She Feels Like Dancing Clinesmith Has Ucsb On Brink Of Ncaas
UC Santa Barbara was leading by 25 and sophomore point guard Stacy Clinesmith was working on her moves on the sideline. She shuffled her head from side to side. Her feet were in constant motion.
A little dance practice never hurts when trying to get to the Big Dance.
“I’m always trying to get some laughs out of everybody,” said Clinesmith, the Mead High product. “This team is a lot of fun.”
Clinesmith’s Gauchos stepped on North Texas 92-64 Wednesday and tiptoed past Nevada 95-88 in overtime Thursday to advance to the championship game of the Big West Tournament at the Lawlor Events Center.
If UCSB (25-5) beats Boise State (19-9) today, Clinesmith earns a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. If UCSB loses, an at-large berth is possible but perhaps remote.
Since Clinesmith’s involved, bet on the former. She helped Mead to a state title and was twice MVP of the state tourney. She saw considerable time last year on a senior-dominated UCSB team which lost in the first round of the NCAAs. UCSB, which has no seniors, dropped only one conference game this season.
And late Thursday night, she willed UCSB past Nevada. The Gauchos trailed 31-11 in the first half before Clinesmith’s four 3-pointers cut the deficit to 43-38.
Clinesmith scored five points late in regulation, which ended tied at 80. In overtime, she had seven of UCSB’s 15 points and assisted another bucket. She finished with a career-high 34 points.
“She would not let us lose,” UCSB coach Mark French said. “It’s really cool to have all these super freshmen, and it’s nice to have a grizzled sophomore point guard.”
Clinesmith already is prominent on UCSB records lists. She’s second in 3-pointers (112) and sixth in assists (272). She led the Big West in 3-point accuracy (41 percent) and was fourth at the foul line (78 percent) this season.
She was recruited by UCSB assistant Cori Close, a former Gauchos point guard. When approached by the school, Clinesmith replied, “UC who?”
“I’d never heard of UCSB. They hadn’t contacted me and some schools had been writing me since eighth- or ninth-grade,” Clinesmith said. “UCSB popped up in the middle of summer. But I’ve never had regrets about my decision.”
Once at UCSB, Clinesmith helped recruit another valuable Gaucho. Erin Buescher was a 6-foot-3 point guard in high school, the same position played by the 5-5 Clinesmith. Buescher, a freshman, emerged as the Big West player of the year this season. Clinesmith, who was first-team All-Big West, usually handles the ball, but Buescher, too, is an excellent passer.
“That was a big recruiting issue,” French said. “We had to be really honest and clear. Stacy hosted Erin on her visit and they pretty much came to the conclusion they wanted to play together and it didn’t really matter who played point.
“Stacy’s assists probably are lower than they would be if Erin weren’t around, but they’re both willing (to compromise) to play in an uptempo style of basketball.”
Clinesmith was also a soccer standout at Mead, but she’s declined to turn out thus far at UCSB. She is considering playing for one season after her basketball eligibility expires.
For now, her focus is basketball. Her clowning around ends between the lines.
“I’m pretty businesslike,” she said. “I’m not afraid to yell at anybody.
“Off the court, I act like a third-grader and so does everybody else. But we know what we want and to get that we can’t be messing around too much.”
Clinesmith doesn’t like to mess with success.
“I’ve been really lucky to be on great teams with great coaches and teammates,” she said. “It’s the best feeling to work so hard and get your reward.”
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo
MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: BIG WEST TOURNAMENT Championship game today USCB vs. Boise State, 1 p.m.