Big West Tournament Live Blog!

Hello everyone, and welcome to Anaheim. We’ll keep you updated in today’s men’s and women’s semi-finals as the action goes.

Check in every couple of minutes for instant analysis on all the action, starting right before tipoff.

Women’s Semifinal: #5 UCSB  vs. #1 UC Davis

12:44: Buzzer beating 3 pointer by Kasey Riecks for Davis makes it 38-24 at the half. Best thing about this first half for the Gauchos? That it’s over. 19 turnovers in the first 20 min is just one less than they had in the first two rounds COMBINED! First few minutes of the second half are going to be pivotal.

12:40: Largest lead so far for Davis at 11 pts. You have to wonder if the Gauchos are feeling the effects of playing the last two days. Halftime can’t come soon enough for Lindsay Gottlied. 1:30 left.

12:37: Turnover number 17 of the first half! A basket by Meagan Williams ends a 9-0 Davis run. 30-22 Aggies

12:33: Just as Mekia Valentine starts making her presence felt she gets whistled for her second foul and gets pulled by head coach Lindsay Gottlieb. Davis with a mini 5-0 run to go up 26-20.

12:27: Timeout on the floor at the 7:57 mark. Story of the first half so far? You guessed it. A remarkable 11 turnovers on UCSB! They look a little unsure on the offensive end with errant passes and shuffling feet. Gauchos shooting 50% from the field while Davis is at 41%. UCD still holds the lead 19-16.

12:24: Gauchos continue to turn the ball over. Back to back travel calls on Spencer and Valentine. Gauchos trail by 6…19-13

12:20: Emilie Johnson with a personal 5 point spurt draws the Gauchos within one. Both buckets coming off jumpers following Aggie turnovers. 14-13 UC Davis.

12:15: 14 minutes left in the first half. Gauchos looking to run early but 6 turnovers in 6 minutes isn’t going to cut it. Davis up 14-8

12:10: First timeout of the game. Meagan Williams off to another fast start but the Aggies up 10-6 thanks to two three-pointers from Paige Mintun.

12:04: Starting lineups have been announced. Mekia Valentine wins the opening tip. She’s been absolutely dominant on the defensive end through the first two rounds.

11:53: Seven minutes from opening tip…UCSB going for their third win in three days.

11:40: Welcome everyone, Marco Alfandary here checking in for some Big West action!

Eric Frimpong Case Getting National Attention

ESPN the Magazine’s Sam Alipour recently did a feature on former UCSB soccer star and convicted rapist Eric Frimpong for the magazine’s July 13th issue. This is, if I’m not mistaken, the first major media outlet to report in-depth on the case that divided Santa Barbara.

It’s definitely worth a read.

The Story of Prisoner F95488