SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The No. 19 Utah women's basketball team fell to No. 18 UC Santa Barbara 52-44 in the second round of the Preseason WNIT Monday night.
Utah (1-1) shot just 33 percent from the field and only 18 percent (5-of-28) from beyond the three-point line. The Utes were outrebounded 36-34 by a much bigger Gaucho team (2-0).
"We defended well, rebounded well and took care of the ball, which is what kept us in the game," said Utah coach Elaine Elliott said. "We didn't convert enough to get a lead and stay in there. Our execution wasn't what it needs to be."
Sophomore Shona Thorburn led Utah with 14 points, 12 of which came from three-pointers. Sophomore Kim Smith added 13 points and seven rebounds. Senior Kelsy Stireman dished out five assists to lead the Utes.
After an early tie at four apiece, the Gauchos used an 8-0 run to take a 12-4 lead, holding Utah scoreless for 5:34. Thorburn hit a three-pointer with 2:17 left to cut the Santa Barbara lead to three, but the Gauchos went into the locker room up by six, 22-16. Utah shot just 27 percent (7-of-26) from the field on the half, including just 1-of-14 from behind the arc.
UCSB scored the first four points of the second half to take a 26-16 lead. The Utes slowly chipped away at the deficit, however, going on a 12-2 run to cut the lead to one (31-30) with 10:58 left on the clock.
The Gauchos answered by scoring seven consecutive points to go up by 11. Utah wouldn't give up, cutting it to five on a Thorburn trey with 2:13 left in the game, but that would be as close as the Utes would get.
Utah travels to Fresno, Calif., Nov. 28-29, for the Fresno State Tournament. The Utes face Western Kentucky at 6 p.m. (PDT) in the first round on Friday.