BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The UC Irvine women's basketball team closed out non-conference play and the 2017 calendar year on a high note as it defeated CSU Bakersfield, 72-59, for its third-straight win Sunday afternoon at the Icardo Center.
 
UCI, which earned its sixth victory in its last seven games, improved to 8-6 overall, while the Roadrunners dropped to 6-8. The Anteaters have also won four-straight road contests, their longest streak in 19 years.
 
"We started off the game really well, running our press and converting on the turnovers we forced," head coach Tamara Inoue said. "Having Autumn come in and knock down some timely threes also helped. In the second half, it started to slip away a little bit, but we came together and finished; I'm really proud of our effort. As a team, we were much better in our shot selection which is nice to see before conference play."
 
Redshirt freshman Autumn Baumgartner led UCI with a season-high 15 points. She was 6-for-11 from the field and 3-of-7 from long distance. Sophomore Lauren Saiki added 13 points, three assists and two steals, while classmate Yazzy Sa'Dullah finished with 11 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals. Senior Sabrina Engelstad chipped in nine points and junior Deijah Blanks had a team-best six boards.
 
The 'Eaters forced CSUB into 24 turnovers while committing only 12 of their own. They also had a lopsided advantage in field goal percentage (48.3-to-34.5) and 3-point percentage (42.9-to-15.8).
 
The game started as a seesaw battle with three ties and three lead changes. CSU Bakersfield pulled ahead 10-4 at the 5:44 mark, but UC Irvine kept it close and finished the opening quarter with seven unanswered points to go up, 18-15.
 
The 'Eaters continued to rally in the second as a 19-0 sprint, capped by a steal and layup from freshman Alexus Seaton, increased their cushion to 37-15. The Roadrunners then got on the board with 1:51 left to play in the half before Baumgartner responded with back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 43-18 at the break.
 
UCI outscored CSUB, 25-3, in the second period and 32-3 over a 12-minute span. The three points allowed were the fewest the Anteaters have given up since NCAA women's basketball switched to the quarter format in 2015-16. Baumgartner sparked the offense with all of her 15 points coming in the first half.
 
Although Bakersfield bounced back with 21 points in the third frame, UC Irvine was never threatened as it led by at least 17 and went on top, 60-39, at the end of the period.
 
The Roadrunners were able to do some damage in the fourth, using an 18-6 run to cut UCI's lead to nine at 66-57 with 2:39 remaining. Sophomore Brooke Bayman then hit a big jumper to end a nearly four-minute scoring drought. She also knocked down a pair of free throws with 53 seconds on the clock to help seal the 72-59 victory.

Jazmine Johnson paced the 'Runners with a career-high 25 points, while Vanessa Austin contributed 13 (6-8 FG).
 
UC Irvine is back in action on Thursday, Jan. 4, when it hosts defending Big West regular season champion UC Davis in both teams' conference opener. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Bren Events Center.
 
NOTES: UC Irvine finished non-conference play above .500 for the first time since 2010-11 … It also concluded the month of December with a 5-1 record (only loss was in OT to Portland State)  … UCI is now 6-0 when it has at least three players reach double figures in scoring … Autumn Baumgartner had her first 10+ point game and became the 11th different Anteater to lead the team in scoring this year ... The 'Eaters have forced more than 20 turnovers in four of the last five outings …  Junior Andee Ritter saw her streak of 50-straight games played and 49 consecutive starts come to an end as she missed her first contest since her freshman campaign …  Brooke Bayman earned the start in Ritter's absence … It was the first change to UCI's starting lineup this season … UC Irvine continued to outperform its opponent in bench points where it held a 36-11 advantage.