IRVINE, Calif. – The UC Irvine women's basketball team used a big third quarter and a strong finish to top UC Santa Barbara, 77-74, Saturday evening at the Bren Events Center.
 
The 'Eaters improved to 10-7 overall and 2-1 in Big West play. They snapped UCSB's five-game win streak and handed them their first conference loss of the season.
 
"In the first half, I think we came out a little timid on the offensive end," UCI head coach Tamara Inoue said. "We had a good effort on the defensive side to be down by only six at the half, but offensively we needed to make those easy buckets and slow down. I think sometimes we get so excited and go trigger happy, but once we settled in and refocused, they did a great job of finishing the game again."
 
Junior Morgan Green led four Anteaters in double figures with a game-high 25 points to go along with six rebounds. It was her second-straight outing with at least 20 points and she has reached double digits in all three games in which she has played.
 
"I don't think there's been a player like Morgan that Irvine has seen before," Inoue added. "I think she will really represent our university in such a positive manner, not just because of her scoring ability, but the way she involves her whole team. She steps up when we need her to, but she also gets everyone else involved and really cares about her teammates."
 
Sophomore Lauren Saiki added 14 points, five assists and a career-high seven rebounds, while shooting 50.0 percent (5-10) from the floor and 75 percent (3-4) from beyond the arc. Freshman Jordan Sanders (3-4 FG, 6-6 FT) and junior Deijah Blanks (4-6 FG) also had 12 points each, and freshman Tahlia Garza chipped in eight points and six boards.
 
UCI shot 43.3 percent overall and had another strong performance at the charity stripe where it was 18-of-23 (78.3 percent).
 
After a scoreless first minute from both teams, Saiki knocked down a triple to get UC Irvine on the board. It was a seesaw battle from there with four ties and nine lead changes. UC Santa Barbara eventually pulled ahead, 12-9, before four-straight free throws by Sanders put the 'Eaters back on top. The Gauchos then closed out the opening quarter on a 6-4 spurt that gave them a narrow 18-17 lead.
 
UCSB (6-10, 3-1 Big West) accounted for the first five points of the second period and extended its run to 16-6 for a 34-23 advantage at the 2:12 mark. Green then answered with a 3-pointer, followed by a fastbreak layup to quickly cut the deficit to six (34-28). UCI kept it close over the final minute as Blanks connected from long distance to make it 37-31 at intermission.
 
UC Irvine turned it around in the third frame where it outscored UC Santa Barbara, 22-14. After the Gauchos pushed their cushion to eight with 4:26 to go, the 'Eaters used a 12-2 sprint, capped by a Green trey at the buzzer, to take their first lead (53-51) since the opening quarter.    
 
That lead would change hands twice early on in the fourth before Saiki's third triple of the night put the Anteaters out front for good. It started a 17-9 run over the next five-plus minutes as UCI held its largest advantage of the game at 73-65 with 2:17 on the clock. The Gauchos were able to make a couple late 3-pointers, but it wasn't enough as UC Irvine came away with the 77-74 victory.

UC Santa Barbara shot 41.8 percent from the field and was just 8-for 15 (53.3 percent) at the free throw line. Drew Edelman paced the Gauchos with 18 points and 11 rebounds.  
 
UC Irvine returns to action next week when it heads to Cal Poly on Thursday, Jan. 18, for a 7 p.m. Big West showdown. The Anteaters then return to the Bren Events Center to host Hawai'i on Saturday, Jan. 20 (4 p.m.).
 
NOTES: The 'Eaters, who became the second team in the Big West to record their 10th victory this season, have reached double digits in the win column for the first time in four years … It is the also fastest they have made it to the 10-win plateau since they were 10-4 in 2010-11 … The Anteaters snapped a five-game skid in their all-time series with UC Santa Barbara … This is the third time UC Irvine had four players score in double figures (3-0) … UCI continued to shoot well from the free throw line where it is now 77.3 percent (51-66) over the last four games … Morgan Green is the first Anteater to have back-to-back 20-plus point performances since teammate Andee Ritter accomplished the feat last year against UC Riverside (Jan. 7, 2017) and CSUN (Jan. 11, 2017) … In three games, Green is averaging 22.7 points.