STOCKTON – The UCSB women’s basketball team took Pacific’s best punch but fired back with one of its own, only it came in the form of Emilie Johnson.
Playing in front of a lot of extended family from nearby Loomis, Johnson scored a career-high 31 points on 11 of 12 shooting to lead UCSB to a 69-62 win at the Spanos Center.
“You have to get into a rhythm and my teammates put me in a good spot,” Johnson said. “It’s fun. You’ve got to enjoy the game. Sometimes I get too caught up in making it happen but now it’s just letting it come to you and getting into a rhythm.”
UCSB improves to 12-9 overall and 6-3 in the Big West after its 12th win in 15 games while Pacific falls to 6-16, 3-6.
Despite Johnson’s sharp-shooting the Gauchos had to rally to even make it a game, trailing by nine points early on. UCSB didn’t even take its first lead until 14:11 remained on a layup from Mekia Valentine.
However, Johnson carried the team the rest of the way. She scored 14 points in an eight-minute span, taking UCSB from a 39-38 deficit into a 58-45 lead.
“It didn’t feel like a run,” head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “It felt like Em took the game over. What a game by her.”
Johnson also pulled in eight rebounds to go with two assists, a steal and a blocked shot. She canned 4 of 5 from three-point range and led the Gauchos with 13 in the first half.
Mekia Valentine had her eighth double-double of the season with 12 points and 12 rebounds, grabbing double-digit boards for the seventh time in her past eight games. Nicole Nesbit added 11 points off the bench.
The Gauchos trailed 19-10 midway through the first half when Johnson was fouled attempting a three-pointer. She knocked down all three free throws and UCSB eventually tied things up at 23-apiece on Nesbit’s double-clutch layup with 5:25 to go.
Valentine picked up her third foul with 4:09 remaining in the first half, but without her, the Gauchos were able to force Pacific’s leading scorer, forward Danielle Peacon, into a poor shot, a double-dribble and a travel which helped them close the gap.
Melissa Zornig hit a three-pointer with about four seconds left in the half to knot things up at 30-30 heading into the break.
“I thought we gritted it out,” Gottlieb said. “Sometimes you can get on a roll with a kid who’s hot and there’s not a better kid to roll with than Emilie.”
UCSB finishes its Northern California road swing on Saturday with a 2 p.m. game at UC Davis. The game will be aired live online at UCSBgauchos.com and in Santa Barbara on AM 990 with the pregame show starting a half-hour before tip-off.
UCSB returns home on Thursday, Feb. 10 when it battles UC Irvine.
