UCLA
8-1
UC Santa Barbara
2-7
No. 9 UCLA Cruises to 71-52 Win at UCSB
December 14, 2016 | Women's Basketball
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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- No. 9 UCLA scored the first six points of the game and never trailed, cruising to a 71-52 victory at UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday evening at The Thunderdome. UCLA improved to 13-2 all-time against UCSB and 5-1 on the Gauchos' home turf.
But it wasn't all smooth sailing as the Bruins (8-1) built a 20-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, only to see the Gauchos (2-7) come roaring back with a 16-2 run to tie it at 22-22 with 3:30 remaining in the second. UCLA scored just one field goal over a span of 8:05 and was outrebounded 13-8 in the second period. The Bruins led 33-26 at the break.
Jordin Canada had 14 points in the first half with Monique Billings right behind with nine. Sarah Porter led UCSB with 11 points on the strength of a 3-for-6 performance from beyond the arc.
Canada was simply too much for the Gauchos down the stretch and got easy penetration buckets whenever she wanted. She scored 13 points in the third period to put the Bruins up 50-40. She made her only three-pointer in the quarter and went 6-for-6 from the free throw line.
The Bruins ran away with it in the fourth quarter, extending their lead to over 20 with a 12-0 run to open the period. Canada finished with 30 points, the second time she has scored 30 or more points in her career, while Billings had 17 for the Bruins.
Kari Korver extended her consecutive games with a made three-pointer to 10 games, making the final basket of the game, a long-distance shot with 0:22 left. She finished with six points, five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
Porter was held scoreless in the second half and was the only Gaucho to score in double figures with 11 points.
HOMECOMING:
UCLA head coach Cori Close played her collegiate basketball at UCSB from 1990-93 and tonight marked her first game against her alma mater as a head coach. As a player, Close was a four-year starting point guard at UC Santa Barbara and captained the 1992 and 1993 teams which each advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. She was a 1993 first-team All-Big West selection and the MVP of the 1993 Conference Tournament. Close was the first player in school history to record more than 1,000 points and 500 assists for a career and ranked among the top 10 in seven Gaucho statistical categories. She averaged a school-record 8.3 assists per game in 1993 which was among the top 10 marks in the nation that season. On April 30, 2005, Close was inducted into the UC Santa Barbara Athletics Hall of Fame.
BIG PICTURE:
UCLA won its first road game of the 2016-17 season after going 5-0 at home and 2-0 in neutral games in the Cancun Challenge. UCLA lost its only previous road game at No. 2 Baylor on Nov. 14.
UP NEXT:
UCLA continues its stretch of three road games in six days with a date at No. 6 South Carolina on Sunday, Dec. 18. The game will be televised live on ESPN2 at 11:00 a.m. PT.
No. 9 UCLA at UC Santa Barbara (Non-Conference Game)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| No. 9 UCLA | 20 | 13 | 17 | 21 | 71 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 7 | 19 | 14 | 12 | 52 |
