Story By LBSU’s Andrea Ohta

The Long Beach State women’s basketball team  fell to UC Santa Barbara, 66-48, in its Big West Conference opener Friday evening in front of 1,138 fans at The Thunderdome.

The Gauchos (5-6, 1-0) used a second-half surge to run away late in the game as they shot 50 percent (12-for-24) over the final 20 minutes. The 49ers (3-9, 0-1) came within eight after a three-pointer by junior Courtney Jacob at the 18:59 mark, but UCSB would eventually go up by as many as 21 en route to the win.

Junior Whitney Fields led The Beach with her third double-double of the season, notching 11 points and 10 rebounds, while adding four steals. Junior Lauren Sims chipped in 10 points and senior Lynea Williams came off the bench to score eight.

UCSB jumped out to an early 8-0 lead before LBSU responded with a 7-0 run, capped by a Jacob three-pointer, to cut the deficit to one with 14:30 on the clock. Sha’Rae Gibbons and Lauren Pedersen then sparked the Gauchos, combining for 11 points over a two-minute span to give the home team a 19-9 advantage.

LBSU pulled within three at 21-18 after a three-pointer by Sims with 4:47 remaining, but UCSB closed out the half on a 9-3 spurt to go up 30-21 at the break.

Pedersen led UCSB with 16 points and six rebounds, while Gibbons finished the evening with 14 points on a 6-for-8 shooting performance.

The 49ers will return to action on Sunday, Jan. 4, when they continue their Big West schedule at Cal Poly. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m.