UCSB started out strong, but got derailed by the UC Davis press in the second quarter and the Aggies post players in a 67-65 loss in a Big West women’s basketball game at the Thunderdome
Cierra Hall and Sage Stobbart combined for 38 points to lead the Aggies, who rallied from a 14-point deficit in the second quarter.
UCSB took charge in the first quarter, roaring out to a 22-12 lead. But UC Davis battled back with the help of a 2-2-1 press.
“We didn’t lose the game at the end, we lost the game in the second quarter,” said UCSB coach Bonnie Hendrickson. “We shouldn’t be turning the ball over.
“We’ve struggled with it earlier,” she said of the press. “We get passive and undisciplined and turn the ball over, and then we go through a stretch of just horrendous, not poor, horrendous offensive possessions.”
The Gauchos made just four of 12 shots in the quarter and were outscored 19-10, leaving them up 32-31 at halftime.
UC Davis scored nine of the final 11 points in the third quarter to tie the score at 47-all heading into the final 10 minutes.
The Aggies took a 52-51 lead with 6:38 left and never trailed again.
Hall hit a turnaround jump in the post to put UC Davis up 58-55, but Anya Choice of the Gauchos answered with a drive to make it a one-point game.
Hall then came up the backbreaker, scoring in the post and getting fouled. She hit her free throw for a 61-57 lead with 2:15 to play. Hall finished with a game-high 22 point on 8-of-14 shooting.
“We took away a lot, but we didn’t take away the post,” said Hendrickson.
Taylor Mole made a tough shot to bring the Gauchos within two (61-59). But UC Davis went on a 5-0 run, with three points coming on free throws from the 6-foot-3 Stobbart.
The Aggies moved to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the Big West. UCSB fell to 2-8 and 2-4.
Danae Miller led the Gauchos with 15 points and Doris Jones and Mole added 11 each.
UCSB and UC Davis play again on Saturday at 4 p.m.
— Noozhawk sports editor Barry Punzal can be reached at bpunzal@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk Sports on Twitter: @NoozhawkSports. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.