Santa Barbara Wins Big West Women’s Title

Erin Buescher scored 28 points and UC Santa Barbara claimed its second straight Big West tournament championship and an automatic NCAA berth by defeating Boise State, 86-69, Saturday.

Nicole Greathouse added 14 points, Tandee Taylor had 11 and Kristi Rohr 10 for Santa Barbara (26-5), which heads to the NCAA tournament for the fourth time.

The Gauchos have never gotten past the second round but they’re going in with plenty of momentum.

Since losing to Nevada on Jan. 15, Santa Barbara has won a school-record 15 straight, topping last year’s season-ending 14-game run that included a victory over UC Irvine in the conference championship game before a first-round loss in the NCAA tourney.

Tawyna Gray’s 17 points led Boise State (19-10).