Earlier this season Kelsey Adrian hit two giant three-pointers in the closing seconds of a game the UC Santa Barbara women’s basketball team eventually won in overtime. On Thursday night, she wasn’t as fortunate.
Adrian’s three-pointer from the left wing as time expired appeared halfway down before spinning out, an unfortunate turn of events as the Gauchos lost, 54-51, to Cal Poly at the Thunderdome.
“It looked like it was going in, then it popped out,” Adrian said. “There’s nothing else you can do.”
Emilie Johnson led the Gauchos with 17 points, three assists and two steals while Kelsey Adrian had nine points. Mekia Valentine had seven points, 14 rebounds and six blocked shots for the Gauchos. Nicole Nesbit and Margaret Johnson each added six points for Santa Barbara.
UCSB (10-9 overall, 4-3 in the Big West) slowed down the torrid Mustangs offense, holding Cal Poly nearly 20 points below their season average. And while the Gauchos only committed a season-low turnovers and outrebounded Cal Poly, it was not enough.
Kayla Griffin and Rachel Clancy each had 15 points for Cal Poly, which has won eight straight and remains on top of the conference with an 8-0 mark (12-7 overall).
UCSB took a 21-17 lead on an Emilie Johnson three-pointer with 4:33 left in the first half, but watched as Cal Poly went on a 10-2 run to close out the first half.
The Gauchos then went on a 10-0 run early in the second half to take a 36-29 advantage with 13:04 remaining on Mekia Valentine’s layup, but again, the Mustangs rallied.
Cal Poly led by four points, 48-44, with 5:14 remaining but the Gauchos swung back and took a 49-48 lead on a baseline jumper by Johnson with just over three minutes left.
Clancy, who is second in the Big West in scoring, nailed a three-pointer with 2:44 to go to give the Mustangs a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
After Johnson hit another jumper to make it 52-51 with 1:40 left, she had a chance to give the Gauchos a lead, but her jump shot just rimmed out and Cal Poly’s Clancy banked in a short jumper in the lane for a 54-51 lead with just under 15 seconds to go.
