SANTA BARBARA, Calif. ? Looking for an upset over Big West Conference leader UC Santa Barbara, the CSUB women's basketball team gave the Gauchos a run for their money, but came up just short in a 77-67 final at the Thunderdome in Santa Barbara.
UCSB (16-6 overall) improved its win streak to 12 straight while the Roadrunners fell to 9-13 on the season.
Senior forward Naomi Johnson did her best to spark the upset bid, pouring in a career high 22 to go along with nine rebounds as she just missed her eighth double-double. Junior guard Christine Kepenekian tallied 19 points, but no other ?Runner reached double figures.
The ?Runners dug themselves an early hole as turnovers and poor shot selection led to an 18-6 UCSB lead at the 13:18 mark. Just three minutes in, junior guard Kelley Tarver was forced to the bench after knocking heads with a UCSB player.
With Tarver sidelined for the remainder of the half, Kepenekian got the ?Runner offense going with six consecutive points to cut the deficit to 23-15. Johnson then got into the act, netting in 14 first-half points.
After trailing by as many as 13, a three by junior Krista Arase tied the score 32-32 with 45 seconds remaining before a layup by Ashley Brown gave the Gauchos a 34-32 lead at the break.
CSUB took its first lead of the game, 42-39, at 16:30 on a layup and free throw by Kepenekian and later tied the score for a fifth time at 44, but Santa Barbara then went on an 11-0 run to open up a 55-44 lead at the 11:59 mark.
Bakersfield made one more run, capped off by a Nikki Leon three-pointer with 1:33 remaining, cutting the deficit to three, but the Gauchos' Sha'Rae Gibbons went 6-for-6 in the final minute to put the game on ice.
Neither team found much success from the perimeter, shooting a combined 7-for-29 from beyond the arc. Instead, both teams worked the ball into the paint, though the Gauchos won that battle, outscoring the ?Runners 42-29 in the pain. Much of that success was due to 20 offensive rebounds and 16 second-chance points.
Margaret Johnson was the UCSB leader on the boards, pulling down 11 rebounds, including six on the offensive end. She also tallied 11 points to support Jessica Wilson who led the team with 21. Brown, starting in place of injured Kat Suderman, chipped in 15 points and six boards.
CSUB takes on another Big West foe Saturday, traveling to Long Beach State for a 5 p.m. tip-off against the 49ers.
UC Santa Barbara 77, CSU Bakersfield 67
CSU BAKERSFIELD (9-13) ? JOHNSON 9-14 4-4 22; KEPENEKIAN 7-12 4-6 19; JONES 1-6 4-4 6; LEON 2-5 3-4 8; TARVER 0-2 4-6 4; BELT 2-3 0-0 4; WEST 0-0 1-2 1; ARASE 1-8 0-0 3; STRIBLING 1-0 0-0 0; CARTER 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-52 20-26 67.
UC SANTA BARBARA (16-6) ? WILSON 9-16 -2 21; BROWN 6-11 3-7 15; JOHNSON 5-13 1-2 11; GIBBONS 1-6 6-6 9; ONONIWU 4-6 0-0 9; WARREN 2-2 1-2 5; FRANEY 1-2 2-2 4; WILLIAMS 1-3 0-0 2; GOBLE 0-1 1-3 1; PEDERSEN 0-3 0-0 0; GNEKOW 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 29-64 15-24 77.
Halftime: UCSB 34-32. 3-point goals--CSUB 3-12 (KEPENEKIAN 1-4; ARASE 1-4, LEON 1-1), UCSB 4-17 (WILSON 2-6; GIBBONS 1-3; ONONIWU 1-4). Fouled out--CSUB-none. UCSB-none. Rebounds--CSUB 34 (JOHNSON 9), UCSB 39 (JOHNSON 11). Assists?CSUB 9 (KEPENEKIAN 3), UCSB 23 (GIBBONS, PEDERSEN 5). Total fouls--CSUB 22, UCSB 20. Technical fouls--CSUB-none, UCSB-none. A-882
