Kelsey Adrian tied her career-high with 17 points and Emilie Johnson added 12 points, but it wasn’t enough for the UCSB women’s basketball team to overcome UC Davis as the Gauchos lost, 63-55, on Thursday night at the Thunderdome.
The Aggies, ranked No. 10 in the CollegeInsiders.com Mid-Major poll, had four players score in double figures to improve to 12-3 overall and 2-1 in the Big West.
UCSB, which had won six of its past seven games, falls to 7-7, 1-1.
Mekia Valentine had eight points and 18 rebounds for the Gauchos to go with four blocked shots.
“It’s just adjusting a couple things and we can beat them,” Emilie Johnson said. “It’s January. It’s not March. We’re going to learn from it. We’re going to get better. We’ll be ready for them in March.”
UCSB trailed by just two, 30-28, at halftime but UC Davis went on a 21-8 run to open the second half and put the game away.
The Aggies, who were picked in the preseason media poll to win the Big West title, forced 23 turnovers, turning them into 22 points.
Santa Barbara, which leads the Big West in field goal percentage, shot 43.1 percent for the game and held UCD to just 37.7 percent shooting from the floor. UCSB also outrebounded the Aggies, 42-26, however UC Davis was 15 of 21 from the free throw line and hit eight three-pointers.
UCSB continues its homestand on Saturday, Jan. 8 when the Gauchos host
Pacific in the Thunderdome at 2 p.m.
