IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team dropped its Big West opener to UC Davis, 89-48, Thursday evening at the Bren Events Center.
The 'Eaters were unable to slow down a potent Aggie offense as the visitors finished the night shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 40 percent from behind the arc.
"(Head coach) Jennifer Gross has done such a good job at UC Davis," UCI head coach Tamara Inoue said. "You take away one thing and she makes you pay with the next. They are so deep that the best we could do was hope they missed and get the rebound."
Junior Sabrina Engelstad was the lone Anteater in double figures with a team-high 14 points on a 5-for-10 shooting performance.
"Sabrina has really committed to being the best she can be," Inoue said. "She is a leader, a hard worker and she wants the ball. That's something you can't teach."
Freshman Brooke Bayman added nine points, while senior Shereen Sutherland had seven. Sophomore Andee Ritter chipped in five points, seven rebounds and three assists.
UC Irvine (2-13, 0-1 Big West) shot 32.1 percent from the floor and was 5-of-18 from long distance. They were outrebounded, 52-29.
"These losses hurt, but our kids work extremely hard and they're good players and good student-athletes," Inoue stated. "They represent UC Irvine very well both on and off the court. You can't fault them for never trying, they always try. I just have to continue to go back to the drawing boards and get them in the best position every game to get the win. That's really on me and my staff."
UC Davis (10-4, 1-0 Big West) struck first with a 3-pointer and went up by six before Engelstad's first triple of the year made it 10-7 at the 5:56 mark. It went back-and-forth over the next minute until the Aggies used an 8-1 spurt to pull ahead, 20-10. Engelstad then proceeded to score five-straight points, but the visitors put up four over the final 41 seconds for a 24-15 advantage.
UCD extended its cushion to 31-18 following a three-point play from Morgan Bertsch at the 7:22 mark of the second quarter. The 'Eaters responded with a 3-pointer from senior Irene Chavez and a layup from Bayman to make it an eight-point game at 31-23. That was the closest UCI would get, however, as the Aggies closed out the half on a 15-2 run and took a 46-25 lead into the locker room.
The Anteaters opened the third frame on a 7-2 spurt before UC Davis scored 15 unanswered to go on top, 64-32. Ritter then ended a five-and-a-half minute scoring drought for UC Irvine with a 3-pointer at the 1:06 mark, but UCD pulled ahead 66-35 at the end of the quarter.
UC Davis remained in control in the fourth period as it ran away with the 89-48 victory.
Rachel Nagel led the Aggies with a game-high 17 points on five 3-pointers. Dani Nafekh and Morgan Bertsch added 15 points each, while Marly Anderson finished with a double-double (11 points, 11 rebounds).
UC Irvine returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 7, when it heads to UC Riverside for a 5 p.m. Big West showdown.
NOTES: Sabrina Engelstad recorded her team-leading 11th double-figure scoring game … Andee Ritter has made a 3-pointer in 14 of 15 contests and is tops on the squad with 37 … This was Brooke Bayman's first game without an assist, but she still leads the 'Eaters with 48 on the season … The Aggies' 89 points were the second-most UC Irvine has allowed this year ... UCI also forced fewer than 10 turnovers for the first time this season as UC Davis finished with nine miscues.
