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Box Score

CSU Bakersfield CSUB 8-23,3-17 Big West

UC Santa Barbara UCSB 21-11,12-8 Big West

CSU Bakersfield CSUB

8-23,3-17 Big West

Final

Mar. 10, 2023

UC Santa Barbara UCSB

21-11,12-8 Big West

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
CSU Bakersfield CSUB	17	8	19	22	66
UC Santa Barbara UCSB	22	14	10	29	75

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | March 10, 2023 | Written by James Tsitakis-Cecil

'Runners Eliminated in Semifinals After Historic Run

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – After the stunning upset over No. 1 UC Irvine, the Cal State Bakersfield women's basketball team went up against No. 5 UC Santa Barbara in the Hercules Tires Big West Basketball Championship Semifinals presented by The Hawaiian Islands. In an incredibly close game that had the Roadrunners giving the Gauchos everything they had, UCSB's fourth quarter made the difference in a 75-66 UCSB win.

Although Bakersfield's dance is over, the team will be looking positively towards the future. With such a young squad, CSUB was able to overcome the regular season champs in comeback fashion, while playing with heart, passion, and pure determination. Despite a disappointing regular season that saw the `Runners grab just 6 wins, with their three conference wins against teams from the bottom-half of the standings, nobody gave them a chance to get out of the first round, much less go on to upset a potential NCAA Tournament team. Greg McCall and his amazing staff will surely be looking back on this run as something to emulate in future seasons. Congratulations to the `Runners on their dance!

Notables

In an injury-riddled season filled with adversity on and off the court, the `Runners proved everyone wrong by making their first Big West Semifinals, despite being picked by the preseason committee to finish last.
Taylor Caldwell ended her career in fantastic fashion, putting up a tremendous tournament as a whole, posting double-digit efforts in all three games, including multiple career highs.
This remains a young team ready for stardom in the future, losing only two players to graduation on top of getting Shaunae Brown back for next season.
In an undoubtably offensive shootout, CSUB posted three double-digit scorers (Taylor Caldwell, Hennie van Schaik, and Grace Hunter) and a double-double from van Schaik, shooting 40% in the process.

Quotes

First Half

In what looked like the most even start of CSUB's matchups, the `Runners and Gauchos scored on even terms during the first quarter, responding shot-for-shot with each other.
UCSB took advantage of CSUB shooting fouls and passing miscommunications, converting turnovers to points and 9-of-11 from the charity stripe to take a 5-point lead in the first.
Bakersfield lessened the deficit with more consistent play by the end of the first period. Taylor Caldwell led the point, doing a little bit of everything, and Grace Hunter's shooting was hot.
With the help of a massive free throw differential and steady offensive production, UCSB secured a solid 36-25 lead after the first half. Grace Hunter led the `Runners with 6 points.

Second Half

Bakersfield found a spark of scoring early in the second half, cutting away at the UCSB lead bit-by-bit. With patient cycling and laying off the fouls, CSUB was able to tie the game at 38.
On back-to-back Taylor Caldwell scoop-and-scores, the `Runners found themselves back in the game. Caldwell had already eclipsed her third double-digit point game in this tournament.
The `Runners tied it up yet again, utilizing fast break opportunities and quick transitions off the in-bounds to catch UCSB off-guard while holding the defense strong on the other end.
A wave of turnovers from CSUB and defensive board control for UCSB saw the Gauchos take a double-digit lead midway through the final quarter, making Bakersfield's task more difficult.
Despite missing a bevy of free throws, he strong fourth quarter effort from UC Santa Barbara proved too much to overcome for the Cinderella story CSUB team.