SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The UC Irvine women's basketball team took a 10-point lead with three minutes to go, but was held scoreless the rest of the way as Cal Poly rallied for a 79-76 win Thursday evening at Mott Athletics Center.
 
Junior Morgan Green recorded her third-straight 20-point game, finishing with 24 on an 8-of-14 shooting performance. She was also 6-for-10 from beyond the arc. Green's six threes are tied for fourth in single-game school history.
 
Freshman Tahlia Garza added 11 points and seven rebounds. Redshirt freshman Autumn Baumgartner also had 11 points, while junior Deijah Blanks had eight. Freshman Haleigh Talbert chipped in six points, five assists and three rebounds, and sophomore Lauren Saiki contributed six points, three assists, two boards and two steals.
 
The 'Eaters (10-8, 2-2 Big West) shot 47.5 percent from the field, 39.3 percent from long distance and 81.8 percent from the free throw line. They were outrebounded, 46-30, and for the first time in their last five outings, they committed more turnovers than their opponent (19-15).
 
Cal Poly (9-7, 3-1 Big West) scored the first eight points of the game before Green got UC Irvine on the board at the 5:57 mark. After a Mustang 3-pointer, Garza completed an and-one to start a 10-4 run that closed the gap to 15-12 with 2:21 remaining. From there, the two squads traded points as CP held on to a 19-16 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
The home team opened the second period on a 6-0 spurt to increase its cushion to 25-16. Baumgartner then knocked down back-to-back triples to quickly cut the deficit in half at the 5:19 mark. Cal Poly would answer with a trey on each of its next three possessions for its largest advantage of the night at 39-28 with 1:53 to go. The 'Eaters continued to chip away with a Green 3-pointer at the buzzer making it a five-point game (43-38) at the break.
 
The Anteaters started the third frame with consecutive layups from Garza and eventually knotted it up at 52-52 on a Talbert three at the 4:32 mark. The Mustangs pushed back out front, but UC Irvine countered with its first lead of the night following free throws by Talbert and Saiki. UCI proceeded on a 7-2 sprint, capped by another 3-ball from Green, to close out the quarter with a 60-56 edge. The 'Eaters ended up outscoring Cal Poly, 22-13, over the 10-minute span.
 
UC Irvine kept the pressure on in the fourth, pulling ahead 76-66 with 3:02 left to play. The Mustangs then ended a three-minute scoring drought with a pair of free throws and continued to cut into the Anteater lead with a couple of threes. CP eventually went up 77-76 on two foul shots from Dynn Leaupepe with under a minute to go. After an empty possession for UCI, Cal Poly was able to recover from a broken play with a bucket by Emily Anderson to go on top, 79-76, with six seconds on the clock. The 'Eaters called a timeout and advanced the ball but were unable to get a shot off before the final buzzer.
 
Cal Poly, which finished the game on a 13-0 run, shot 42 percent overall and was 9-for-20 from 3-point range. Leaupepe paced the Mustangs with a game-high 26 points, while Kelly Wong had 16.
 
UC Irvine will look to bounce back on Saturday, Jan. 20, when it welcomes Hawai'i to the Bren Events Center for a 4 p.m. Big West showdown.
 

NOTES: UC Irvine had its road win streak snapped at five games, its second-longest in program history … Morgan Green has led the 'Eaters in scoring in three of the four games she has played … She is now averaging 23.0 points and 3.8 3FG made per contest … Haleigh Talbert matched her season-high with five assists, while committing no turnovers … Tahlia Garza notched her 100th rebound of the season and now has a team-best 106 ... The Anteaters were without junior Andee Ritter and sophomore Brooke Bayman … UCI continued to win the battle in bench points, outscoring CP, 29-26 … The 'Eaters also held a 26-13 advantage in points off turnovers.