The UC Irvine Women’s Basketball team (18-10, 13-4) defeated the Cal Poly Mustangs (3-20, 2-12), 67-66, in a wall-to-wall thriller on Thursday, March 3 at the Bren Events Center.
UCI’s redshirt freshman guard Kayla Williams led the Anteaters with 26 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals in the victory.
The ‘Eaters opened the game on a 6-0 scoring run highlighted by a crafty hook shot by sophomore forward Sophia Locandro, two free throws from graduate forward Naomi Hunt and a layup from Williams.
The Anteaters continued strong, jumping out to a 12-6 lead following a three pointer from freshman guard Nikki Tom. However, the Mustangs soon galloped ahead, scoring the next seven points to take their first lead of the game, 13-12.
UCI regained the lead off back-to-back buckets from freshman guard Hunter Hernandez, putting them in front, 16-13. Hernandez ended the first quarter for the Anteaters by capitalizing off two free throws, putting them up 18-15 at the end of the first.
Cal Poly opened the second quarter on a quick 5-0 spurt, but it was quickly answered by a three pointer from UCI’s sophomore guard Jayde Cadee. The Mustangs answered back with a 7-1 run to take a 28-22 lead with 3:20 left in the half.
Williams shook a Cal Poly defender with a million-dollar spin move and finished the tough lay-in, cutting the Mustang lead to four. The half ended with a big three-pointer by Irvine’s freshman forward Caiye Kaupu to cut the Anteater deficit to three, 30-27 at the break.
The Anteaters were hot starting the second half. Williams and Hunt connected on huge, momentum-shifting three-pointers to put UCI ahead, 33-32.
UCI upped their defensive intensity in the second half looking to push the ball more in transition for easy layups. Both teams traded baskets until Hernandez hit a jumper assisted by Williams, putting UCI ahead, 40-38. However, the Mustangs closed the third on a 7-2 run to take a 45-42 lead heading into the final quarter.
A couple of defensive breakdowns from the Anteaters led to back-to-back easy layups for the Mustangs, giving them a 51-46 lead. But the Anteaters didn’t give up. Two straight three-pointers from Williams put the ‘Eaters ahead again, 54-53.
Both teams went back and forth on the court until Cadee connected with a huge three for the Anteaters, tying the game at 61-61 with 2:07 left. The game turned into a freethrow battle down the stretch with both teams getting to the line.
Following two free throws from Williams, the Anteaters found themselves ahead, 67-64, with 18.9 seconds left. The Mustangs connected on a clutch layup with 11 seconds left, making it a one-point game.
The Mustangs brought full court pressure and fouled Williams in the backcourt, sending her to the line again. This time, however, she missed both free throws, giving the Mustangs momentary hope. But Hunt soon snatched a huge offensive rebound, which she passed to Williams to run out the clock. Williams was fouled again with seven seconds left.
The drama continued as Williams again missed both free throws, giving the Mustangs one last chance. With no timeouts left, the Mustangs hustled up the floor, but they were soon met with the Anteaters’ scorching defense. In the end, the Mustangs were unable to get off a shot before time expired, giving UCI the win, 67-66.
UCI head coach Tamara Inoue commented on the Anteater’s win after the game.
“[That win] was big. When a team shoots 51% from the field and 36% from the three, and 80% from the free throw line you usually don’t win those games, so [I’m] just really proud of the team just gritting it out and finding a way to win … I just think on any given night, our players step up and do good things,” Inoue said.
James Huston is a Sports Staff Writer for the Winter 2022 quarter. He can be reached at hustonj@uci.edu.
