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UC Santa Barbara Gauchos
Road to the Final Four.............................................................................................
Overview  The Gauchos return to the NCAA Tournament via the Big West's automatic bid despite the losses of All-American Erin Buescher (transfer) and their other two top scorers from a year ago. Coach Mark French still has plenty of talent at his disposal. Forwards Kayte Christensen, who averages a team-high 14 points and 7.9 rebounds, and Nicole Greathouse provide scoring and rebounding. The freshman tandem of Lindsay Taylor and Jessica Combs play well together, joining UC Santa Barbara after playing together in high school in Chandler, Ariz.Player to WatchJunior forward Kayte Christensen excels on the court and in the classroom. The 2001 Verizon Academic All-District VIII second-team honoree, who carries a 3.46 grade-point average, averages 13.6 points and eight rebounds. Roster NO. PLAYER POS HT YRS HOMETOWN 3 Kristyn Miller G 5-9 JR Thornton, CA 10 Jess Hansen G 5-8 SO Oregon City, OR 12 Nicole Greathouse F/C 6-2 SR Ventura, CA 13 Lindsay Taylor C 6-8 FR Chandler, AZ 14 Lisa Willett G/F 6-0 FR Santa Barbara, Ca 20 Kayte Christensen F 6-3 JR Alturas, CA 22 Debby Caine G 5-7 SO Huntington Beach, CA 24 Rachelle Rogers G 6-0 SR Redding, CA 25 Sheila Shilati G 5-3 SR Calabasas, CA 32 Jessica Combs F 6-4 FR Chandler, AZNotable Numbers A lot of fans overlooked UC Santa Barbara, which has won six straight Big West regular-season titles, after Erin Buescher transferred to The Master's College. Buescher had led the team in scoring for three straight seasons, leading the Gauchos to an 83-14 mark over that span. But this year's group found a way to replace Buescher's 17.3 scoring and 9.7 rebounding averages of a year ago. Tournament history Previous NCAA Tournament Bids: 6 NCAA Tournament Record: 3-6 Final Four Appearances: None NCAA Tournament Championships: None Last NCAA Appearance: 2000
 Diary: UC Santa Barbara's Kayte Christensen The junior forward recounts a memorable and emotional motivational speech from teammate Debby Caine.  Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories |  |
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