UCSB Takes On UCI As Season Winds Down
STEVEN WILSON
News-Press Correspondent
A
winning streak is hard to get started, let alone keep alive. Just ask UCSB
womens basketball coach Carlene Mitchell. The Gauchos have been up and down
this year, but they are starting to get into a rhythm offensively and their
defense is as good as ever. That defense helped the Gauchos earn their longest
winning streak of the season (3 games) on Thursday night with a win over UC
Riverside. That’s when the realization set in that the Gauchos hold their
destiny in their own hands.
With
each win the Gauchos earn in their final six games of the season, UCSB will
move into a better position for the Big West Tournament. By sweeping Cal State
Fullerton and UC Riverside, UCSB is almost a lock for the eight-team playoff in
three weeks. The Gauchos, who are currently third from the bottom in the
conference, have only beat one team above them – league-leading Cal State
Northridge in double-overtime back in January – but as the schedule moves into
rematches, the Gauchos can earn some revenge.
“It’s
not about revenge,” Mitchell said. “It’s about wins and losses. UC Irvine is
stuck in the logjam that is the Big West just like everyone else. They have
been up and down this season – winning home games, losing their road games. I
just tell the kids to continue to worry about us, and to just do what we’ve
done all year long, and that’s play good defense.”
That
defense went to work against the Highlanders on Thursday night. UCSB held UCR
to just 12 points at halftime, the fourth-best mark in team history.
That
same kind of defensive intensity will be needed today against the Anteaters.
Last time the teams faced, UCI took a quick 7-2 lead. The Gauchos would earn the
lead back and took a 22-21 lead into halftime, but never felt in control. The
Anteater guards combined for 27 points and over-powered the Gaucho guards en
route to a 61-53 win at the Thunderdome.
“They’re an extremely athletic
team,” Mitchell said. “To be truthful, I don’t think we ever had control of
that game.
“They create some mismatch problems
for us. Their guards are bigger than ours and we need to do a better job of
keeping them out of the paint.
The Anteaters are averaging over 65
points per game, but rank dead last in scoring defense – giving up 69 points
per game.
“We
just need to show up and play our game,” Melissa Zornig said. “We did that
(against UCR) and that helped our confidence.”
UCSB
has turned it around on offense and in the last four games they are scoring an
average of 53 points per game, leading to a 3-1 record.
“We’re
just getting into a flow on offense,” Zornig said. “We know when to take shots
and we’re making them. It’s led to a lot more confidence for the team.”
A
win today would bump the Gauchos back up to a .500 record in the Big West at
6-6, and coach Mitchell knows the significance of each remaining game.
“There
is no way we are overlooking anyone,” Mitchell said. “As a staff and a coach, I
can’t allow that to happen. Our kids are smart enough to know that we can’t
allow that to happen.”
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