Box Score (PDF)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Sophomore Yazzy Sa'Dullah scored a season-high 20 points but UC Irvine (2-3) was unable to recover from a slow third-quarter start in a 65-59 loss to Big 10 member Illinois on the first day of the UNM Thanksgiving Tournament Friday at Dreamstyle Arena – The Pit.
 
"Illinois is a good team; I thought they went to their strengths early and were able to close out the game," head coach Tamara Inoue said. "Yazzy came out firing and did a great job. If it wasn't for her I don't think we would have been in the game. But in the end, it comes down to closing out games and we just couldn't do that today. It will come, I just have to find the right combinations and coach them a little better. I'm proud of them, I thought they did a really good job against a BCS team which we don't get to see often."
 
Sa'Dullah, whose game-high 20 points came in 18 minutes played, was 7-of-14 from the field and 4-for-7 from 3-point range.
 
Redshirt freshman Autumn Baumgartner added nine points and five rebounds, while freshman Tahlia Garza, junior Andee Ritter and senior Sabrina Engelstad all tied for the team lead with six boards each. Junior Deijah Blanks contributed five points, three rebounds and three assists. The 'Eaters outrebounded the Fighting Illini, 43-41.
 
Illinois (4-2) got the scoring started, but UC Irvine came back with six unanswered to pull ahead, 6-3, at the 4:46 mark. The Anteaters stayed out front and back-to-back 3-pointers from Sa'Dullah gave them their largest lead of the game at 11-7. The Fighting Illini then proceeded to outscore UCI, 5-1, over the final two minutes, knotting it up at 12-12 at the end of the first quarter.
 
Illinois opened the second period with 10-straight points to go on top, 22-12, with 4:50 remaining. Sa'Dullah then got the 'Eaters back on the board with a 3-pointer, which started a 16-5 spurt that gave UC Irvine a 28-27 edge at the break. Sa'Dullah ended up knocking down three triples during that stretch, while Garza capped it off with a pair of free throws with 2.6 seconds on the clock.

The Illini had another big run to start the third frame as they opened up a 36-28 advantage at the 6:34 mark. UCI would chip away and eventually make it a one-point game after a 3-pointer from Blanks and Baumgartner bookended a 7-0 rally. Illinois refused to relinquish the lead, however, as it increased its cushion to 44-38 by the end of the period.
 
"Allowing them to go on a 9-0 run to start the third quarter, and then for us to have to come back and fight the rest of the way is hard for any team, experienced or non-experienced," Inoue said. "We have to have a better third quarter and then sustain and hold."
 
The 'Eaters were poised to make a comeback in the fourth as five points from Sa'Dullah over the first minute closed the gap to 46-43. They stayed right on Illinois' heels and came within two on a Garza putback with 5:23 remaining. The two teams traded buckets before the Illini used a 7-0 spurt to pull ahead, 59-50, with 2:37 left to play. The Anteaters never called it quits with Baumgartner drilling a three with five seconds on the clock, but it was too little, too late as Illinois came out with the 65-59 victory.
 
Brandi Beasley paced the Fighting Illini with 16 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. Alex Wittinger added a double-double with 14 points and 12 boards. As a team, they shot 36.7 percent from the field.
 
UC Irvine is back in action on Saturday, Nov. 25, when it takes on tournament host New Mexico in a 1:30 p.m. (PST) showdown.
 
NOTES: This is the seventh year in a row UC Irvine is playing in an away tournament over the Thanksgiving weekend … The 'Eaters had participated in the LMU Tournament from 2013-17 … Yazzy Sa'Dullah registered UCI's first 20-point game of the season … Andee Ritter missed her first free throw of the year and only the third of her career … She is now 7-of-8 on the season and 51-of-54 overall … The Anteaters had only one player reach double digits in scoring for the first time this year.