Mekia Valentine had 16 points and 12 rebounds as the UCSB women’s basketball team cruised to a 71-48 Big West Conference win at Cal State Northridge on Saturday afternoon.
The Gauchos (11-9 overall, 5-3 Big West) had four players score in double-figures in the rout. The Matadors (1-20, 1-7) were led by Amanda Thomson who had 13 points.
Kelsey Adrian, who finished with 15 points, hit a three-point basket to open the game, but a three-pointer and a fastbreak lay-up by Analee Viena-Lota gave Northridge its only lead of the game, 5-3.
A short jumper by Sweets Underwood followed by a long three-pointer from Melissa Zorning put the Gauchos up 8-5 with 13:10 left in the first half. UCSB led 25-16 when Nicole Nesbit made a 10-footer with 4:18 remaining in the half.
The Matadors used a 10-0 run to reclaim a 26-25 edge at the half. Viena-Lota completed the rally with a three-point basket.
The Gauchos opened the second half with an 8-0 run to take the lead for good, 34-26. They held the Matadors scoreless until Thomson hit a jump shot with 13:45 remaining in the game. In all, UCSB outscored 46-22 in the second half.
Nesbit and Zorning finished with 12 and 10 points respectively for the Gauchos. Zorning added seven assists and six rebounds.
The Matadors made just 17-of-62 shots from the field, 27.4%, including 7-of-36 (19.4%) in the second half. The Gauchos made 14-of-27 of their shots in the second half.
nice! way to go gauchos