UC Santa Cruz Banana Slug Women's Basketball (17-5) defeated Lincoln University (1-11) as their last home game of the 2022-2023 season, while also celebrating their senior day. The Slugs are saying goodbye to four seniors; Ashley Kowack, Aubrey Wagner, Kaylee Murphy, and Tess Oakley-Stilson. The starting lineup are the four seniors and Amanda Inserra.
 
The first quarter started off with Lincoln gaining control of the tip ball and taking the first points of the game (2-0, 8:49). Lincoln was now in the lead, however, Inserra gained possession of the ball and shot a beautiful 3-pointer making the score 3-2 (8:22), now putting the Slugs in the lead. Lincoln repeatedly missed their shots because of the great defense from the Slugs. Murphy got a great rebound then set up a beautiful pass to Kowack leading them to make a layup, now making the score 7-2 (6:17). That gave Murphy the school's career record assist, and she continued to add to the record. Kowack ended the quarter with an outstanding buzzer beater shot with only 7 seconds left in the game making the score 24-12.
 
The second quarter started off with Murphy getting a rebound then setting up a shot for Oakley-Stilson's 3-pointer making the score 27-12 (9:12). The Slugs are very dangerous within the transition of the ball, scoring the quick hitters, forcing Lincoln to try and keep up with them. This is shown from the lack of defense from Lincoln leaving a wide open shot for Surina Beal to make the score 34-16 (6:41). An aggressive game, caused a foul by the Slugs. This secured Lincoln an opportunity to end their streak of not being able to score, with a free throw shot making the score 45-20 (1:16) before the second quarter ended with the Banana Slugs in the lead, 47-22.
 
The third quarter started off great for UC Santa Cruz. Wagner had an assist to Inserra for another great shot, to start the quarter off where they left off (50-22, 9:51 left). Five minutes left in the game, Wagner steals the ball and secures a layup,helping the Slugs with a 30 point lead in the game (60-30 5:36). Lincoln finally gets back into the game in the last two minutes, causing Santa Cruz defense to suck in. Lincoln aggressively drove in, succeeding in crawling back into the game. Banana Slugs gave fast breaks for Lincoln ending the third quarter 64-50, with a 14 point lead.
 
In the fourth, the Banana Slugs got five points right off the bat within the first couple minutes of the quarter. A 3-pointer from Oakley-Stilson and assist from Murphy (67-50, 9:20) and a jump shot made by Murphy (69-50, 8:53) to start the quarter off strong. All the seniors have started the fourth quarter doing their best to end the game off strong offensively and defensively with high intensity. As the seniors continue to get subbed out during the last couple minutes of the game, they get ovations for the great work, making this the 61st win for this group of seniors. The last home game of the season ended with the score being 97-69, securing another win for the UC Santa Cruz Women's basketball team.
 
The Banana Slugs came out with a hard-fought win. Murphy led the team with a game-high of 19 points, while also getting it done defensively with 15 rebounds, 12 being defensive rebounds. Kowack (17 points) and Oakley-Stilson (14 points) also scored in double figures. Wagner made the most assists in this game (9 assists), and also had 8 points and 5 rebounds.
Lincoln's Lindsay Claude led all players with 34 points playing all 40 minutes.
 
UC Santa Cruz will conclude the 2022-2023 regular season on February 19th, at Division II Dominican University.