UC Santa Barbara overcame the loss of its leading scorer to beat the University of Hawaii women’s basketball team, 65-51, in a Big West win today at the Thunderdome in Santa Barbara, Calif.
UCSB guard Alexis Tucker scored a game-high 19 points, center Ila Lane added 13 points and 11 rebounds and the Gauchos snapped UH’s three-game winning streak.
The Gauchos (10-6, 4-3 Big West) saw point guard Danae Miller leave the game with an injury early in the second quarter, but managed to fend off the Wahine (7-8, 3-2) before pulling away in the fourth. UCSB took a 41-35 lead into the final period and shot 6-for-7 from the field and 10-for-12 from the free-throw line to snuff UH’s comeback hopes.
UCSB shot 51% from the field in the game while holding UH to 32%. UH forward Amy Atwell finished with nine points — 10 below her season average — on 4-for-12 shooting.
Freshman Jacque David scored nine of her team-high 11 points in the final minutes. Guard Daejah Phillips finished with 10 points; Kelsie Imai added eight.
The Rainbow Wahine conclude their road trip Saturday at Cal State Northridge.
