HENDERSON, Nev. - No. 4 seed UC Riverside ended the first half on a 7-0 run and pulled out the 46-42 win in Wednesday's quarterfinal matchup in the Big West Tournament against fifth-seeded UC Santa Barbara. 

The Highlanders made plays down the stretch when they needed it to secure the program's fourth Big West Tournament win in its last six attempts.

"It wasn't pretty, but that's ok because that's not what March is about. It's about being tough, making plays when it counts and I thought we toughed it out. Our defense really locked in and tough players made tough plays when it counted most," head coach Nicole Powell said.

UC Riverside's eighth straight win did not come without a little push back from the Gauchos, who took a 23-18 lead into the second quarter after leading by as many as eight. UCR would not go into halftime with a bigger hole to climb out of, using a 7-0 to pull within one at the intermission.  

All-Big West Honorable Mention Jada Holland scored six of her 12 points in the first quarter, as UCR upended the Gauchos 12-3 on points off turnovers in the first half. Olivia West scored eight of her nine points in the first half, with Anna Blount's four points - all from the free throw line - were key in the Highlanders' surge into halftime. 

Santa Barbara stayed a nose ahead in a gritty third quarter separated by a single point before UC Riverside turned it on in the fourth quarter. 

Holland connected on a fastbreak layup at the 8:51 mark of the fourth quarter to bring the game level at 38 before a three from Jordan Webster three minutes later gave the Highlanders their first lead of the game. 

UCR held the Gauchos without a point for a good five minutes in a critical stretch late in the game, before a UC Santa Barbara surge was stymied by three free throws in the last 13 seconds. 

With the win, UC Riverside advances to Friday's semifinal against top-ranked Hawaii at 12:00 p.m. on ESPN+.