Decisive UCSB Run Puts Away UC Irvine

Lindsay Taylor scored 20 points and grabbed nine rebounds and the No. 19 UC Santa Barbara women went on a 24-3 run midway through the second half to defeat UC Irvine, 78-56, Saturday night at Irvine.

Mia Fisher added 14 points and Brandy Richardson had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Gauchos (21-4, 13-1 Big West Conference), who have won three in a row and 10 of their last 11 games.

Christina Callaway had 19 points and eight rebounds while Wendy Gabbe scored 13 for the Anteaters (16-10, 9-6).

The game was tied at 44-44 with 12:47 to play, but Lisa Willett made a three-point basket and Fisher hit a 10-foot jumper to give Santa Barbara a 49-44 lead with 11:36 remaining.

Taylor scored 10 points during the decisive run that extended the Gauchos’ lead to 75-51 with 2:03 left.

The Anteaters failed to score for a stretch of 5:32 in the second half.

Santa Barbara shot 54.5% in the second half and outrebounded Irvine 50-28 for the game.

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OTHER GAMES

Providence slowed down No. 1 Connecticut. The Friars just didn’t have enough to stop the Huskies from winning. Ann Strother scored 13 points and Diana Taurasi added 12 as Connecticut (28-0, 15-0) rallied to beat its host Providence (9-17, 3-12), 70-52, clinching its 10th straight regular-season Big East title.... Megan Mahoney had 23 points and 11 rebounds and Nicole Ohlde added 17 points as No. 5 Kansas State (27-2, 14-1 Big 12) beat Colorado (27-2, 14-1 Big 12), 67-59, at Boulder, Colo. ... Cheryl Ford had 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead No. 6 Louisiana Tech (25-2, 17-0 Western Athletic Conference) to a 98-60 victory at Ruston, La., over Boise State (9-17, 6-10). Ford was eight of 11 from the field and four of six from the line as the Lady Techsters won their 23rd straight game and 20th conference game in a row.... Nicole Powell had 26 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two blocked shots as No. 9 Stanford (23-4, 15-3) beat Arizona State (15-12, 7-11), 63-53, in the regular-season finale for both teams at Tempe, Ariz. ... Christi Thomas had 19 points and 10 rebounds as No. 14 Georgia (19-8, 10-4) beat Florida (9-17, 1-13) 76-67, at Athens, Ga., clinching a first-round bye in the Southeastern Conference tournament.... Shalicia Hurns made a layup at the buzzer to lift No. 20 Rutgers (20-5, 13-2) to a 50-49 road victory over No. 18 Villanova (21-5, 11-4 Big East).... Kristy Loiselle scored 24 points to lead six players in double figures as No. 22 Wisconsin Green Bay (24-3, 15-1) avenged its only Horizon League defeat with a 96-68 victory over Wright State (11-16, 8-8) at Green Bay.... Amber Jacobs scored a season-high 28 points as No. 23 Boston College (19-7, 11-4 Big East) beat Miami (15-11, 7-8), 84-77, at Boston.... Shawntinice Polk scored 22 points and Krista Warren added 16 as No. 24 Arizona (20-7, 13-5 Pac-10) beat California (9-18, 5-13), 68-51, at Tucson.... Giuliana Mendiola scored 20 points and had five steals as No. 25 Washington (21-6, 13-5 Pac-10) defeated Washington State (2-25, 1-17 Pac-10), 73-49, at Seattle.