UCSB Women Beat San Diego in Opener

Using its superior size and depth, No. 18 UC Santa Barbara beat San Diego, 82-44, Saturday in the first round of the women’s preseason NIT in front of 1,478 at Santa Barbara.

The Gauchos, who extended their home winning streak to 24, play host to No. 19 Utah on Monday in the second round. But they may be short-handed.

Starting forward Brandy Richardson collided with a teammate during warmups and sat out with a concussion. Kate Bauman sprained her right ankle during the first half and left the arena on crutches. Center Lindsay Taylor, who has a sore right Achilles tendon, played only 11 minutes and scored nine points.

-- Mike Terry

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In other top 25 games:

Emily Waner made a three-point basket with 12.6 seconds left in overtime to give No. 20 Colorado a 67-63 victory over No. 15 Notre Dame in the championship game of the WBCA Classic at Boulder, Colo..... No. 9 Louisiana State beat Villanova, 63-56, in the semifinals of the Women’s Sports Foundation Classic at Eugene, Ore.

MEN

Cedric Banks scored 25 points to help Illinois Chicago beat UC Irvine, 77-65, in the Black Coaches Assn. Classic at Cincinnati. Stanislav Zuzak had 29 points for the Anteaters, who play San Diego in the consolation bracket. The Toreros lost to Oakland, Mich., 93-68, behind Mike Helms, who set a tournament record with 31 points to lead the Golden Grizzlies. Helms broke the mark of 30 by Purdue’s Roy Hairston against Memphis in 1995.