UC Santa Barbara issued another spoiler alert in the Big West Conference women’s basketball race.
The Gauchos knocked off title contender UC Irvine, 62-52, with a second-half comeback Thursday night at the Thunderdome.
UCSB (14-10 overall), which is tied for fifth place in the Big West with an 8-6 record, has now defeated all four of the teams ahead of it in the league standings.
“My goal this year was to try to get all the guys at the top at least once,” Gaucho coach Renee Jimenez said. “It really sets us up nicely going into the conference tournament where we’re not like trying to slay a giant that we hadn’t slayed before.”
UCSB recovered from a 37-30 deficit by holding the Anteaters (16-7, 10-3) to 3-for-24 shooting in the final 16:54.
Fifth-year seniors Alyssa Marin and Anya Choice both emerged from shooting slumps to lead the victory with a combined 33 points.
Marin, who had made just 4-of-27 shots in the previous four games, led all scorers with 18 points. She sank 6-of-13 shots including 3-of-6 three-pointers while handing out five assists with just one turnover.
“It was really frustrating,” Marin said of her slump. “I talked to coach, honestly, right before this game, and she put all the confidence in me, no matter what.
“You wouldn’t think I had the games I’ve been having the way coach has been talking to me and the way she’s been telling me to keep on shooting.”
Choice, who’d averaged only 3.5 points in UCSB’s previous 13 games, scored a season-high 15 on Thursday. She made 5-of-9 shots, 1-of-2 threes, and all four of her free throws.
She scored during the Gauchos’ 11-to-5 run to start the game, and then beat the buzzer with a corner three to tie the score at 18-all at the end of the first quarter.
“I definitely felt really good,” Choice said. “I think what relaxed me the most was the other things I was doing, like the rebounds.
“I dove on the floor for two or three loose balls, and that helped a lot, too … Just filling out that stat sheet in other categories helps with my confidence on offense.”
Choice had four rebounds and two of UCSB’s four steals.
Deja Lee needed less than six minutes to score Irvine’s first 11 points. But the Gauchos’ defense held her to just 1-for-7 shooting the rest of the game and 16 points total.
Hunter Hernandez picked up the slack with 15 points. She made the first two baskets of the third quarter to give the Anteaters a 37-30 lead. But Irvine shot just 1-for-10 the rest of the period.
The Gauchos out-shot the Anteaters 43.8% to 31% for the game and also out-rebounded them 36-33.
Jimenez turned the tide on Thursday by bringing in reserves Olivia Bradley, Kanani Coon and Jessica Grant to join starters Laurel Rockwood and Marin.
“Out of halftime, we were slow and sluggish, and we just felt like our legs were heavy and tired,” she said. “We just needed something different, and that group came in and were ready to go and were engaged.
“Defensively, we really locked in on, ‘Can we play all five guys, whoever is on the court, together at the same time?’ I have to give a really big compliment to Liv, Laurel, Lyss, Kanani and Jess.
“That group of five came in and got us that six-, seven-point lead, and that was the turning point in the game for us.”
Bradley grabbed five rebounds in just 14 minutes to share the team lead with Skylar Burke. Burke also had 12 points.
Marin started the fourth quarter with back-to-back threes to boost UCSB’s lead to 54-40.
“Honestly, I give all the credit to my teammates because of how aggressive we all have been getting down into the paint and not looking just for our own shot, but looking to get other people open,” Marin said. “Being able to play more fluid with each other and work off each other instead of playing one-on-one, that’s helped me immensely.”
Lee’s three trimmed the Gaucho lead to 56-51 with 1:19 to go. But Choice beat the Anteaters’ full-court press by throwing a long pass to Burke for fast-break layup.
Choice added four free throws in the final 48 seconds to snuff out Irvine’s last hopes. Her 15 points marked her first double-digit performance since she scored 11 against UC Davis on Dec. 7.
“She did other things that helped us win, and the offense was just a byproduct of that,” Jimenez said. “Because she was doing so well defensively and rebounding, it really allowed her to play free and with confidence.
“This is the Anya she and I have been waiting for.”
The Gauchos will return to the Thunderdome on Saturday for a 4 p.m. game against UC Riverside.