Box Score Long Beach, Calif. – Camille Buckley posted a career-high 34 points to lead fourth-seed UC Irvine to a 74-70 overtime victory over fifth-seed UC Davis in the quarterfinals of the Big West Tournament at the Walter Pyramid Wednesday.
The Anteaters advance to the semifinals Friday (Mar. 14) to face No. 1 seed Cal State Northridge at noon at the Honda Center.
UCI wins a Big West Tournament game for the first time since 2005 and improves to 17-14 overall. The team's 17 wins is the most since the 2002-03 squad went 17-12.
Senior forward Camille Buckley posted a career-high 34 points on 12-24 shooting from the floor and 10-15 from the free throw line. She recorded her league-leading 18th double-double with 17 rebounds. She also had three assists and three steals in 43 minutes of action. Buckley did most of her damage in the second half, scoring 23 points and grabbing 10 points. Her 34 points is the most for an Anteater player since Kassandra McCallister had 36 on Feb. 18, 2012 against UC Santa Barbara.
Senior guard Kelly Meggs had13 points, hitting three three-pointers and senior guard Jennifer Tsurumoto totaled 11 points, all in the second half.
Junior guard Methlyn Onogomuho added nine points and 10 rebounds, while senior forward Jasmine Bernard had four points and Lauren Spinazze had three points and three steals.
Sydnee Fipps led UC Davis with 22 points, knocking down 6-10 from long range. Celia Marfone (14), Kelsey Harris (12) and Heidi Johnson (10) followed Fipps with double-digit scoring. The Aggies were 11-28 from three-pointer distance.
The teams were tied for the ninth time, 66-66, with 1:38 left in regulation before a layup by Davis' Lauren Beyer put the Aggies in front 68-66 with nine second remaining. Following 30-second timeouts by each team, UCI's Jennifer Tsurumoto drove to the basket and dropped it in with two seconds on the clock to send the game in to overtime.
Free throws were the key to the extra period for UCI as the Anteaters went 4-6 from the line. After an opening basket by Camille Buckley, she put in two of four free throws with the last coming at 2:28 to give UCI a 72-70 lead. A missed jumper by the Aggies was rebounded by Kelly Meggs who was fouled with 10 ticks left. Meggs drained both to secure the four point victory.
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