UCI Women’s Basketball (11-5, 5-1) won its third straight game, defeating Cal State Fullerton (2-15, 0-7) 79-63 on Jan. 16 at Titan Gym in Fullerton, Calif.
After routing CSU Northridge and coming out alive against UC San Diego, the Anteaters delivered an impressive showing against a struggling Fullerton team.
Fullerton freshman forward/center Layla Davis opened the scoring with a layup on a pass from sophomore forward Eva Levingston. In response, Irvine senior point guard Déja Lee put up her own layup and made a free throw to take the lead. Davis immediately reclaimed the lead with another layup.
UCI junior guard Olivia Williams sank a corner three-pointer to regain the lead for the ‘Eaters. They followed with an assertive 6-0 run and led for the rest of the game, with their last deficit being immediately before this run. It wouldn’t seem that way, however, as the Titans went on a 6-0 run that almost evened the score, 12-10.
Exchanging blows for much of the first quarter, Irvine ultimately pulled away to end the period up 19-11. Despite the low-scoring start, Fullerton started to find its rhythm offensively.
Davis, who carried much of the load for the Titans in the first quarter, opened the second quarter with a layup, allowing UCI senior guard Amelia Scharpf to respond with a driving layup. Levingston also continued to contribute for Fullerton, going on a solo 4-0 run to put some life back into the home offense.
While much of the second quarter was uneventful, it featured consistent offense from both teams — highlighted by Lee’s 12 points in the first half, eight of which came at the free throw line. Lee was a significant factor and accelerant for Irvine’s offense in the first half, helping them maintain a 36-28 lead going into the third quarter.
UCI junior guard Hunter Hernandez’s offensive efficiency allowed her to put up nine first-half points, which she continued at the start of the third quarter. Opening the quarter with a smoldering 7-0 solo run — consisting of a three-pointer and two layups — Hernandez put her stamp on the game, extending an ever-growing deficit for Fullerton.
Davis once again put up a layup to open the scoring for Fullerton, but UCI senior guard Nikki Tom responded with her only shot of the game — a three-pointer — followed by two more free throws from Lee.
Fullerton senior guard Emily Strachan put up a layup and one for a small 3-0 solo run, marking her first points of the game and sparking an offensive outburst — for Irvine, of course. The ‘Eaters went on a 9-0 run, highlighted by a three-pointer from freshman guard Lauryn Madsen, who hasn’t seen consistent playing time in her first year but made her career-high 19 minutes count against Fullerton on Thursday.
The 9-0 run marked the end of the third quarter, during which Irvine established a 24-point lead and left little hope for the Titans in the final 10 minutes of the matchup.
UCI never had a particularly slow quarter — it ended up being one of its most consistent games of the season — but Fullerton worked hard to claw back against Irvine’s late-game substitutions. After being outscored 25-9 in the third quarter, Fullerton sophomore guard Aaliyah Stanton led the charge with nine points on a trio of three-pointers.
At one point in the quarter, the Titans went on a 14-0 run, fueled largely by freshman guard Maddy Tauro, who scored six points and continued to solidify her collegiate season debut. Tom and Tauro exchanged free throws to keep the clock running, but Irvine’s lead was insurmountable. The Anteaters secured their third consecutive win following a frustrating loss to UC Riverside on Jan. 4.
UCI will travel to Cal Poly on Jan. 18 to continue Big West play and look to build on its recent success.
Avery Rosas is a Sports Staff Writer. He can be reached at rosasaj1@uci.edu.
Edited by Benjamin Flores and Jaheem Conley