Portland, Ore. – The University of Portland defeated UC Irvine, 64-56 at the Chiles Center Sunday afternoon.
The Anteaters drop to 0-2 on the year, while Portland goes to 1-1.
After a slow start where Portland lead 20-10 at 14:09, UC Irvine went on a 12-1 run and held the Pilots without a field goal for over 10 minutes, to take their first lead of the game 22-21 with 3:59 to go in the half. During that stretch Jacquelyn Marshall scored five points to spark the Anteater offense. Neither team would take more than a one point lead until Portland's Cassandra Brown would drain a three-pointer with 1:06 to go. UCI's Anete Klintsone answered with a three-pointer of her own to send the teams into the half tied 30-30. Natalie Day scored 17of Portland's 30 first half points.
In the second half, the teams were tied for the fifth time at 40-40 when Portland went on a 7-0 spurt to open a 47-40 advantage at 10:10. UCI would use a three-pointer by Marshall, a pair of free throws by Jazmyne White and a basket by Methlyn Onogomohu to return the favor and tie the score at 47 all (7:53). Portland would go on the next run, 8-2, to put the Pilots up 55-49 with 5:48 to play. A layup by Cheyenne Cathey at 3:37 narrowed Portland's lead to 57-53, but UCI would struggle on offense and watch the Pilots record seven free throws to go ahead 64-53 with seven seconds remaining. Klintsone would hit a three-pointer as time expired for the final score.
Jacqueline Marshall and Anete Klintsone would lead UCI with 14 points apiece. Marshall was 6-11 from the floor with a three-pointer, while Klintsone was 4-9 from three-point range. Jazmyne White had a season-high nine points and shared the team-high in rebounds with Cheyenne Cathey at five. White also had two blocks and two steals in 22 minutes of action.
UCI had no answer for Natalie Day who had a game-high 25 points, going 11-13 from the floor with a game-best eight rebounds. ReZina Teclemariam went 10-11 from the free throw line and ended with 20 points. Cassandra Brown hit 3-5 three-pointers and totaled 11 points. The Pilots shot 50 percent (9-18) in the second half and 42.3 percent (22-52) for the game.
Getting to the line once again was a factor, as the Pilots were 12-19 from the line in the second half, while UCI was just 2-4.
UCI will travel to Cal State Bakersfield Wednesday (Nov.16) before returning to the Bren Center for the home opener against Utah State Saturday (Nov. 19) at 2:00 p.m.
