Nicole Nesbit etched her name in the UCSB record book as she joined the 1,000-point club after scoring 11 points on Thursday night in the Thunderdome. However, the celebration for the Gauchos was subdued because of the 81-70 loss to Utah State.
The guard becomes just the 25th player in program history to reach the milestone and has now scored 1,008 career points.
Santa Barbara has now lost three straight and stand with a 4-6 record.
Aside from her work in the points category, Nesbit also led the Gauchos with a season-high seven assists.
Destini Mason led UCSB with 15 points and five rebounds in 32 minutes of play off the bench.
Overall, the Gaucho reserves outscored Utah State’s 24-3.
Kendra Morrison hit a career-high 12 points, while Melissa Zornig finished with the same figure.
Morrison also grabbed eight rebounds during her team-high 33 minutes of play.
UCSB showed control over the high-octane Aggie offense in the first half, as they held as much as a six-point lead in front of the home crowd.
The Gauchos came out of the gates hot with a 12-6 run, starting with Morrison who ignited the offense with a three-pointer in the opening moments.
In continuing the run, Zornig also drained a long-range shot, while Mi’Chael Wright picked up four points in the paint.
With just over four minutes of play, UCSB had taken the lead and was able to maintain it through the majority of the half.
It wasn’t until the 7:33 mark when Utah State would tie the game up for the first time since tip-off at 20-20.
After Jennifer Schlott connected on a jumper to put her team ahead 24-22, UCSB responded with seven consecutive points to retake the lead.
It all started with Nesbit when she worked her way to the right side of the key before dishing the ball out to Jasmine Ware who hit a wide open look from the wing.
Morrison added four straight points of her own with a perfect 2-2 trip to the free throw line and a jumper.
With 2:46 left in the first, the Aggies mounted a late comeback behind the play of Schlott who scored 10 of the team’s final 12 points of the half.
As Utah State led 36-33 with 28 seconds before the break, Nesbit drilled a mid-range shot to cut the deficit to one point during the Gauchos final possession.
In the second half, Schlott continued her tear on offense and finished with a game-high 44 points, with an 18-18 clip from the charity stripe.
UCSB will look to get back in the win column on Saturday when it hosts Nevada in the Thunderdome at 2pm.
