UC Irvine
1-9
UNLV
8-1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNLV | 17 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 62 |
| UC Irvine | 15 | 12 | 11 | 8 | 46 |
UC Irvine Stumbles in Fourth Quarter, Falls to UNLV
December 12, 2016 | Women's Basketball
IRVINE, Calif. – The UC Irvine women's basketball team trailed by only six after three quarters but ran out of gas in the final 10 minutes as UNLV pulled away with a 62-46 victory Monday evening at the Bren Events Center.
"We just need to keep working hard and I need to figure out what we can do to play for four quarters," first-year head coach Tamara Inoue said. "The players want to do it and they're giving it their all every day. I just have to figure out as a coach, along with my staff, the combinations and minutes – we have to find something that will get them to finish a game. But, the pieces are coming together. UNLV is a great team. They beat a lot of BCS teams early on and we knew it was going to be a battle."
The Lady Rebels improved to 8-1 on the season, marking their best start in 15 years. They were receiving votes in the latest Associated Press Poll with quality wins against USC and Ole Miss.
"UNLV has the athleticism to really take over a game," Inoue added. "The motor behind this team is what really hurt us. Sustaining what we do for the last 10 minutes was really tough because they just kept coming at us. They play deep and all eight or nine of them contribute in a strong way."
Senior Irene Chavez led the 'Eaters with 12 points and a career-high seven rebounds. She also finished with three assists and three steals. Sophomore Andee Ritter added 10 points, six boards and two steals, while junior Sabrina Engelstad chipped in eight points.
UCI (1-9) shot 33.3 percent from the floor and committed a season-high 24 turnovers.
UC Irvine held an early 6-0 advantage following a Chavez 3-pointer at the 6:40 mark of the first quarter. UNLV then got on the board and proceeded to go on a 12-5 run for its first lead at 12-11. Ritter answered with a jumper on the other end, but the Lady Rebels outscored the 'Eaters, 5-2, over the final two minutes to pull ahead, 17-15.
The Anteaters got off to another strong start in the second quarter as they used a 10-3 spurt, capped by another three from Chavez, to go on top, 25-20 with 4:21 remaining. UNLV answered with a 10-2 rally of its own for a 29-27 edge at the break.
The first half saw three ties and five lead changes. Chavez paced the Anteaters with 10 points and two assists. The home team registered a 42.9 field goal percentage, while holding the Lady Rebels to 38.5 percent.
UNLV opened the third frame with a 3-pointer before a pair of free throws from Engelstad and a Piper layup closed the gap to one (32-31) at the 6:32 mark. The Lady Rebels stayed out front and pushed their lead to four. UCI would cut the deficit back down to one after a triple from Mckenzie Piper and again on a Shereen Sutherland layup with 2:33 remaining, but UNLV would not relinquish the lead, accounting for the final five points to go on top, 44-38, after three.
The Lady Rebels kept the momentum in the fourth quarter as they put the game out of reach with a 16-0 run. Ritter finally got UC Irvine on the board with a pair of free throws with 3:40 left to play, and made the Anteaters' first field goal of the period with her second trey at the one-minute mark. Sutherland closed it out with a three-point play but it wasn't enough as UNLV emerged with the 62-46 victory.
Dakota Gonzalez and Brooke Johnson led the Lady Rebels with 11 points each. As a team, UNLV shot 38.2 percent from the field and made eight 3-pointers.
UC Irvine returns to the hardwood on Saturday, Dec. 17, when it welcomes Bakersfield to the Bren Events Center for a 2 p.m. showdown.
NOTES: Andee Ritter extended her streak of consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer made to 10 … She has also made all nine of her free throw attempts this season … In addition, Ritter has now recorded multiple steals seven times and owns a team-best 26 takeaways on the year … Senior Irene Chavez led the Anteaters in rebounding for the first time in her career … UC Irvine saw several streaks snapped in tonight's loss … The 'Eaters had entered the game with three-straight 70-point performances and shot over 40 percent in each of those outings … Sabrina Engelstad also had seven-straight double-figure scoring games prior to tonight's eight-point effort.
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