CEDAR CITY, Utah – The UC Irvine women's basketball team held off a late Southern Utah rally to lead wire-to-wire in a 71-64 road win Tuesday afternoon at America First Event Center.
 
Junior Andee Ritter led four Anteaters in double figures as she knocked down four triples to finish with 14 points. She also pulled down a career-high eight rebounds.

Freshman Tahlia Garza added 13 points and six rebounds, while classmate Jordan Sanders recorded 10 points and a season-best nine boards. Garza was an impressive 6-for-7 from the field. Sophomore Lauren Saiki chipped in 10 points and six assists. Junior Deijah Blanks also had five key rebounds, all of which came in the fourth quarter.
 
"I'm really proud of us finishing and closing out the game," head coach Tamara Inoue said. "Deijah's three offensive boards, Lauren taking a charge and Haleigh finishing with free throws were big factors down the stretch. Tahlia also gave us what we needed offensively, and the solid play of Andee keeps us steady."
 
The 'Eaters shot 44 percent overall, were 6-of-17 from beyond the arc and 11-of-13 at the free throw line. They also outrebounded the Thunderbirds 43-38.
 
UC Irvine (4-5) got the scoring started and pushed its lead to 11-5 at the 5:47 mark. Southern Utah would come within three, but UCI closed out the first quarter on a 6-0 spurt, capped by an offensive rebound and putback from senior Sabrina Engelstad, to pull ahead 17-8. Engelstad finished with six points and six boards in nine minutes played.
 
SUU (1-7) accounted for the first five points of the second period before a Saiki jumper got the Anteaters back on the board with 7:43 to play. The teams would trade points until Saiki and Garza sparked a 7-2 run over the final two minutes of the half. Saiki started the rally by knocking down a couple free throws, and then assisted on a pair of Garza layups to give the visitors a 33-24 cushion at the break.
 
The 'Eaters opened the third frame on a 12-5 run as back-to-back 3-pointers from Ritter and redshirt freshman Autumn Baumgartner gave them their largest lead of the game, 45-28, at the 6:37 mark. The Thunderbirds eventually cut the deficit to single digits at 51-42, but a Saiki jumper and another triple by Ritter put UCI on top, 56-44.
 
It was a seesaw battle early in the fourth until Southern Utah went on a 13-2 run to make it a three-point game with 1:10 remaining. The Anteaters held on to a 65-62 edge before freshman Haleigh Talbert came up with a big steal. She was fouled, and with UC Irvine in the bonus, made both free throws on the other end with 31 seconds to go. The 'Eaters were able to get a couple more stops and converted at the charity stripe for the 71-64 victory.
 
Southern Utah registered a 37.5 field goal percentage and was just 5-of-26 from 3-point range. Whitney Johnson paced the Thunderbirds with a game-high 20 points, while Kiana Johnson had 11 points and nine rebounds.
 
UC Irvine is back in action on Friday, Dec. 8, when it makes its way to San Diego State for a 12 p.m. showdown.
 
NOTES: Andee Ritter has made at least two 3-pointers in four consecutive outings, and 28 times in her career … She passed Megan Stafford to rank fifth on UCI's all-time list with 118 career threes … Lauren Saiki had her fourth-straight game with at least four assists … Tahlia Garza notched her second double-figure scoring game, and first since the season opener vs. Utah State (16 points) … UC Irvine picked up its first road win of the year … The 'Eaters also improved to 3-1 in their all-time series with Southern Utah and are now 2-0 when playing in Cedar City … UCI finished with a season-high seven blocks.