Las Cruces, NM – UC Irvine held off a late run by Drake to beat the Bulldogs, 69-64 in the first game of the Aggie Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Classic at the Pan Am Center Friday.
UCI led 61-48 with 5:14 remaining in the game before Drake rallied on an 11-0 run to pull within 61-59 at 1:36. A pair of Jennifer Tsurumoto free throws was followed by a rebound put back by Stephanie Running to keep the margin at 2 (63-61). UCI's Jasmine Bernard hit a bucket in the paint which was followed by a three-pointer by Kyndal Clark to narrow the Anteater lead to one (65-64) with 39 seconds remaining. Methlyn Onogomuho went up strong for an offensive rebound and laid the ball back in with 12 seconds left to put UCI ahead 67-64. Drake missed a three-point attempt and Pernilla Hanson pulled down the rebound and was fouled. She made both free throws with two seconds on the clock for the 69-64 final score.
UCI picks up its first win of the year to go to 1-4 overall, while Drake is 1-2. UCI will battle host New Mexico State in the championship game at 5:30 PT Saturday. Drake will take on George Mason at 3:00 p.m.
For the first time this year, four Anteaters have recorded double figure scoring led by junior guard Jennifer Tsurumoto who poured in a career-high 21 points, five assists and five rebounds. She knocked down 3-5 from three-point distance. Sophomore forward Methlyn Onogomuho had a season-best 11 points and eight rebounds followed by Jasmine Bernard who recorded 10 points and eight rebounds and Lauren Spinazze with a season-high 10 points. Senior forward Pernilla Hanson recorded a team-high nine rebounds to go with six points.
UCI had its best shooting performance of the year, going 27-69 (39.1%) from the floor and 9-10 (90%) from the free throw line. UCI topped the Bulldogs, 44-43 in rebounds. The Anteaters matched their season best with six three-pointers.
Drake also had four players in double-digit scoring paced by Stephanie Running and Mary Pat Specht with 15 points each. Kyndal Clark had 13 points and Morgan Reid had 10 for the Bulldogs. Alyssa Marschner had a game-high 11 rebounds.
