Daphne Gnago
Carlos Puma
44
UC Riverside UCR 15-13, 9-5
61
Winner UC Santa Barbara UCSB 8-20, 5-10
UC Riverside UCR
15-13, 9-5
44
Final
61
UC Santa Barbara UCSB
8-20, 5-10
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
UC Riverside UCR 18 9 12 5 44
UC Santa Barbara UCSB 21 7 21 12 61

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Women's Basketball Takes Step Back in Loss to UCSB

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.—On a high after winning four straight games, the UC Riverside Women's Basketball team took a step backward on Saturday in a 61-44 loss to UC Santa Barbara on the road.

It was a tough pill to swallow for the Highlanders (15-13, 9-5) given that Thursday's win against CSUN moved them into sole possession of second place in the Big West. Saturday's game also showed that no one in the conference can be taken lightly. UCSB (8–20, 5-10) came into the game eighth in conference.

"We have to learn from this," head coach John Margaritis said. "After our last three wins, it felt like we had no more wind in our sails. Now it is all about how we will rebound."

The two teams shot exactly the same from the field in the first quarter. UCR and UCSB went 8-for-17 (47.1 percent). After the Gauchos went up 21-11, UCR went on a 7-0 run to end the quarter down 21-18. Keilanei Cooper scored eight points in the quarter, going 3-for-3 from the field.

Neither team could find much of an offensive rhythm in the second quarter, with UCSB shooting just 16.7 percent from the field, while UCR shot 30.8 percent. The team found itself down 28-27 at the half even though Jannon Otto and Malou De Kergret combined to shoot just 2-for-15 in the first half. The two combined to score 46 points in the team's first meeting vs. UCSB on Feb. 2, in which the Highlanders got a 73-60 win.

Otto still managed to stay involved in the first half even though she went just 1-for-6 from the field. She had nine rebounds and five assists in the first half.

Unable to get to the free throw line in the first half, the Highlanders got to the line just a few seconds into the third quarter, but went just 1-for-9 during the game. The team also put themselves in a hole in the third quarter after committing five turnovers. That led to 13 points for the Gauchos. Overall, UCSB scored 20 points off of turnovers.

"They seemed to be getting to all of the loose balls before we did," Margaritis said. "We were reactive the entire night."

Down 49-39 heading into the fourth quarter, the Highlanders were able to cut the lead to six points after Ewodo made a jumper and was fouled with 8:04 left. However, the team scored just one more point after that. The Gauchos went on a 12-1 run to end the game.

The team will play Hawaii on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the SRC Arena in its final home game of the season.

"It could be a wakeup call," Margaritis said. "We'll see what we are made of."