RENO, Nev. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team took care of the ball and locked down on defense in a 72-59 victory over Nevada Thursday evening at Lawlor Events Center.
The Anteaters committed only six turnovers, while finishing with 17 assists and 17 steals in their first win of the season and of first-year head coach Tamara Inoue's career. UCI held a commanding 26-4 advantage in points off turnovers and owned a 40-28 edge in points in the paint.
"It feels amazing to get that first win," Inoue said. "Winning always makes everyone feel great. Having four people in double figure set us up for the victory, and obviously having only six turnovers with 17 assists and 17 steals is huge."
Sophomore Andee Ritter led the four 'Eaters in double digits by draining six 3-pointers for a career-high 23 points. She also anchored the defensive effort with a career-best eight steals. Her six threes and eight steals were both one shy of a single-game program record.
Senior Shereen Sutherland had another strong performance with 18 points and nine rebounds. She went 8-of-16 from the field. Senior Irene Chavez also contributed with her best game of the year, netting a season-high 16 points and a career-best nine assists with no turnovers. Junior Sabrina Engelstad rounded out the quartet with 10 points on a 5-for-7 shooting performance. Freshman Brooke Bayman chipped in five points and five steals.
"Andee's length on the wing makes a big difference," Inoue added. "Brittany Glassow also played 32 minutes with no points, but her defense kept her in because she was rebounding and getting deflections. Those types of plays don't show up in the stats but are very valuable to our program.
"Irene did a really good job of finishing the game - managing the clock and running the plays. She closed it out for us and with 16 points and nine assists, that's a great line for her. If we get that all the time from her, we're going to be in good standing."
Overall, UC Irvine (1-6) shot a season-best 45.3 percent from the field, while holding the Wolf Pack to 42.1 percent.
Nevada (4-3) opened the game with a 3-pointer but back-to-back jumpers from Chavez and Engelstad gave the Anteaters a 4-3 lead at the 8:01 mark. It would go back-and-forth before UCI used a 6-0 spurt to pull ahead, 10-6. The Wolf Pack then answered with an 8-0 run of their own to go on top, 14-10. The 'Eaters tied it up at 14-14 with two minutes left in the first, but the home team got the final bucket of the period for a 16-14 edge.
UNR would go up by four early in the second quarter but the Anteaters fought back as Chavez drained a three to beat the shot clock and Sutherland followed with a layup to give them a 26-25 advantage. The lead would change hands five more times before the end of the half with the Wolf Pack holding a narrow 33-32 cushion at the break.
UC Irvine took the momentum in the third frame, scoring the first five points to pull ahead, 37-33. Nevada came back within one but the 'Eaters would not relinquish their lead as they proceeded to go on a 9-4 run to go on top, 48-40, with 2:18 remaining.
The Pack closed the gap to four by the end of the third, but Ritter took over in the fourth, making four of her six treys. She scored eight of UCI's points in an 11-0 run to start the period. That gave the visitors their largest lead of the night (59-44) at the 6:36 mark. The Anteaters would stay out front by at least nine the rest of the way in the 72-59 victory. UC Irvine ended up outscoring Nevada, 24-15, in the fourth and 40-26 in the second half.
T Moe paced Nevada with 18 points and five assists.
UC Irvine will now head to Portland State where it is set to square off against the Vikings in a 2 p.m. showdown on Saturday, Dec. 3.
NOTES: This was Tamara Inoue's first win as a head coach ... Andee Ritter was one 3-pointer shy of tying the school record of seven set by Kathy Lizarraga (1988-89) and Katie Curtis (2004-05) … Her eight steals were also one short of a program-best nine which was established by Erin Higashi back in 1983 … Irene Chavez matched her previous season best of six points less than five minutes into the game … She registered her 23rd career double-figure scoring performance … Shereen Sutherland tied her season best of 18 points … Sabrina Engelstad has now reached double digits in the points column in five-straight outings … UC Irvine recorded season bests in points (72), field goals made (29), field goal percentage (45.3), 3FG made (7), assists (17), steals (17) and fewest turnovers committed (6) … The 'Eaters earned their first win since Jan. 23, 2016, snapping a 17-game losing streak in the process … UCI now leads in its all-time series with Nevada, 15-8.
