UC Santa Barbara
UCSB Holds Off Cal Poly For 78-67 Big West Conference-Opening Win
1/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — Lisa Marie Sanchez scored 11 consecutive points in a span of just a minute and 36 seconds Thursday night to lead a comeback bid for the Cal Poly women's basketball team, but UC Santa Barbara regrouped down the stretch at The Events Center Thunderdome, winning each squad's Big West Conference opener 78-67.
The outcome broke the Mustangs' nine-game winning streak in the Blue-Green Rivalry.
With Cal Poly (7-7) trailing 65-44 with 6:16 remaining in the fourth quarter, Sanchez triggered the rally with a jumper.
Then on each of the next three possessions, the senior point guard sank 3-pointers, cutting the deficit to 65-55 and prompting a Gaucho timeout with 4:40 to play.
UCSB (4-11) used a 6-1 run out of the timeout to pull back ahead by a 71-56 margin at the 2:31 mark, though, on the way to doubling its overall win count from a season ago.
The Gauchos had taken a 38-20 lead into halftime, as Dioseline Lopez hit a 3 from the right corner at the buzzer, making UCSB 15-for-30 by the break.
UCSB was also 5-for-6 from the foul line at intermission, while Cal Poly's first free-throw attempt all evening came 5:12 into the third quarter.
The Gauchos took their largest lead at 51-22 with just under six minutes left in the third, but the Mustangs scored nine straight via baskets from sophomore guards Lynn Leaupepe and Mary Kate Evans and junior forwards Hannah Gilbert and Amanda Lovely.
UCSB finished the period strong, however, with another buzzer-beater (a layup from Jasmine Ware) to make it 60-33 after three.
Gilbert finished with a team-high 22 points for the Mustangs. It was her second straight 20-pointer.
Sanchez added 15 points, while Leaupepe had 11 points along with a team-leading eight rebounds.
Cal Poly will continue its road trip at UC Irvine (3-12) with a 2 p.m. tipoff Saturday in Bren Events Center.
Photos by David E. Holmes
