IRVINE – UC Irvine’s sharp second half shooting proved too much for UCSB, as the team fell 58-46 at the Bren Events Center on Thursday night.
The Gauchos’ record moves to 1-25, while their conference record stands at 1-12. With the win, UC Irvine improves to 6-22 with a 3-10 mark in the Big West.
Jasmine Ware led the Gauchos with 12 points, while Onome Jemerigbe was behind her with seven points, as she did most of her work at the foul line (5-6). As a team, the Gauchos shot just 30 percent in the game, while Irvine’s offense finished with a 44 percent shooting performance.
Taylor Farris paced UCSB with seven rebounds, which is now the third time in the past four games that the freshman has pulled down as many boards.
UCSB opened the game with a stifling defense that held the Anteaters to just five points in the opening 11 minutes. Meanwhile, Ware led UCSB to scoring 12 points in that span, as she netted the first four UCSB points with a midrange jumper followed by a hard drive for a lay up.
Also getting involved with the early scoring was Jemerigbe who was fouled on her drive through the key and sank both free throws. The point guard has now been to the foul line in 11 straight games.
Following Ware’s jumper from the top of the key, Clair Watkins gave UCSB its eight-point lead with a short jumper in the paint followed passing out of a double team to Farris who finished at the glass uncontested.
In need of a spark on offense, UC Irvine found its answer in Irene Chavez who drained four triples in the first half alone. Coming off the bench, the guard’s outside shooting paved the way for the Anteaters to gaining a 24-19 lead at halftime. She finished the night with a game-high 18 points.
In the second half, the Gauchos limited Chavez to just six points, but UC Irvine went on to shoot the ball 57.1 percent.
Though the Anteaters’ lead swelled to double digits starting with the 14:39 mark in the game, UCSB still battled hard with no better example than Chaya Durr’s put back bucket with 5:57 left in the game.
Durr picked up the offensive board following a missed free throw and muscled her way through two defenders, drew contact in finishing off the glass to put UCSB back within 10 points.
UCSB will continue its season on the road when it will play UC Davis on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be featured in the Santa Barbara area on KZSB AM 1290 and online at UCSBgauchos.com.
