IRVINE, Calif. – The UC Irvine women's basketball team was locked in a tight battle with Southern Utah as neither side led by more than four until the final three minutes when the Thunderbirds pulled away for the 70-58 victory Monday evening at the Bren Events Center.
Sophomore Andee Ritter paced the Anteaters with a game-high 17 points to go along with a season-high tying six rebounds. She was 6-for-11 from the field and 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Ritter now has seven-straight games with multiple 3-pointers and ranks first in the Big West with 31 on the year. She is on pace to break the UCI single-season record of 64 set by Kathy Lizarraga in 1988-89.
Senior Shereen Sutherland finished with 15 points and six rebounds, while junior Sabrina Engelstad added 13 points and seven boards. Freshman Brooke Bayman chipped in nine points and a team-best five assists.
The 'Eaters (1-11) shot 32.8 percent from the field and were 5-of-19 from long distance. They were outrebounded, 52-38.
Engelstad started the scoring with a three-point play on the opening possession. Southern Utah came back to knot it up at 3-3 before Ritter drained a shot from behind the arc to put UC Irvine on top, 6-3, at the 7:17 mark. It continued to go back-and-forth with the Thunderbirds taking a 14-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
Ritter opened the second frame with another 3-pointer to even the score at 14-14. SUU pulled back ahead by four before Ritter's third triple of the half started a 7-2 spurt that gave the home team a 21-20 edge with 6:58 remaining. The two teams traded baskets over the next few minutes with four lead changes during that stretch. The Anteaters went up 28-25 on a pair of free throws from senior Mckenzie Piper, but Southern Utah closed out the half on a 9-2 run for a 34-30 cushion at the break.
The third period was another seesaw battle as UCI stayed within striking distance and eventually pulled ahead, 48-47, on an Engelstad jumper at the 3:02 mark. The Thunderbirds reclaimed the lead with a pair of free throws before Engelstad went 1-for-2 from the charity stripe to make it a 49-49 deadlock. SUU would go back on top, however, as it led 51-49 heading into the final 10 minutes. The 'Eaters made six of their first seven field goal attempts and finished the quarter shooting 53.3 percent.
In the fourth, Bayman's layup knotted the score at 51-51 with 9:25 remaining, but that would mark the eighth and final tie of the night. Southern Utah answered with a jumper and UC Irvine went cold as it connected on just one of its final 15 attempts. That field goal was a three from Ritter which cut the deficit to one with 5:34 to play. The visitors then rallied for a 13-2 run to seal the 70-58 victory.
Southern Utah (4-6) registered a 38.2 field goal percentage and was 5-of-17 from 3-point range. Skylee Doman led the Thunderbirds with 16 points, while Darri Frandsen contributed nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Anteaters return to the Bren Events Center on Wednesday, Dec. 21, when they play host to Pac-12 member USC. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
NOTES: Tonight's game saw eight ties and nine lead changes ... Andee Ritter has made a 3-pointer in all 12 games this year … She has made at least two shots from behind the arc in eight of those 12 outings … Brooke Bayman is averaging 6.5 assists over the last two contests … Shereen Sutherland recorded her seventh double-figure scoring game of the season … Sutherland surpassed the 600-point milestone as she increased her career total to 610 … Sabrina Engelstad has also reached double digits in nine of the last 10 games.
