PALO ALTO – In facing the 16th ranked team in the country, UC Santa Barbara fell 90-34, as Stanford dominated with its lights-out shooting at Maples Pavilion.
With the loss, the Gauchos falls to 0-11 on the season, while the Cardinal picked up its second consecutive win and improves to 8-4.
Jasmine Ware led UCSB with eight points, while Onome Jemerigbe followed her with seven points. Overall, the Gauchos shot just 25.9 percent from the floor, as opposed to Stanford’s offense which rolled with a 54.5 shooting clip.
The Cardinal had four scorers reach double figures, as all but three players who entered the game for them finished with at least two points. Lili Thompson led the floor with 12 points, Karlie Samuelson and Briana Roberson trailed her with 11 points each, and Brittany McPhee added 10.
On top of its efficient shooting, Stanford also reeled in a combined 50 rebounds compared to the Gauchos’ 21. Cardinal forward Erica McCall led all players with 12 boards.
To open the game, UCSB’s defense denied the Cardinal a clean shot and forced a 30-second violation. Ware capitalized on the forced turnover by banking in an eight-foot jumper to put the Gauchos on the board first at 2-0.
Defensively, the Gauchos remained staunch in the opening three minutes in forcing Stanford in missing three of its first four shots as well as picking up a pair of turnovers.
However, after tying the game at 2-2, the Cardinal found its offensive rhythm and went off on an 11-2 run. They would eventually turn that lead into a 39-13 score at halfitme.
Though Stanford continued with its hot shooting in the second half, Ware and Jemerigbe found some success on offense themselves. Ware had the hot hand to start with back-to-back baseline jumpers, which were UCSB’s first four points of the second. Jemerigbe also tallied four-straight Gaucho points with a 15-footer and a lay up following a hard fought drive along the baseline.
To close out the game, Stanford poured in 51 points in the final 20 minutes, which included seven three-pointers led by Karlie Samuelson’s 3-3 effort.
The Gauchos will continue its three-game road swing on Wednesday when they will welcome the new year with Seattle University at 7 p.m.
