Box Score (Santa Barbara, Calif.) -
Taj Winston fell just shy of a double-double Friday as the USF women's basketball dropped a 60-41decision to UC Santa Barbara at the Thunderdome in Santa Barbara. The game wrapped up a five game road trip for the Dons (1-8), who will return to the friendly confines of War Memorial Gym Wednesday.
UC Santa Barbara (3-4) took the lead early in the game, and never relinquished it. The Gauchos held the Dons to five points in the opening 10 minutes to take a 16-5 lead. San Francisco pulled together an 8-0 run later in the half to pull within three, but UCSB capped the half with a 29-21 lead.
The Dons struggled from deep in the first half, hitting just 1-of-7 from 3-point territory. USF finished the night shooting 21.1 percent from beyond the arc.
San Francisco's offensive woes carried into the second half, as they hit just six field goals over the final 20 minutes. The Dons also struggled from the charity stripe, hitting 9-of-18.
Winston paced the Green Golds with eight points and career-high 10 rebounds. The freshman added two assists.
Whitney Daniels added nine boards with two steals.
Katy Keating and
Rheina Ale led the Dons in scoring with 10 points apiece.
Three Gauchos with double-digit scoring paced UCSB. Melissa Zornig led the brigade with 17 points. Defensively, Kirsten Tillman pulled down 16 rebounds.
San Francisco will return to action Wednesday, Dec. 7 as they host Florida at 5:30 p.m. The last time the two teams met was in the 1996 NCAA Tournament. During the 1996 Tournament, the Dons advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.
