PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico – UCSB’s Hardwood Tournament of Hope opening
game against Oregon State came down to the wire, but the Gauchos came up short, 49-
46, on Tuesday afternoon at the Puerto Vallarta International Convention Center.
UCSB falls to 1-2 on the young season while Oregon State improves to 2-1. The
Gauchos will now play in the tournament’s consolation bracket against the loser
between Mississippi State and Winthrop on Wednesday at 1 p.m. local time (11 a.m. Pacific
Time).
Junior Nicole Nesbit – who led the Gauchos with a season-high 18 points – put up a buzzer-
beating 3-point shot, but it bounced off the rim, securing the victory for the
Beavers.
Fueled by Nesbit’s 11 points, the Gauchos climbed out to a 21-18 lead by halftime.
The Beavers were able to limit UCSB to just 25.9% (7-of-27) shooting from the field, but for
their part, the Gaucho defense held Oregon State to just 31.6% (6-of-19) shooting from the
field.
While the first half was a defensive slugfest, the second half saw more dynamic offensive play
from both squads.
Oregon State’s Alyssa Martin scored on a layup to open the second half and was fouled
on the play. She sunk her free throw to tie the game. Patricia Bright’s layup on the following
possession gave the Beavers’ their first lead.
Oregon State was able to hold the lead, but the Gauchos closed the gap to one point on multiple occasions. Midway through the half, however, the Beavers went on a 7-0 run that gave them their biggest lead of the game at 43-35.
The Gauchos caught fire and went on an 11-4 run, which was punctuated by a three-pointer
from Nesbit, to put them within one with 1:19 to go.
Bright was fouled with 59 seconds to go and went to the line and sunk both of her free
throws to push the Beavers ahead by three. With 17 seconds to go, the Gauchos fouled
Martin, but she missed her free throw and Destini Mason scooped up the rebound.
Oregon State ran down the clock with multiple fouls as the Gauchos attempted to inbound the
ball, finally UCSB got the ball in the hands of Nesbit for the final shot of the game, but it did
not fall in favor of the Gauchos.
The second half saw improved shooting from both teams as the Gauchos shot 46.2% from the
field and the Beavers saw 48% shooting.
Oregon State benefited tremendously from its height and inside game as it scored 24 of its
points from inside the paint while the Gauchos scored just four. The Beavers also went to the
line on 16 occasions and scored 11 of their points on free throws versus just four by the
Gauchos.
Nesbit was the only Gaucho to score double-digit points and she also led the team with three
steals while collecting four rebounds. Underwood had eight points and four rebounds while
Mason had seven points and six rebounds. Kirsten Tilleman led all players with 10 rebounds.
For the Beavers, Bright led the way with 16 points and eight rebounds.
“We have to remember that it is a marathon not a sprint,” said head coach Carlene Mitchell.
“So, I have to do a better job of making our kids understand that it isn’t always how you start,
it’s how you finish. We had a stuttering phase for four or five minutes in the second half. We
know we have a lot of things we have to fix before the end of the year; it’s unfortunate that
we had be on the opposite end of the scoreboard today.”
