Leading by ten at the half, the Redhawks started where they left off, going on a 7-0 early second half run with contributions from Taelor Ross (Vancouver, Wash.) and Wilma Afunugo (Plano, Texas).
Ross would drive in a layup with 8:54 remaining in the contest to give the Redhawks a 20-plus point lead, which would be the final margin of victory. Despite a 6-0 UC Santa Barbara run late in the second half, SU would come away with a 20-point victory.
“We needed our energy up and I thought we really did a good job there and a good job rebounding,” said head coach Joan Bonvicini. “Our defense was good and it was a good overall team win. I knew that they were going to make a run to come back but I thought this was a great team win.”
The Redhawks took an early 4-0 lead through the first two minutes of the contest before Kristine Brance scored five straight to give UC Santa Barbara a quick lead. Ross, with a layup at 14:56, regained the Seattle U lead for good.
Kaylee Best (Seattle, Wash.) hit a three two minutes later to extend the lead to four and a three by Claire Metoyer (Desoto, Texas) would extend the Redhawks’ lead to double digits, 15-5, with 9:30 before half.
Crystal Allen (Fort Worth, Texas) put Seattle U ahead again by double digits, 20-10, at 6:59 and the Redhawks would take their largest lead of the half, 25-13, at 2:44 on a jumper by Ross.
Allen would give the Redhawks a 10-point lead once again, 28-18, on a three-pointer at the halftime buzzer.
“We’ve had different people step up in different games, but we needed them to do it collectively,” continued Bonvicini. “When you do that, then you’re playing good team basketball.”
Seattle U made a season-high eight three-pointers, shooting 8-for-14 (57.1 percent) from behind the arc. Best and Allen each hit three three-pointers, a career high for Allen. The Redhawks outrebounded the Gauchos, 37-32.
Ross led all players on the floor in scoring with 19 points, just three shy of her career high, while Allen (13 pts) and Best (11 pts) also scored in double figures for the Redhawks. Makala Roper (12 pts) and Clair Watkins (10 pts) led UCSB in scoring.
This weekend’s contests will be a special “two-for-one” promotion as fans who present a ticket from Saturday’s game will receive free admission to Sunday’s contest.
Stay tuned to GoSeattleU.com as well as Facebook (Seattle U Athletics; Seattle University Women’s Basketball), Twitter (@su_athletics; @su_wbb), and Instagram (su_redhawks; su_wbb) for all the latest updates on the team throughout the 2014-15 campaign.