UCI Women’s Basketball dominates CSU Bakersfield in Big West opener, 65-40

UC Irvine women’s basketball (6-3, 1-0) made their 2024-2025 Big West introduction against CSU Bakersfield (0-9, 0-2), cruising 65-40 past the Roadrunners on Dec. 5 at the Icardo Center.

After dropping their previous two games to Denver and New Mexico, the ‘Eaters headed back to California for their first Big West matchup of the season in Bakersfield — attempting to repeat their dominant Big West Championship season from last year. 

UC Irvine junior guard, Hunter Hernandez, who didn’t play in the previous two games, hit the ground running. Hernandez started the scoring with a jumper and a tip-in — establishing an early lead that Irvine never ended up relinquishing.

After her four quick points, Hernandez took a backseat while Irvine sophomore forward, Summah Hanson, controlled the offensive charge in the first quarter — scoring seven in the quarter by hitting a three-pointer, a jumper and sprinkling in a few free throws.

Bakersfield went into the game winless in the season; while they continued to give their all on the court, they were unable to build any offensive momentum against the reigning Big West champions. The first quarter ended with no major offensive contributions from the Roadrunners, and with a 15-7 Irvine lead.

After being subbed out at the end of the first quarter, Irvine senior point guard, Déja Lee, wasted no time in the second quarter by hitting a three-pointer — her first three points of the night — and the start of an offensive onslaught by the ‘Eaters. 

Bakersfield redshirt senior forward Ary Dizon went on a 4-0 scoring run to give a spark to the Roadrunner’s offense. Both teams had their best offensive performance in the second quarter, which didn’t serve well for Bakersfield, who desperately needed to climb back into the game.

Now with an 18-11 lead, Irvine graduate forward, Nevaeh Dean, made a three-pointer before a layup from Lee. UCI made a few free throws before Hanson came back into the picture, hitting another three-pointer to mark her fifth-straight game with double-digit points.

To end their impressive second quarter, Irvine’s recently-acquired redshirt freshman forward, Daniela Falcón Hernández, made a jumper during a 6-0 run. The first half ended 40-21 in favor of the Anteaters, with Irvine in a great position to win their first conference game of the season.

Again, in the third quarter the ‘Eaters scored first, this time with a three-pointer from Irvine senior guard Nikki Tom. Jumpers from Hanson and Dean closed out a 7-2 run, which marked a turning point in the game as Irvine began subbing out their biggest contributors. 

At the same time, however, Irvine sophomore point guard, Shirel Nahum, decided to show out, scoring six straight for Irvine while the Roadrunners attempted to claw their way back.  The third quarter ended with Irvine’s largest lead of the night, 57-29.

Irvine only scored eight points in the fourth quarter, with Nahum scoring six of them. Despite the large lead, Nahum decided to tear it up — hitting a jumper, a three-pointer and a free throw to put the game on ice and, with those six points, secure a team-leading 12 points on the day, closing out the victory.

The Anteaters will head up to Oregon next week for a matchup against Oregon State at Gill Coliseum, on Dec. 15. Bakersfield will continue to search for their first win of the season against UC San Diego, on Dec. 7.

Avery Rosas is a Sports Intern for the Fall 2024 Quarter. He can be reached at rosasaj1@uci.edu 

Edited by Benjamin Flores and Annabelle Aguirre

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