On Feb. 3, U.C. Santa Barbara Women's Basketball will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the team reaching the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2004.
Under former 21-year Gauchos Head Coach Mark French (1977-2008), the program reached the incredible heights. Prior to the 2003-2004 season, his teams had reached the NCAA Tournament seven straight seasons.
“We knew that 2004 was the best team we probably had for a long time,” French admitted.
Led by future WNBA players Kristen Mann and Lindsay Taylor, the 2003-2004 team won the Big West Championship and made the NCAA Tournament once again as an 11-seed. As a bonus, they would also host the first two games on their home court in the Thunderdome.
“Then to come into this building and have that crowd for that Colorado game, I think all of us kind of went, my goodness gracious, hey, we can get this thing done.”
The Gauchos went on beat Colorado in the first round and Houston in the second on their home court before falling to eventual national champions in Head Coach Geno Auriemma's Connecticut team led by WNBA all-time leading scorer, Diana Taurasi. The Gauchos lost by only eight points. It was and still is the best finish by any UCSB basketball team in history.
“One of the things I remember and really admired about that team was they were very resilient,” French said.
French retired in 2008 with 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, seven Big West Coach of the Year awards and numbers that seem unattainable at a mid-major. In 2015, the Gauchos hired Bonnie Henrickson to take up the helm. For her, reaching the Sweet 16 is nothing new who did it four times between her time as head coach at Virginia Tech and Kansas.
“Once they feel it once you get a taste of it and just doesn't ever go away and you just always want to get back to that," Henrickson explained of her NCAA postseason experience. " If you've been a part of that, which I have been very lucky with great coaches and players, you just want that for them.”
In terms of what it takes though to get to a sweet 16, it’s a mix of things.
“You have to have talent. You got to have players,” Henrickson said. She has that this season sporting the highest scoring offense in the Big West as well as a first place standing in conference with veteran pieces like Alyssa Marin and Alexis Whitfield holding down the fort.
But the Gauchos have the intangibles as well.
“They want to get it right. They want to get it right for each other. They listen, ask good questions. They're thoughtful about what we're trying to do.”
Despite joining the Gauchos in 2015, Henrickson remembers the run in 2004 fondly and hopes to emulate the same result with her group.
“The year I left Virginia Tech and went to Kansas was that spring. I remember rooting for them; a mid-major. It was a really successful team and a team that no Power five [would] ever want to play and that's what we want to be,”
The women's program has reached the NCAA Tournament 14 times in their history with the last time being in 2011. Coach Henrickson and her group have been close twice to advancing to the NCAA Tournament with two losses in the Big West Championship game. The combined margin of loss in those two game; 3 points.
Former players from the Sweet 16 team and Coach French will be in attendance for the Gauchos home game Feb. 3 against Cal State Bakersfield.
