IRVINE, Calif. – The UC Irvine women's basketball team dropped a hard-fought 76-67 decision to defending Big West regular season champion UC Davis in both teams' conference opener Thursday evening at the Bren Events Center.
 
The 'Eaters (8-7, 0-1 Big West) saw their three-game win streak snapped and suffered only their second loss in their last eight outings.
 
UCI took its first lead of the game late in the third quarter after holding the Aggies to a program-low four points in the period. It then went back-and-forth in the final 10 minutes with the Anteaters going up 56-54 at the 6:53 mark, but a very experienced UCD squad answered with a couple clutch 3-pointers as it held on for the win.
 
"UC Davis is such a well-coached team and their seniors really stepped up, knocking down some timely shots," head coach Tamara Inoue said. "Our shooting tonight wasn't the best, and that's okay; this was Morgan's first game back and you have to give her shots to get her game legs back. Andee also had an uncharacteristic night, but for us, we have to hit those timely shots like they did. They ran some really good stuff at the end and we just couldn't stop it. Hats off to them, that's why they were picked to finish first in the conference."
 
UC Irvine had three players reach double figures in scoring, led by sophomore Yazzy Sa'Dullah, who tied a game-high with 19 points. She was 5-of-12 from the field and 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Sa'Dullah also pulled down six rebounds.
 
Junior Morgan Green had 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in her UCI debut. Sophomore Lauren Saiki added 10 points and four rebounds, while freshman Tahlia Garza registered eight points and six boards. Senior Sabrina Engelstad also had nine points and six rebounds.
 
The 'Eaters outrebounded UC Davis, 39-38, and held a lopsided 16-to-2 advantage in offensive boards. They matched the Aggies in points in the paint (30-30), and won the battle in second-chance points (13-2) and bench points (34-20). The Anteaters also forced 23 turnovers.
 
UC Davis (11-3, 1-0 Big West) raced out to a 6-0 lead before Garza got UC Irvine going with a layup at the 8:22 mark. The 'Eaters continued to roll, knotting it up at 9-9 on a 3-pointer from Green. There would be three more ties over the next few minutes before the Aggies pulled ahead, 22-16, at the end of the first quarter.
 
UCD opened the second period on a 15-7 sprint to go up, 37-23, with 4:27 left in the half. Saiki answered with a triple that sparked a 7-0 rally to cut the deficit to 37-30 at the 1:36 mark. That was the closest the Anteaters would get, however, as the visitors scored the final six points for a 43-30 cushion at intermission.
 
UCI owned the third frame where it outscored UC Davis, 18-4. UC Irvine accounted for the first six points, including four from Engelstad, to quickly close the gap to 43-36. The Aggies finally got on the board with 6:10 remaining, but the 'Eaters then went on a 12-2 run to pull ahead, 48-47.
 
UCD bounced back in the fourth, going on top with a 3-pointer just 13 seconds into the quarter. The Anteaters stayed right in it as four more lead changes followed. After Engelstad knocked down three-straight free throws, UC Davis' Pele Gianotti drained back-to-back threes to give the Aggies a 60-56 edge. Sa'Dullah responded with a triple, but UCD countered with a 9-0 spurt to put the game out of reach.
 
UC Davis shot 54.7 percent overall and was 9-of-20 (45 percent) from long distance. Morgan Bertsch paced the Aggies with 19 points on an 8-for-13 shooting performance, while Gianotti had 15 points and nine rebounds.
 
UC Irvine continues Big West play next week when it heads to the Aloha State for a 7 p.m. (HT)/9 p.m. (PT) showdown at Hawai'i on Thursday, Jan. 11. The 'Eaters then have a quick turnaround as they return home to host UC Santa Barbara at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 13.
 
NOTES: UC Irvine has forced its opponents into 20+ turnovers in five of the last six games … This was the Anteaters' first loss when at least three players reached double digits in scoring … Morgan Green played her first collegiate game in nearly two years after sitting out the 2016-17 campaign and the non-conference portion of this season … Lauren Saiki and Yazzy Sa'Dullah each recorded their second-straight double-figure scoring game … Sa'Dullah was one point shy of her career high (20), which she established vs. Illinois on Nov. 24 … UC Davis was picked to finish first, while UC Irvine was eighth in the Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll … The Aggies and 'Eaters entered league play with the top-two non-conference records.