IRVINE, Calif. – The UC Irvine women's basketball team completed a regular-season series sweep of Hawai'i with a 70-66 victory Saturday afternoon at the Bren Events Center.

The 'Eaters survived another late scare, after leading by as many as 17 early in the fourth quarter, to improve to 11-8 overall and 3-2 in Big West action.
 
"After a tough loss on a comeback (Thursday at Cal Poly), one thing I think we did was learn from it and be able to manage the clock today," head coach Tamara Inoue said. "We did a much better job of grabbing boards and slowing it down late in the game."
 
Junior Morgan Green continued to put up big numbers with a game-high 27 points. It was her fourth-straight outing with 20-plus points, the longest streak by an 'Eater since Mikah Maly-Karros reached the 20-point mark in six consecutive contests during the 2009-10 season.
 
Freshman Jordan Sanders added 13 points on 5-of-7 shooting, and freshman Tahlia Garza finished just short of a double-double with 10 points (5-8 FG) and nine rebounds. Sophomore Lauren Saiki also had seven points, five boards, two assists and two steals.
 
Redshirt freshman Autumn Baumgartner chipped in six points, while sophomore Yazzy Sa'Dullah and freshman Alexus Seaton pulled down four rebounds each.
 
The Anteaters shot 43.1 percent from the field, while holding the Rainbow Wahine to 34.5 percent, but the 'Bows were able to get back into the game at the free throw line where they were 25-for-27.
 
It was a seesaw battle in the first half with 12 ties and eight lead changes. Neither team held more than a two-point advantage until Hawai'i scored four unanswered to pull ahead, 19-15, with 1:10 remaining in the opening quarter. Green then knocked down the final bucket of the period to make it 19-17.
 
Just over a minute into the second frame, the Rainbow Wahine increased their cushion to four again (23-19), but UC Irvine responded with an 8-2 spurt, capped by a Garza layup, to go on top, 27-25, at the 3:47 mark. The 'Bows would take the lead one more time before the 'Eaters outscored the visitors, 5-0, down the stretch for a 32-29 edge at the break.
 
The Anteaters kept their momentum in the third quarter as they extended their run to 16-0 by scoring the first 11 points of the second half. Green started it off with a 3-pointer and Saiki followed with a steal and layup. Sanders then got in on the action with a trey, before she sank a pair of free throws to give UCI a 43-29 lead.
 
Hawai'i (8-11, 1-5 Big West) eventually got on the board at the 7:04 mark, but UC Irvine stayed out front by double digits and pushed its lead to 17 (56-39) following a four-point play from Baumgartner and a Green layup with 1:46 to go. The 'Eaters continued to press as they were up 60-43 at the end of the period.
 
"At halftime, I told them offensively we were doing everything right, just defensively we needed to stop fouling and giving up easy buckets," Inoue added. "For them to just run their stuff and get the right shots is on them; that was just them playing together and finding the open play."
 
It appeared as though the Anteaters were going to cruise to the win as they went on top, 66-50, after a layup from junior Deijah Blanks with 6:16 remaining in the fourth, but Hawai'i was able to muster up one final rally. The Rainbow Wahine put together a 16-3 sprint over a four-minute span to close the gap to three with 1:04 on the clock. After a UCI timeout, the 'Eaters locked down on the defensive end, and came up with a couple key rebounds, to hold on for the 70-66 victory.
 
Sarah Toeaina paced the 'Bows with 19 points, 13 of which came at the charity stripe, while Makenna Woodfolk added 10 points and 10 rebounds.
 
UC Irvine returns to the hardwood next Thursday, Jan. 25, when it travels to UC Riverside for a 7 p.m. game against the Highlanders. The 'Eaters then make their way back home on Saturday, Jan. 27, to entertain CSUN at 2 p.m.
 
NOTES: UC Irvine completed the fourth Big West regular-season sweep of Hawai'i in program history … It is the first time the 'Eaters have gone 2-0 against the 'Bows since they rejoined the conference in 2012-13 (last sweep came in 1995) … UCI's 3-2 league record is its best five-game start to Big West play since also going 3-2 in 2011-12 … The Anteaters are 9-3 in their last 12 games … They have shot over 40 percent in each of their last four contests … Tahlia Garza recorded her eighth multiple-block game, and has had at least one on 14 occasions … UC Irvine is 7-0 when Jordan Sanders reaches double figures in scoring … Sanders connected from beyond the arc for the third time this season and is now 3-for-4 from long distance … Morgan Green is averaging 23.8 points in five games played.