NORTHRIDGE — UC Santa Barbara’s stretch run in the Big West Conference women’s basketball race got some traction with Thursday’s big finish at Cal State Northridge.
The Gauchos outscored the Matadors 15-4 in the final 4:35 to pull away for a 74-58 victory.
UCSB (18-7, 10-6 Big West), which had lost four of its previous six games, showed enough depth to go the distance against CSUN (8-16, 4-11) on Thursday.
“It was really nice to finally have our entire lineup back on the floor tonight,” Gaucho coach Renee Jimenez said. “Between losing Maddie (Naro) and Sky (Burke) in January, and then dealing with the flu the last few weeks, this was the first game since January 8 where we’ve had a full, healthy bench.
“That makes such a difference … not just in rotations, but in energy and confidence.”
The victory brings the Gauchos to within one game of fourth-place Cal State Fullerton (15-11, 11-5) in the Big West standings. The top four teams receive a bye in the first round of the Big West Tournament.
UCSB’s 12 three-pointers (in 32 attempts) on Thursday were the most it’s made since its 14-for-28 night at Long Beach State 17 games ago on December 4.
Its 37.5% shooting from three was also its best in 10 games since it made 40% against Cal State Bakersfield on January 15.
The Gauchos, who were ranked second nationally at that time with a three-point accuracy of 39.5%, had dropped to 63rd place with a mark of 33.9% by the start of Thursday’s game.
Zoe Borter led the way by making 4-of-8 threes and scoring 20 points while playing 39 of the game’s 40 minutes.
“Zoe has been so solid for us all season,” Jimenez said. “She takes on the challenge of guarding the other team’s best player every single night, and at the same time she’s been our leading scorer.
“She logs the most minutes and, really, anything you ask her to do, she does it and she does it at an extremely high level.”
Borter made all three of her attempts from three in the first quarter to stake UCSB to a 23-14 lead. The margin increased to 36-26 by halftime.
“She sets the tone for us with her toughness, consistency and willingness to do whatever the team needs to win,” Jimenez said.
The Gauchos blunted a comeback by CSUN in the third quarter when Jessica Grant made a pair of threes to prop up their lead to 50-43.
A three-point play by the Matadors’ Alondra Lizama reduced UCSB’s lead to 59-55. But Olivia Bradley put the Gauchos back on track with a driving basket and two free throws in a 33-second outburst. She finished with 10 points.
Burke fueled UCSB’s run down the stretch by rebounding a teammate’s miss and assisting Julia Puente-Valverde’s layup, and then making a steal to set up a three by Zoe Shaw.
Burke finished with eight points, eight rebounds and five assists. Puente-Valverde grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds while Chauncey Andersen contributed 11 points.
UCSB made all 14 of its free throws — eight in the fourth quarter.
“I’m hoping we can build some really good chemistry over these next four games, and tonight was a great start,” Jimenez said. “It’s been a while since we’ve scored 70 points, so that along with a high assist number (17) was a big focus for us coming in.
“I’m proud of how the girls shared the ball, pushed the tempo and played together to reach that mark.”
UCSB will return home to play its next game against Hawai’i at 2 p.m. on Saturday.