TUCSON, Ariz. – UCSB suffered its fifth straight loss, falling to Arizona 61-34 in a women’s basketball game at the McKale Center on Tuesday.
The Gauchos’ record drops to 0-5, while the Wildcats nab their first win of the season and move to 1-2.
“Unfortunately, the score does not reflect how tough we competed today,” UCSB coach Carlene Mitchell said. “We were able to find open shots, but they just wouldn’t go down today.”
UCSB finished shooting 22.9 percent from the floor.
Both teams struggled offensively early as the first score wasn’t made until the 17:43 mark. Arizona soon found consistency on offense with a 15-2 run that put itself ahead at 22-8.
The Wildcats carried a 29-14 lead into halftime thanks to the sharp shooting of Candice Warthen, who went 3-3 from behind the 3-point arc. Overall, Arizona made six of its 12 shots from three-point land.
The Wildcats kept the pressure with their rebounding and three-point shooting from Charise Holloway. The guard hit a pair of triples in the span of two minutes to move her team ahead 37-18 with 12:40 remaining.
In the rebounding category, Arizona – which came is as one of the top rebounding teams in the Pac-12 – pulled in 49 boards compared to UCSB’s 29. The Wildcats had 15 offensive rebounds and capitalized with 17 points off those second-chance opportunities.
UCSB will be back in action on Friday when it hosts Army in the Thunderdome at 7 p.m.
