The UCSB women’s basketball team had pretty much owned Long Beach State for the better part of the last 20 years, winning 40 of the team’s 43 games in that span and taking an 18-game home winning streak vs. the 49ers into Thursday’s contest.
Well, things changed.
Long Beach State had four players score in double figures, including senior Karina Figueroa’s double-double of 16 points and 10 assists as the 49er won in the Thunderdome for the first time since Jan. 19, 1991, beating the Gauchos 78-63.
The defeat was UCSB’s first home loss in a Big West game since an overtime defeat to UC Davis on Feb. 23, 2008.
UCSB falls to 5-11 overall and 2-2 in the Big West while Long Beach is now 7-9, 3-1.
The Gauchos had three players score in double figures as Emilie Johnson had 17 points, Jordan Franey chipped in 11 and Ariana Gnekow had a season-high of 10.
However it was not enough to overcome the hot shooting of the 49ers, who sank 51% of their shots, including an impressive 54.5% of their 3-point attempts. Lauren Sims had 22 points, mostly coming from beyond the arc as she sank 6 of 8 from downtown.
UCSB, meanwhile, made a season-best eight 3-pointers, but did it 23 attempts. The Gauchos did shoot 44.6% for the game and outrebounded LBSU 32-28.
The 49ers put the game away on a 20-7 run in the first seven-and-a-half minutes of the second half, turning a six-point halftime advantage into a 57-38 lead.
