KNOCKING OFF THE BEST

UCSB blows nine-point second half lead, but wins in double-overtime

STEVEN WILSON

News-Press Correspondent

            It took the Gaucho offense everything they had to manage a win on the road against the best in the Big West and it took longer than normal too. They scored a season-high 71 points thanks to ten extra minutes of play as they knocked off conference-leading Cal State Northridge, 71-67 in double-overtime at the Matadome.

The Gauchos used a 10-0 run in the first half to secure a seven-point lead at halftime. That led to a nine-point lead in the second half, but it wasn’t enough. With just 2.7 seconds remaining in regulation Matador freshman Jessica Duarte hit a miraculous shot from beyond the arc to tie the game at 50 and send the game to the first overtime period. The ball hit off the front of the rim and the backboard before touching the net.

“When you get to that point you become a cheerleader almost,” UCSB coach Carlene Mitchell said. “You have to make sure that they know you think they’re going to win, especially when they’re tired.”

            It would take a not-so-lucky-but-rather-skilled shot from UCSB senior forward Kelsey Adrian to send the game to double-overtime.

“The fact that (my teammates) trust me to take that shot is a big deal,” Adrian said. “They know that I’m going to knock it down. As a shooter you think the ball is going to go in. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first shot of the game or if you need a 3-pointer to tie the game up.”

Adrian, who led the team with 17 points and added 8 rebounds, was passed the ball with two seconds left on the shot clock as she elevated and connected on her third 3-point shot of the game to tie it at 58.

            Double-overtime was all about the Gauchos’ unsung heroes.

Thirty seconds into double-overtime, Adrian would give UCSB a 60-58 lead with a layup in traffic. CSUN guard Janae Sharpe tied the game at 60 with a layup in transition. Two minutes later, Melissa Zornig hit a 3-pointer to give UCSB a 63-60 lead. That’s when things got tricky for the Gauchos.

            Matador guard Haley White went to the post to earn back-to-back buckets for CSUN, giving them the lead, 64-63. With 45 seconds left, Nicole Nesbit did what she does best. She drove the ball to the left side of the paint, stopped, and pulled up for a mid-range jumper. It hit nothing but net.

“I’m extremely proud of Nicole because she is coming out of her comfort zone, which is kind of a quiet, take-the-back-seat (approach),”Mitchell said. “I just tell her she has to play like my personality. Off the court she doesn’t have to be as crazy as I am, but on the court she has to bring that feistyness.”

Now the Gauchos needed a stop.

            White was back in the post and was guarded by Emilie Johnson. The Matadors were trying to get her the ball as Ashlee Guay lobed a pass her way. The ball was tipped and Adrian needed an acrobatic tiptoe on the baseline to keep the ball alive and give the Gauchos possession with a one-point lead and only 18 seconds left. The questionable no-call upset CSUN coach Jason Flowers who stomped up and down on the court, costing him a technical foul and a chance for the win.

“(The out-of-bounds call) could have gone either way, honestly,” Adrian said about nearly being out-of-bounds. “The refs decided to call what they did, but I can see why their coach would have been upset.”

            The technical sent Johnson to the line and she knocked down both free throws.

“(The referees are) humans, and they’re going to make errors whether or not it was a bad call,” Mitchell admits. “There were twenty other questionable calls throughout the rest of the game. It’s like I told my team, ‘you don’t win or lose with that call, or the twenty others.’”

UCSB would retain possession and Johnson would be sent to the line again. She gave UCSB a 69-64 lead with 13 seconds left and the Matadors were all but done. Johnson went 8-for-8 from the line in the game including the last six UCSB points.

            “Late in the game we knew we had to get the ball in either Emilie’s hands or Nicole’s hands,” Mitchell said.

            The win bumps UCSB to 3-3 in the Big West and drops the Matadors to 5-2. The win wasn’t lost on Mitchell, who knows how badly her team needed this win.

            “It was critical,” Mitchell said. “There’s no doubt about it. I told the team, ‘one more loss and we might not have a chance to win the conference.’ That’s just being honest and realistic. I’m always going to be up-front with them.”

            The Gauchos will now face a very tough conference schedule next week at home. They play UC Davis and Pacific who have a combined record of 22-14.