SEATTLE - Following its 2-0 start after week one, Seattle University women’s basketball (2-0) heads back out on the road, traveling to UC Santa Barbara (2-0) for a Monday evening matchup inside the UCSB Events Center at 6 PM. Action will be live on ESPN+.
Junior Cristina Jones comes off a season high 22 points in Seattle U’s 80-55 victory over UC Riverside. The junior guard is averaging a team leading 17.0 PPG and 9.5 RBG shooting 42.1 percent from the field. Jones ranks second in the WCC in points per game and third in rebounds per game after the first week of nonconference action.
Sophomore Alanna Neale went for a career best 20 points against the Highlanders and is the Redhawks’ second leading double-digit scorer on the team. Neale has averaged 13.5 PPG shooting 50 percent from the floor.
Guiding the team from three is sophomore Sophie Buzzard and fifth year Shelley Duchemin, each averaging 1.5 triples per game, shooting 50 percent from behind the arc. Buzzard is posting 7.0 PPG to Duchemin’s 8.0 PPG. Both Duchemin and Neale rank top-20 in the conference in rebounds per game, averaging five per contest.
Pacing the defense is Jones, whose 3.5 steals per game leads the conference after week one. In Friday’s win, Jones led the team with four steals. The Long Beach, Calif. native also sits top-five in the WCC in blocks per game, grabbing 1.5.
Two Redhawks rank amongst the top of the conference in offensive rebounds, with freshman Gabriela Escorial leading the team averaging four offensive boards a game. Jones sits right behind picking up 3.5 a contest.
The Redhawks have averaged 71.5 points per game spanning their first two appearances and are shooting a combined 40.7 percent from the floor. They are second in the WCC in three point percentage, combining for 39.5 percent shooting from behind the arc.
Seattle U is one of the conference’s top rebounding teams, grabbing 45.5 RBG after week one while ranking first in the WCC in offensive rebounds per game (20.5). The Redhawks are limiting opponents to a conference best 31 RBG while also guarding the three point line well, allowing only six triples. They are holding teams to 38.5 percent shooting on the season.
UC Santa Barbara will be one of the WCC’s newest members, as the Gauchos are set to join the league in the summer of 2027, alongside UC San Diego. This season marks the third straight meeting between the Redhawks and Gauchos, after UCSB visited Seattle a year ago. The Gauchos claimed the last meeting in 2025 to level the all-time series 4-4. Monday’s meeting is the fourth ever in Santa Barbara, with the Redhawks holding a 1-2 record on UCSB’s floor.
UC Santa Barbara has also started 2-0, defeating UC Santa Cruz and future conference opponent Pepperdine in its opening matchups. The Gauchos have three that are averaging double-digit scoring in the early season and are shooting a combined 48 percent from the floor while holding opponents to 27.6 percent shooting from the field. UCSB generates offense from behind the arc, shooting over 50 percent from three point land, connecting for 23 makes from three so far this year. The Gauchos are also outrebounding opponents by 14.5 and generating 14.0 steals per game.
Following Monday’s contest, the Redhawks remain on the road through Wednesday, traveling to Cal Poly for a midweek meeting with the Mustangs. Both of Seattle U’s road games this week will be streamed on ESPN+.
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