Box Score ATHERTON - No. 21 UC Santa Cruz erased a nine-point deficit in the last six minutes to rally for a 67-60 win at Menlo.
The Banana Slugs improved to 6-0 on the season.

UC Santa Cruz opened the game on a 19-10 run, their biggest lead of the game. They were up 19-13 after one quarter before the hosts rallied to get within 27-25 with 3:51 before halftime. Kaylee Murphy had UC Santa Cruz's last two layups of the half as the Banana Slugs held on to lead 31-26 at the break. Murphy hit a pair of free-throws after 30 seconds of the third to give UCSC a 33-26 lead.
However, Menlo answered with a 14-3 run to take a 40-36 lead with 5:30 left in the period. Ashley Kowack hit a three to get UC Santa Cruz within 40-39, but another 9-4 run gave the hosts a 49-43 lead entering the fourth.

Menlo kept pace and pushed the lead to 58-49 with 5:44 left. The Banana Slugs started their rally with a pair of Murphy free throws. Talysha Wilkerson then stole the ball and fed Amanda Inserra for a three to get the Banana Slugs within four. Menlo hit a layup to restore the lead to 60-54, but Murphy hit two more free-throws and Aubrey Wagner had a steal before driving the court and hitting a layup to make the deficit 60-58 with 3:03 left. Kowack then tied it with a pair of free-throws before Murphy got the lead back with a bucket with 0:33 left, and the Banana Slugs saw out the game to complete the comeback.

Overall, UC Santa Cruz closed the game on a 13-0 run and outscored Menlo 24-11 in the last quarter. Inserra and Murphy each had 18 points to lead the Banana Slugs, with Murphy going 8-10 on free throws and having 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season. Kowack added 16 points. Wilkerson had a team-high four assists off the bench.
Kiara Brown led the Oaks (4-4) with a game-high 22 points playing all 40 minutes.
UC Santa Cruz returns home to play Whitworth Sunday at Kaiser Permanente Arena.