IRVINE, Calif. – With a Big West Tournament berth on the line, the UC Irvine women's basketball team came up big under pressure to clinch its spot in the postseason with a thrilling 69-62 win over Cal State Fullerton on Senior Night Saturday at the Bren Events Center.
The 'Eaters earned the No. 8 seed and will face fifth-seeded UC Riverside in the first round of the conference tournament next Tuesday (March 7) at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach.
UCI (5-25, 3-13 Big West) also gave its five seniors – Irene Chavez, Brittany Glassow, Chloe Kellum, Mckenzie Piper and Shereen Sutherland - a night to remember as they were honored in a pre-game ceremony before leaving the Bren Events Center one last time with a victory.
Chavez continued her torrid pace as she registered her sixth-straight double-figure scoring game and fourth consecutive outing with at least four 3-pointers. She finished with a team-high 21 points and a career-best eight rebounds to go along with four assists and three steals. It was also the San Jose, Calif., native's third 20-point performance in the last four contests.
Sutherland added 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting, while Glassow had 13 points (3-5 3FG) and a season-high tying eight boards. Kellum and Piper also grabbed seven and five rebounds, respectively. Freshman Brooke Bayman chipped in eight points, five assists and three steals.
"Since our game at UC Davis, Brittany has really turned a corner and has just played her heart out," head coach Tamara Inoue said. "Irene has stepped up tremendously in a such a big way. Shereen is just consistent for us, and Piper starts off really strong for us all the time. Chloe also comes in and gets some rebounds and defends when we need it. I'm really proud of all of them. They contributed in a big way and that's how you want to go out on Senior Night."
UC Irvine came out on fire as it raced out to an 18-0 lead at the 4:44 mark. Chavez and Glassow combined for four 3-pointers to spark the early rally. Cal State Fullerton then got on the board with a free throw but didn't hit its first field goal until there was 1:51 remaining. The 'Eaters stayed out front by double digits and held a 24-10 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
UCI cooled off in the second and the Titans went on a 14-4 run to make it 28-24 with 3:40 to play. Sutherland responded with a pair of free throws and sophomore Andee Ritter followed with a jumper to push the advantage to eight at 32-24. CSF kept it close, however, and the Anteaters carried a 37-32 cushion into the break.
In the third frame, Cal State Fullerton took its first lead of the night (40-39) at the 8:19 mark. It would go back-and-forth from there with the Titans holding a 47-45 edge at the end of the period.
After a Sutherland layup knotted the score at 50-50 with 7:02 remaining in the fourth quarter, both teams entered a nearly four-minute scoring drought. Ritter eventually broke the deadlock with a 3-pointer at the 4:20 mark. UC Irvine then pushed its lead to 55-50 on a Sutherland layup, but the Titans refused to go away as they went back on top, 58-57, with 1:55 left to play.
Sutherland answered with another layup and the 'Eaters would not relinquish that lead as their press and Chavez took over from there. Chavez scored six points in the Anteaters' 9-2 run that made it 66-60 with 35.8 seconds on the clock. During that spurt, the home team forced three turnovers with a couple steals coming from Chavez and Bayman.
CSF then had to foul to stop the clock and UC Irvine handled business at the charity stripe as a pair of Sutherland free throws sealed the 69-62 win.
Cal State Fullerton (4-25, 1-15 Big West) shot 35.1 percent from the floor and was 6-of-21 from beyond the arc. Jade Vega led all players with 25 points, while Daeja Smith finished with 21 points and eight rebounds.
UC Irvine will face UC Riverside in the first round of the Big West Tournament on Tuesday, March 7. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
NOTES: Irene Chavez had three 20-point performances in the last four regular-season games … During that stretch, she averaged 19.8 points and 4.8 threes made … Chavez ranks eighth in school history with 108 career 3-pointers … Brittany Glassow notched her third double-figure scoring game of the year and matched her season best with eight rebounds … Brooke Bayman has at least five assists in nine of 14 conference games played … UCI honored its five seniors – Chavez, Glassow, Kellum, Piper and Sutherland – prior to tonight's game ... That group then combined for 54 points and 31 of the team's 37 rebounds.
