Week in Sports
TOP SPORTING EVENTS: DECEMBER 16-23
UCSB hosts the Pepperdine Waves tonight (Fri., Dec. 16) in women’s basketball, the last game in the Thunderdome until January. The Gaucho men’s team, which plays at Washington tonight, is on a five-game road trip, and the women’s team will embark on a four-game journey starting Monday at New Mexico State.
The Gaucho women (3-5) have put together a streak of strong defensive efforts. They have held their last five opponents under 50 points. But they have had trouble putting the ball in the hoop and lost three of those games. Pepperdine (5-4) had a four-game winning streak snapped by a 63-52 loss to Oregon State. Tessa Emerson, a freshman from Santa Barbara, led the Waves on the boards with eight rebounds.
UCSB’s men (5-2) survived their first road test last Monday when they held off the University of San Diego, 65-61. Their next two opponents have never lost to the Gauchos. Washington is 2-0 and California, their opponent Monday night in Berkeley, is 7-0 against UCSB. Both the Huskies and Golden Bears are among the better Pac-12 teams, although Washington’s 7-foot center Aziz N’Diaye (strained knee) will miss tonight’s game.
