Greeley, Colo. – Kiara Belen's career-high 17 points was not enough as Northern Colorado beat UC Irvine 71-56 Monday night.

Belen went a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line and 4-10 from the floor, including two three-pointers to lead UCI with a  career-best 17 points. Senior guard Kassandra McCalister had 11 points, nine coming in the second half.  Junior guard Anete Klintsone had seven points, while Cheyenne Cathey, Kelly Meggs and Jacquelyn Marshall each added five points each. UCI leading scorer Jazmyne White was held scoreless, but led the Anteaters with seven rebounds.

For the second consecutive game, the Anteaters struggled from the floor, shooting a season-low 29.3 percent (17-58). The team's 17 made field goals and 56 total points was the lowest offense output of the year. The Anteaters were killed on the glass, being out-rebounded 47-28, another season-low. UCI did hit eight three-pointers, which is the second most from long range this year and only committed a season-low 11 turnovers.

Northern Colorado was led by Kim Lockridge with 17 points followed by D'shara Strange with 15 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Stephanie Lee totaled 14 points off the bench, while Molly Duehn had 10 points and eight rebounds.

The Bears improve to 7-5 overall, while UCI falls to 4-7 on the year. The Anteaters will travel to Wyoming on Wednesday (Dec. 21) for a 7:00 p.m. MT start.

Northern Colorado would hit 11-14 from the free throw line and hold a 32-12 advantage in rebounding to own a 34-24 lead at halftime. UCI, who was held scoreless for over six minutes, drained five three-pointers to keep the game close. UCI ended the half scoring the last five points, which included Methlyn Onogomuho stealing the ball and launching a 30-footer as the buzzer sounded to end the first 20 minutes.

The Bears held a 22-point lead with 8:33 minutes to play, but UCI started to chip away on a 15-4 run that was capped by a Kiara Belen three-pointer to close within 65-54 with 3:30 left in the game. Northern Colorado would score the next six points to extend the lead back to 17 (71-54) with 52 seconds on the clock.

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