The UC Irvine Women’s Basketball team (15-4, 7-1) had their nine-game winning streak snapped after falling to Cal State Fullerton (9-10, 4-6) 66-64 in a well-fought overtime battle at the Bren Events Center on Thursday, Jan. 26.
Sophomore guard Hunter Hernandez led the Anteaters with double digits hitting 17 points, alongside junior forward/center Nevaeh Dean who scored 11 points. For the Titans, sophomore guard Una Jovanovic put up an outstanding 24 points and six assists.
Right off the bat, Irvine came across Fullerton’s speedy offense that threw the Anteaters off their game for the first few minutes. The Titans adjusted to active passing, which opened up scoring opportunities for junior center Ashlee Lewis, who fought for the ball in the key.
The first couple Irvine possessions resulted in turnovers due to cutting errand passes. However, it wasn’t long until the Anteaters snapped back into form and extended their lead to 17-11 after a three-point shot by sophomore guard Nikki Tom, followed by a layup Dean to end the first quarter.
Fullerton returned from intermission with their intensity levels through the roof. After Irvine’s defense fell asleep, the Titans dumped multiple passes down low to Lewis who camped at the baseline for four baskets.
Irvine’s offense went cold and allowed Fullerton to outscore them by 11 points in the second quarter. The Anteaters turned the ball over a total of 10 times, which gave Fullerton access to eight points off of their turnovers.
The game entered halftime with a score of 32-27 in favor of Fullerton.
Both teams re-entered the match making some minor, yet costly mistakes. Multiple players on the Fullerton team noticed open teammates, but passed the ball with too much force, resulting in six points for Irvine off of turnovers.
The ‘Eaters slowed the Titans down as sophomore guard Amelia Scharpf, who made her first career start, added two close-range floaters to the scoreboard. Not too long after, Tom banked in another clutch three-point shot to assist her team’s lead and close the third quarter, 44-39.
Early on in the fourth quarter, Hernandez stretched the Anteaters’ lead to nine points, making it their largest advantage of the game.
Though this lead did not last long, as the Titans slowly crept up on Irvine. Fullerton began screening and applying full-court pressure, which shook the Anteaters on both ends. This allowed eight unanswered points and a three point deficit for the Titans, 52-49.
With the last minute ticking down, Irvine wasted a crucial possession due to lack of ball movement. Junior forward/center Nevaeh Parkinson found herself trapped and unable to seek an open teammate for assistance. The ball was turned over to Fullerton.
The Titans inbounded the ball from the sideline to Jovanovic, who quickly passed the ball with a left hook to junior guard Gabi Vidmar with only 38 seconds remaining. Being left open for a split second, Vidmar instantly splashed a corner three-point shot to tie the match and send both teams to overtime.
The extra period began with instant buckets for Fullerton, including back-to-back field goals from Lewis. The momentum kept the Titans in the lead, but Irvine continued their battle.
Hernandez attempted to wake her team up with a successful three-point shot at the 1:20 mark, setting the deficit to only five. them down by five points. Soon after, Tom and junior guard Diaba Konate approached the charity stripe to shoot a combined three for four with just seconds left.
A foul on the Anteaters granted Fullerton a small enough stretch to close the game with a close win, 66-64.
Jazlyn Flores is a Sports Staff Writer. She can be reached at jazlynpf@uci.edu.