The UC Irvine Women’s Basketball team (10-5, 4-1) defeated UC San Diego (6-11, 2-3) 73-66 in a tightly contested game at the Bren Events Center on Jan. 11.
UCI worked the ball inside early, with junior guard Hunter Hernandez feeding graduate forward Nevaeh Dean for the Anteaters’ first basket of the game. Points in the paint were a big emphasis for UCI head coach Tamara Inoue’s squad throughout the game, who finished with 32 points in the paint compared to UCSD’s 16.
Both teams played inside-out, with UCSD junior guard Sabrina Ma knocking down her first three of the game off of an assist from senior forward Kayanna Spriggs.
Hernandez attacked the UC San Diego defense on her dribble drives, getting to the line early and often, converting on four consecutive free throws.
UC Irvine sophomore forward Summah Hanson got an early chance inside, and with 1:17 left in the first quarter, she completed an and-one opportunity after the second chance rebound and putback. With 31 seconds left in the quarter, she followed up with another layup attempt, on which she was fouled and made both shots at the charity stripe.
In the second quarter, the ‘Eaters continued to apply full court defensive pressure. UCI junior guard Olivia Williams stole the ball, leading to senior point guard Déja “DJ” Lee hitting a fadeaway jumper on the baseline at the other end.
The Tritons responded, with Ma hitting another catch-and-shoot three off the dime from Spriggs. UCI’s Williams followed up with a three-pointer of her own off the unselfish ball movement from the Anteaters.
Both teams went back and forth in the second quarter, with nine lead changes in the first half alone.
UCI remained consistent on the offensive glass, with Hanson converting on another putback to give the Anteaters a 27-25 lead.
UCSD graduate guard Parker Montgomery answered with a jumper, ending the half tied at 27-27.
The Anteaters came out of the gate hot to start the second half, with Dean working the offensive glass and finishing a putback.
Hernandez continued to contribute on both ends, driving through contact and finishing with her off-hand for the layup before grabbing a steal on the next possession. Coming off of a curl, Hernandez knocked down a mid-range jumper, giving UCI a five-point lead and forcing the Tritons to call timeout two minutes into the quarter.
After the timeout, UCSD’s Ma nailed a three-pointer in the corner, her third triple of the game. On the very next possession, UCI senior guard Nikki Tom hit a turnaround shot for two off the assist from Lee. Offensive rebounds continued to be pivotal for UC Irvine, as Hernandez grabbed the board before passing it out to Tom for three. Tom’s scoring boost was pivotal in the second half for the ‘Eaters, with Tom scoring all 11 of her points in the half.
With Irvine holding a 40-33 lead, Ma would not let UCI separate, knocking down a three off an assist from San Diego redshirt sophomore guard Gracie Gallegos with 5:31 left in the quarter.
The two teams battled from deep, with neither side backing down. Irvine senior guard Amelia Scharpf hit a three on one end, while Ma sank one on the other — her third three of the quarter.
The fourth quarter saw a change in momentum, led by the efforts of UCI’s Lee and Tom. Lee scored the first basket of the quarter on a stepback mid-range jumper. The next bucket for the ‘Eaters saw Hernandez connect on another jumper off a baseline out-of-bounds play.
UCSD wasn’t done yet, with redshirt sophomore guard Junaé Mahan hitting a three off an assist from Spriggs with 7:37 left in the final quarter. On the next possession down, Tom responded with a three of her own, this time off the pass from Lee. The two teams traded threes once again, with Montgomery converting from deep after Gallegos. Tom hit from three-point range again, going 3-3 from deep in the second half.
Lee ended the game at the free throw line and scored the last five UC Irvine points from the foul spot, securing the victory, 73-66.
This win marked Coach Inoue’s 150th win for the program, a significant milestone. Postgame, Inoue spoke about Irvine’s close to the conference game.
“When someone hits 13 threes on you, you’re not winning those games often. [I’m] really happy with the way they finished it off,” Inoue said in an interview with New University.
UC Irvine will look to continue their two-game win streak on the road in a rivalry game against Cal State Fullerton at the Titan Gym on Jan. 16.
Jaden Hunter is a Sports Staff Writer. He can be reached at jadenh2@uci.edu.
Edited by Jack Fedor and Mia Noergaard.