Saturday’s game at the Thunderdome was ugly, but a 1-0 record in the Big West looks nice and pretty right now for the UCSB women’s basketball team.
The Gauchos snapped a 4-game skid with a 54-48 win over UC Irvine, overcoming 25 turnovers and an 18-for-50 (36-percent) shooting performance to kick off the conference season on the right foot.
And while there were plenty of undesirable numbers on the stat sheet, Mekia Valentine was able to make history in the blocks column. Her 11 swats shattered the previous school record of eight, set by Kris Gazzini against Nevada back in 1995.
“We all just decided that we have to do whatever it takes to get it done, and that’s what we kind of did tonight. It wasn’t always pretty, but we clawed and we got it done. We got a win,” said senior Ariana Gnekow, who finished with six points. Valentine had a team-high 16 and was the only Gaucho in double-figures.
The Anteaters one-upped the Gauchos with 26 turnovers in the game, shooting a meager 18-for-62 (29-percent) from the floor. In the first half, Irvine made just seven of 34 attempts.
It took over 10 minutes for either team to reach 10 points, as the Gauchos took a 10-8 lead with 9:24 to go in the first half. Fifteen turnovers had been committed by that point.
UCSB was picked to finish atop the Big West heading into the season, while UC Irvine was predicted to inhabit the bottom spot. Both teams sputtered into 2010 with 3-9 records, however. UCSB coach Lindsay Gottlieb wasn’t surprised at the competitiveness of the contest.
“I think even when Gaucho teams have come into conference play 12-0 you still get everyone’s best game,” she said. “I think these players have a lot of pride in the uniform they wear and the Gaucho heart. They don’t think about preseason rankings, but they think about what it means to play here.”
UCSB built a lead as big as 13 after Meagan Williams stole the ball and went coast-to-coast for a lay-up that pushed it to 25-12 with 4:18 to go in the first half. Williams assisted Margaret Johnson off of an inbounds play with 19 seconds to go as the Gauchos took a 27-19 lead into the break.
Irvine, led by Mikah Maly-Karros’ 20 points and 17 rebounds, stormed back to start the second half and carried it all the way to a 40-33 lead after a lay-up by Maly-Karros with 8:23 to play. The Gauchos, however, stayed calm and chipped away.
“In previous games when we’ve lost leads we’ve kind of folded over. Coach got us together and said ‘do whatever you need to do to get this win,’” said Gnekow.
Emilie Johnson made a jumper with 2:35 left that tied things up at 45-45. The Gauchos had made just seven of their 14 free throws at that juncture, but they went 9-for-12 down the stretch to pull away.
Valentine, who is 6-4, said that the blocks took care of themselves.
“Coach G told me before the game to just keep my hands straight up, because I definitely have a size advantage over our conference,” she said. “My goal is to not foul and just keep my hands straight up, and the shots just kind of fell into my hands.”
The turnovers as well as allowing too many offensive rebounds (Irvine had 21) will be the main issues to address as the season progresses, according to Gottlieb.
“Where not where we need to be as a basketball team right now, but we want to be there by February,” she said.
Right now, 1-0 in conference is a fine place to be.
The Gauchos play at UC Davis on Thursday.
