The first edition of the Blue-Green Women’s Basketball rivalry was a dramatic one on Saturday inside the Thunderhut, with UCSB coming out on top over Cal Poly in overtime by a score of 65-64.
With 2:37 to go in overtime, the Mustangs grabbed a 64-60 lead off a pull-up jumper from Annika Shah.
On the next possession, UCSB’s Alyssa Marin drove past her defender and converted a layup to cut the lead in half. Following an offensive foul by Cal Poly, the Gauchos had a chance to tie the game up.
They did exactly that, as Alexis Whitfield buried a clutch jumper to tie the game at 64-64 with 1:07 left on the clock.
The Mustangs then hustled down the court and Shah missed a three-point attempt. However, Mary Carter grabbed an offensive rebound to give the visitors another shot.
Cal Poly’s Natalia Ackerman took that shot but was also offline with her three-point attempt and Whitfield collected the rebound, prompting a UCSB timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, the Gauchos got the ball to Whitfield, who was fouled on her shot attempt with just one second left.
Whitfield knocked down one of her two free throws and that was enough, as Cal Poly couldn’t get a shot off and UCSB pulled out the win.
With the win, the Gauchos (9-5, 3-1 Big West) continued their strong start to the conference season while the Mustangs (7-7, 3-1) picked up their first loss in Big West play.
Cal Poly started hot, ripping off a 9-2 run fueled by five points from Shah, giving the visitors a 12-5 lead halfway through the first quarter.
The Mustangs maintained a lead for the rest of the first quarter, but UCSB’s Skylar Burke hit a three-pointer and Mary Mcmorris converted a second-chance bucket to cut the deficit to 21-17 heading into the second.
The Gauchos came out of the break on fire, going on a 9-0 run to begin the quarter, including a pair of buckets by Burke to take the lead.
The rest of the second quarter was very back-and-forth, with multiple lead changes that resulted in a slim 37-35 UCSB advantage heading into the locker room.
The seesaw action continued into the third quarter, with both teams exchanging blows until the game was knotted back up at 47-47 with one quarter left in regulation.
With 4:10 left in the fourth, Cal Poly’s Sydney Bourland hit a layup to give her squad a 56-53 lead.
Both defenses then buckled down, as that remained the score until the 1:25 mark when Marin drilled a pair of free throws to cut into the Mustang lead.
Following a turnover, UCSB’s Laurel Rockwood was fouled on a shot but only managed to make one free throw, tying the game at 56 apiece with 40 seconds left in regulation.
Neither team was able to score on their final possessions, sending the game into overtime and setting up the dramatic finish.
Marin and Whitfield led the Gauchos in scoring with 19 points apiece while Whitfield also chipped in nine rebounds. Burke collected 12 points of her own.
For the Mustangs, Carter registered a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Meanwhile, Bourland and Shah ended with 15 and 12 points, respectively.
Looking ahead, UCSB will take on CSU Bakersfield on the road on Thursday while Cal Poly is set to host UC Riverside.
