HENDERSON, Nevada — Another end-game meltdown ended the women’s basketball season for UC Santa Barbara.
The sixth-seeded Gauchos went without a basket in the final four minutes to fall to No. 7 UC Riverside, 58-53, in a first-round game at the Big West Conference Tournament at Lee’s Family Forum on Wednesday.
“We’ve had some stifling last four, five minutes of fourth quarters offensively,” said second-year coach Renee Jimenez. “Our players, when it comes to culture and people and standards, have gone really all in on everything we’ve asked them to do as coaches.
“But we lack in some composure and some competitiveness and some grit and some toughness.”
UCSB, which started the season 10-1, finish with a record of 20-10.
Riverside (11-20) rallied from a deficit that grew as large as nine points, 39-30, midway through the third quarter.
Hannah Wickstrom scored six of the Highlanders’ last nine points, finishing with a game-high 26, to erase the Gauchos’ last lead of 51-50.
“I’m really proud of the poise we showed, how we battled the last four minutes, holding them without a field goal,” UCR coach Brad Langston said. “That’s really impressive against a really good offensive team.
“I think it just speaks to our poise, our growth, and where this program is headed.”
The lead changed eight times and the score was tied 11 times, which included a 26-26 deadlock at halftime.
The Gauchos’ Olivia Bradley then took charge to start the second half, driving to three baskets, sinking a three-pointer and making four free throws in the first five-plus minutes to put her team ahead 39-30.
She finished with 23 points and five rebounds.
Zoe Borter made a three-pointer with 2:42 left in the third quarter to keep UCSB ahead by eight points, 42-34. She finished with 12 points and five rebounds.
But the Highlanders scored the last nine points of the period to take a 43-42 lead.
Senior Skylar Burke made a pair of foul shots and a runner to start the fourth quarter to boost UCSB back ahead 46-43. She finished with seven points, five assists, three blocked shots and one steal in her collegiate game.
But the Gauchos’ other three guards made just 4-of-16 shots and missed all eight of their three-point attempts.
The Gauchos continued a trend that plagued them for much of the Big West season by making just 3-of-18 threes.
They were at one time No. 2 nationally with a three-point accuracy of 39.5%, but they entered Wednesday’s game ranked 64th out of 359 teams at 33.85% (261-771).
Bradley and Maddie Naro converted back-to-back drives to give UCSB its last lead of 50-49.
But UCSB ran out of gas from there, missing its last five field-goal attempts and frittering away three consecutive possessions with turnovers.
“That (lack of) depth has really bothered us,” Jimenez said. “Liv asked me the other night, at San Diego, (to sub out) — she’s like tugging her shirt — and I’m like, ‘I have nobody … Like, sorry.’
“And we have to save our timeouts because you’ve seen us get pressed at the end of games.
“I feel like there are just so many holes to plug. We really lacked that depth of junior, senior, kids that can really come in and settle the group.”