LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Junior Sabrina Engelstad registered a double-double but it wasn't enough to dig UC Irvine out of an early hole as the 'Eaters fell to Loyola Marymount, 58-39, Friday afternoon at Gersten Pavilion.
In the Anteaters' first game of the LMU Thanksgiving Classic, Engelstad finished with 11 points and a season-high 14 rebounds. It was UCI's first double-double of the year. Freshman Brooke Bayman added eight points, while senior Irene Chavez had six points, three rebounds and three assists. Senior Shereen Sutherland chipped in four points and eight boards.
UC Irvine (0-5) ended up outrebounding the Lions, 42-37, but shot just 25 percent from the field and was 2-of-20 from behind the arc. The visitors also committed 22 turnovers.
The 'Eaters got off to a promising start with sophomore Andee Ritter draining her 10th 3-pointer of the season on the opening possession, but UCI then went cold as it did not score again in the quarter. That drought allowed Loyola Marymount to go on a 21-0 run to pull ahead, 21-3, after the first 10 minutes of action. The Anteaters were 1-for-14 from the field and committed nine turnovers.
UCI picked it up in the second period, netting the first four points with a pair of free throws from Chavez and a Sutherland layup cutting the deficit to 21-7 at the 8:47 mark. The Lions answered with a three and pushed their advantage to 18 before back-to-back jumpers from Ritter and Engelstad made it a 14-point game (29-15). That was the closest the 'Eaters would get, however, as Loyola Marymount closed out the half on a 9-2 spurt for a 38-17 cushion at the break.
In the third quarter, LMU went on top by 22 before UC Irvine scored four unanswered to make it 45-27 with 3:45 to go. The Lions then outscored the Anteaters, 8-2, for a 53-29 margin heading into the fourth.
UCI had its best defensive effort in the final period, holding the Lions to just five points, but the 24-point deficit was too much to overcome as LMU emerged with the 58-39 victory.
Loyola Marymount (2-3) shot 42.1 percent from the field and was paced by Jackie Johnson's game-high 15 points and four blocks. Cheyanne Wallace also recorded 11 points and 10 rebounds.
UC Irvine returns to Gersten Pavilion on Saturday, Nov. 26, for a 1 p.m. tilt with Fresno State.
NOTES: Sabrina Engelstad notched her third-straight double-figure scoring game … She is averaging 11.3 points over that stretch … Freshman Mylah Andrada netted her first collegiate points with a 3-pointer at the 7:40 mark of the fourth quarter … Shereen Sutherland has had at least eight rebounds in every game and is averaging a team-best 8.2 per outing … Andee Ritter has also made at least one 3-pointer in every game for a team-leading 10 on the year … UC Irvine's three points in the first were the fewest it has scored in a quarter since women's basketball switched to the four-period format last year … Teirra Hicks, UCI's second-leading scorer, left the game with five minutes to go in the first half and did not return.
