BAKERSFIELD – Led by career scoring performances from Chaya Durr and Onome Jemerigbe, UCSB competed in a physical game with Bakersfield, but fell 74-64.
“I am proud with the way this team competed tonight from tip-off to the final buzzer,” UCSB Head Coach Carlene Mitchell said. “Against a physical team, we were able to outrebound them and shoot the ball well. A few mistakes cost us the game, but we will look to carry that same effort we had tonight into conference starting Saturday.”
In concluding non-conference play, the Gauchos’ record slides to 0-13, while Bakersfield improves to 11-4.
Jemerigbe finished with a career high 16 points along with a team-leading five assists, as she went 6-9 from the field. As a team, UCSB had its best offensive performance of the season in making a collective 48.1 percent of their shots, including a 55.6 mark in the second half.
In earning her first start since the Gauchos’ game with Pepperdine (12/9/14), Durr shined with a personal best 15 points (6-11) and also led the floor with eight rebounds, which ties a season high. Overall, Santa Barbara outdueled Bakersfield in the rebounding category with a 33-29 edge.
Joining those two in scoring double figures was Jasmine Ware who netted 12 points and also picked up a career best five steals.
The Gauchos came out of the gates hot and either held a lead or a tie for 18 minutes of the first half. While Jemerigbe got scoring night started earlier in hitting the game-opening jumper, Bakersfield’s Brooklynn Hinkens made a quick response with the first of her five three-pointers of the night. However, UCSB’s defense stifled the Roadrunners’ offense, as it missed four shots in four possessions. The Gauchos capitalized on those efforts at the 17:03 mark when Ware poured in her first basket of the game with a midrange jumper.
Highlighted by an 8-2 run midway through the half, the Gauchos took a 21-14 lead with 8:48 to play and would keep the Roadrunners at bay until the final two minutes.
With a seven-point scoring performance through the first 20 minutes, Tyonna Outland scored five of her team’s final seven points of the half in capturing the 29-27 lead going into the locker room. The senior guard did everything for Bakersfield in scoring 15 points, eight assists, and six rebounds.
The Roadrunners drew blood early in the second half in making back-to-back triples to go on top 35-30.
But in facing Bakersfield’s largest advantage of the game, the Gauchos clawed their way back into the lead behind seven points from Jemerigbe in the second half’s opening seven minutes.
With the sophomore leading the charge, the Gauchos retook the lead thanks to an 13-2 run with 15:09 left in the game. During that stretch, UCSB found open layups underneath the basket thanks to fastbreaks and backdoor cuts. Following four unanswered Gaucho layups, Makala Roper ended the scoring spree by burying a corner three.
The Roadruners found a response later on though with seven straight points in reclaiming a lead that they would never give up.
The Gauchos will open their Big West schedule this Saturday with a 2 p.m. game against Cal Poly in the Thunderdome.
