Box Score Riverside, Calif. – UC Riverside hit a season-high 11 three-pointers and picked up its first Big West victory with a 87-75 win over UC Irvine at the SRC Arena Saturday.
A big second half propelled UCR as the Highlanders out-scored UCI 53-34 in the final 20 minutes. Riverside shot 53.8 percent (35-65) from the floor for the game and was 20-36 (55.6%) from the field in the second half, including 7-9 from three. UCR committed just two turnovers in the second half as UCI turned the ball over 12 times.
The Anteaters go to 12-12 overall and 5-5 in the Big West, while the Highlanders snap a 16-game losing streak and go to 5-19 on the year and 1-10 in the Big West.
UCI forward Camille Buckley recorded her 11th double-double of the season with a game-high 28 points and 15 rebounds. Jasmine Bernard made her second start of the year and recorded 14 points, while Kelly Meggs totaled nine points, Vanessa Aguilar had eight points and Methlyn Onogomuho recorded seven points and eight rebounds. Madison McKenney added five points and Jennifer Tsurumoto and Raelyn Cheung-Sutton each had two points. For the game, UCI shot 39.7 percent (25-63) from the floor and were 19-22 from the line.
The Highlanders were led by Brittany Crain with 22 points followed by Natasha Hadley (19), Akilah Martin (17) and Simone DeCoud (13). Kiara Harewood had a team-high eight rebounds and seven points.
UC Riverside led 7-2 to start the game then UCI went on a 14-2 run where five different players scored to take the 16-9 advantage with 14:17 to play in the first half. A basket by Camille Buckley gave the Anteaters its largest lead of 13 (37-24) at 4:55. UCI would continue to hold the lead into intermission, 41-34.
The Highlanders scored the first eight points of the half to take a 42-41 lead at 17:57 and would score eight more in a row to open a 60-52 lead with12:27 remaining. UCI rallied scoring six consecutive, capped by Bernard layup at 11:13 to narrow the score to 60-58. A three-pointer by Brittany Crain and a basket and free throw by Kiara Harewood gave Riverside the 74-64 lead at 6:47 and UCI would get no closer than eight the rest of the way. Second-leading scorer Jennifer Tsurumoto played just three minutes in the second half due to leg injury.
UCI will host Hawaii Thursday (Feb. 20) at the Bren Center.
