If Wednesday night is a sign of what’s to come from Mekia Valentine, UCSB women’s basketball fans should be fired up.
Valentine, a six-foot-4 transfer from Wake Forest, scored 28 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against a feisty, veteran Westmont squad as the Gauchos posted a 63-54 comeback exhibition win at the Thunderdome.
The Warriors had UCSB scared after a lights-out start to the second half put them up 47-40 with just over nine minutes remaining.
Valentine, however, was just too big and athletic for Westmont to handle.
“If there were two of me — one on top of myself — maybe we’d have a shot against her,” joked Westmont senior guard Jessica Case, who scored 14 points with four rebounds and three assists in the game. Her backcourt partner, Amber Stevens, dished out five assists and had six rebounds with nine points.
UCSB sophomore point guard Emilie Johnson played all 40 minutes and ran the offense efficiently, scoring 15 points with seven assists while committing just one turnover. She credited Valentine’s presence as a big factor in making her job easier.
“She’s such a good post player. I can pass it, well, anywhere basically,” she said with a grin.
Johnson swished a trey and a jumper in the final minute of the second half to put UCSB up 31-17 at the break. Westmont couldn’t find any sort of shooting rhythm up to that point, making just seven of 36 from the field.
That all changed after the Warriors came out of the locker room, as they outscored the hosts 30-9 over the first 10 minutes of the second half, draining six 3-pointers during that span. Case knocked down three of them.
Warriors coach Kirsten Moore, whose team also played Pepperdine close just a few days ago, said she wasn’t surprised at her team’s ability to play the much bigger Gauchos so tough.
“I’m not surprised. We’re a veteran team, and we really believe no matter who we’re playing we need to walk on the court knowing that we can win… We’ve earned the right to have that confidence,” she said. “Certainly we know that UCSB’s bigger than us, quicker than us, stronger than us — all those things — but we have to play against that all the time.”
Westmont's Katie Kittle and Ariana Gnekow go after a loose ball.
UCSB coach Lindsay Gottlieb, whose team was picked to win the Big West but is also dealing with lots of new talent, wasn’t shocked by any means either.
“I definitely expected it would be a game… There’s no question I have a ton of respect for Westmont, and we’re new and young and all that kind of stuff,” she said.
But Valentine was just too much down the stretch, running the floor impressively despite being the biggest player on the court. She scored off of a pass from Johnson on the Gauchos’ very first possession, which is a connection that will be a big part of UCSB’s offense this season.
“We have a point guard in Emilie that really wants to push the ball and can push the ball, and a post player that runs the floor probably as well as anybody in the country,” said Gottlieb. “I think to their credit they’ve both worked on that relationship and they both work really hard. It’s fun to see it in action.”
The Gauchos open up the regular season when they host Fresno State next Friday, while the Warriors play another exhibition at Cal State Northridge on Saturday.
