSB shot a healthy 46.2% overall and 38.5% from three-point range (10-for-26). The Tritons shot 46%, but the 19 turnovers they forced gave them 11 more shots than the Gauchos and eight more free throws.
UC San Diego (22-8, 17-3) finished as Big West co-champion with UC Irvine but had to settle for the No. 2 seed for the league tournament.
Zoe Borter had a big night for UCSB, making 8-of-10 shots which included 5-of-6 three-pointers to finish with 21 points.
The Gauchos made 6-of-14 threes in the first half and shot 48.1% overall to take a 36-33 lead.
They missed four straight threes to get outscored 11-2 to start the second half, however, while falling behind 44-38.
“There were some points in the game where we could have folded, and the January version of us would have, so I give our players a lot of credit for the resolve they showed to fight back and keep it a game,” Jimenez said.
Borter restored control with a pull-up jumper and a three on back-to-back possessions to get UCSB back to within 44-43.
A step-back three by Zoe Shaw tied the game at 46-all.
The Gauchos pulled ahead, 60-59, when Olivia Bradley converted a three-point play with 4:47 to go. She finished with 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Lev Feiman scored three baskets and Makayla Rose added another in the next 2½ minutes to put San Diego ahead 65-60 with 3:12 to go.
Shaw’s three gave the Gauchos life with 1:33 left, 67-65. A fall-down, fadeaway jumper by Rose and two free throws by Sabrina Ma, however, sealed the Tritons’ victory.
Rose led all scorers with 25 points while Feiman added 16.
“I’m proud of our kids,” Jimenez said. “I think we have shown that we are capable and can play with all the best teams in the Big West.
“We have to have belief down the stretch that we can finish games against the top teams.”