IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine's two leading scorers both fouled out within a 12-second span late in the fourth quarter which slowed down the Anteaters' rally as they ended up falling to Sacramento State, 78-70, Saturday afternoon at the Bren Events Center.
UCI (1-8) trailed by as many as 11 in the first quarter before fighting back and keeping it close in the second half. The 'Eaters took the lead twice in the final 10 minutes as they were up 62-61 with 5:09 remaining, but the Hornets were able to make the final push to hold on for the win.
"It's a good thing that we can battle back and that we are showing some fight," first-year head coach Tamara Inoue said. "We're not very deep and for our players to battle against a high-intensity scramble team was good for us. We held them to a pretty low score and that's something we pride ourselves on. I think our defense did a good job - just a couple buckets here and a couple stops there is always the difference."
Sac State (4-6) entered today's contest averaging 89.6 points per game. UC Irvine joined Cal and New Mexico State as the only three teams this year to hold the Hornets under 80 points.
Junior Sabrina Engelstad established a season high for the second time in as many games as she led the Anteaters with 18 points. Engelstad, who has now reached double figures in seven consecutive outings, was 8-for-13 from the floor and pulled down six rebounds. Senior Shereen Sutherland added 15 points (7-of-11) and three boards.
Engelstad played only 21 minutes as she got into early foul trouble and picked up her fifth with 2:18 left in the game. Sutherland also played 20 minutes as she fouled out at the 2:04 mark.
Sophomore Andee Ritter finished with 12 points and four steals, while freshman Brooke Bayman chipped in eight points and five steals. In her first game of the year, junior transfer Sydney Hua totaled six points and a team-best seven rebounds. Senior Irene Chavez dished out a game-high six assists.
UCI shot 44.8 percent from the field and held the Hornets to 40.0 percent. The 'Eaters also forced 20 turnovers with 12 steals.
Sacramento State took an early 4-0 lead before Engelstad got UC Irvine on the board with a jumper at the 9:15 mark. The Hornets would stay out front until a Bayman layup knotted the score at 9-9. The two teams traded baskets over the next two minutes before Sac State went on an 11-0 run to pull ahead, 22-11, with 17 seconds left. Hua then answered with a 3-pointer before the buzzer to make it an eight-point game.
The Anteaters quickly cut that deficit in half with a jumper from Ritter and a Sutherland layup at the 8:55 mark of the second period. The Hornets responded with a couple of threes to build their advantage to 10, but UCI kept it close, using a 7-2 spurt to come within five (32-27). Sacramento State then hit its seventh 3-pointer of the half before Ritter drained a jumper on the other end to close the gap to 35-29 at the break.
The 'Eaters started strong in the third frame with a 9-2 run, capped by a three-point play from Sutherland, to go on top, 38-37, at the 8:26 mark. The Hornets came back with a three on their next possession and eventually went up, 48-41, with 5:24 remaining. UCI stayed right on their heels, however, as the home team trailed by four (51-47) at the end of the third quarter.
In the fourth, Ritter started another 9-2 rally with a 3-pointer, while senior Chloe Kellum ended it with back-to-back layups that gave UC Irvine a 56-55 edge with 6:50 remaining. It continued to be a seesaw battle over the next two minutes with three lead changes and two tie scores, but Sac State went up 64-62 at the 4:45 mark and never relinquished that lead en route to the 78-70 victory.
Maranne Johnson paced Sacramento State with 24 points, while Emily Easom had 18. The Hornets won the battle on the boards, 50-35.
UC Irvine is back in the Bren Events Center on Monday, Dec. 12, when it takes on UNLV at 5 p.m.
NOTES: UC Irvine reached the 70-point mark for the third game in a row … It is the first time the 'Eaters have had three-straight 70-point games since the 2013-14 campaign … UCI was just the fourth team to commit fewer than 20 turnovers against Sac State … Andee Ritter has made a 3-pointer in every game and leads the team with 21 on the year … She has also had at least four steals in each of the last three outings … Shereen Sutherland notched her fifth-straight double-figure scoring game … She is tops on the squad with 12.2 points per contest … Sabrina Engelstad pushed her average to double digits at 10.2 ppg … Sydney Hua had a solid all-around effort in her first action of the year after sitting out eight games with an injury … She totaled six points, seven rebounds and three assists … Senior Mckenzie Piper also made her return to the court after suffering an injury at Utah State on Nov. 17.
