Gauchos Find Trail to Another Title

When Pacific forward Nancy Dinges made a three-point basket to give her team a two-point halftime lead over UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, the Gauchos had to figure they had the Tigers right where they wanted them.

After all, in each of the teams’ last five meetings, Santa Barbara trailed at halftime and came back to win.

“I was somewhat hoping we didn’t score a three-pointer at the buzzer and go ahead,” Santa Barbara Coach Mark French said.

Sure enough, despite Pacific’s best efforts, Santa Barbara (25-5) overtook the Tigers halfway through the second half and went on to a 64-53 victory before 1,145 at the Anaheim Convention Center. It was the Gauchos’ sixth consecutive Big West tournament title and their 21st consecutive victory this season. Their last loss was on Dec. 30 to Nevada Las Vegas.

Guided by conference player of the year Kayte Christensen (14 points, eight rebounds)--”the best player I’ve had to combine a fierce desire with a great work ethic,” French said--and tournament MVP Lindsay Taylor (12 points, eight rebounds), Santa Barbara claimed the conference’s automatic NCAA tournament berth.

“I thought it was a great championship game,” French said. “Pacific did a terrific job. Their defense was absolutely superb.”

The Tigers (19-11) were especially effective in the first half, when they harassed the Gauchos into missing 20 of 28 shots and were outrebounded by only 17-16. But all that got them was the two-point halftime lead, which didn’t exactly frighten Santa Barbara.

“We didn’t think it would get worse, and hopefully it would get better,” French said.

In the second half Santa Barbara shot 48.3% (14 for 29) and forced Pacific into critical turnovers. When Kristen Mann drove for a layup with 10:31 to play, Santa Barbara went ahead, 38-36. The Tigers never caught up after that. The closest they could get was 46-45 on a three-pointer by Dinges, but the turnovers (20) prevented them from recapturing the momentum.

Christensen, a senior, is eager to see how far the Gauchos can go.

“Our team chemistry is better than any other team I’ve played on here,” she said. “That’s going to be important come NCAA tournament time.”

Pacific, which was led by Dinges’ 12 points, must hope some tournament’s selection committee will give it a chance.

“I hope the NIT people were watching,” Tiger Coach Sherri Murrell said. “We had a 25-5 team on the ropes. I don’t think they were thinking they could cruise past Pacific. So I really hope the NIT was watching. We deserve it.”