IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team continued its best start in program history with an 85-78 victory over CSU Bakersfield Thursday evening at the Bren Events Center.
 
The Anteaters improved to 6-0, while the Roadrunners dropped to 4-3.
 
"Starting the year 6-0 is a result of the hard work the team put in all summer," head coach Tamara Inoue said. "Being undefeated is unfamiliar territory for our team; it's a different feeling being the hunted instead of the hunter. That's something that we're dealing with and I'm proud of the way they have been handling it."
 
Sophomore Jordan Sanders led the charge once again, recording her third-straight 20-point game with a team-best 22 (8-16 FG). She also had nine rebounds. Junior Lauren Saiki put up a career-high 19 points on an 8-of-15 shooting performance, to go along eight assists, five boards and five steals.
 
Sophomore Haleigh Talbert and senior Andee Ritter also reached double figures with 12 and 10 points, respectively.  Sophomore Tahlia Garza and junior Brooke Bayman both finished with eight points, and Garza added seven rebounds.
 
The 'Eaters held a big advantage in free throw shooting as they made 78.8 percent of their attempts (26-33), compared to just 63.0 percent (17-27) for the Roadrunners. UCI was also 47.4 percent from the field and forced CSUB into 23 turnovers.
 
It went back-and-forth early in the opening quarter with three ties over the first three-plus minutes. Back-to-back jumpers from Sanders then started a 10-2 rally that put UC Irvine on top, 16-8, at the 3:57 mark. The Anteaters extended their lead to 11 on a Talbert 3-pointer with 2:31 remaining, but CSU Bakersfield scored the final seven points of the period to close the gap to 21-17.
 
The 'Eaters opened the second stanza on a 9-2 run to pull ahead, 30-19, with 7:38 to play. After the 'Runners came back within seven, UCI went on a 14-7 spurt to take its largest lead of the night at 44-30. Saiki and Ritter accounted for UC Irvine's only field goals during that stretch as nine of the team's points came at the charity stripe. CSUB was then able to knock down a three at the buzzer to make it 44-33 at the half.
 
Bakersfield started to chip away in the third quarter, outscoring the Anteaters, 16-7, over a 4:31 span. Bayman then converted an and-1, while Garza and sophomore Alexus Seaton also got to the line to put the 'Eaters back on top by double digits (59-49). The Roadrunners wouldn't let UCI's lead get any bigger, and cut the deficit to 67-62 at the end of the frame.
 
The Anteaters would be tested in the fourth but they refused to give up the lead. After CSU Bakersfield made it a one-point game with just over six minutes to go, Saiki found Garza down low for the layup. Sanders followed with a three-point play to give UC Irvine some breathing room at 77-71. The 'Runners clawed their way back within four a couple times, but the home team held on for the 85-78 win.

Alexxus Gilbert paced Bakersfield with 22 points and four assists. Jazmine Johnson added 17 points, while Vanessa Austin finished with 16 points and six rebounds.
 
UC Irvine will now head to San Jose State for its first true road game. The Anteaters and Spartans are set to tip off at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 2.
 
NOTES
• UC Irvine is 6-0 for the first time in program history.
• The Anteaters are one of 28 teams in all of NCAA Division I to remain undefeated.
• Their six-game win streak is tied for the fourth-longest in program history.
• The 'Eaters also extended their home win streak to five games and are 14-4 at the Bren since the start of the 2017-18 season.
• UCI won its second-straight game in its all-time series with future Big West member CSU Bakersfield.
• Jordan Sanders had her third-straight 20-point performance and is now averaging a team-best 20.2 ppg.
• Over the last two contests, Lauren Saiki is averaging 10.5 apg and has registered a 7.00 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• She has also reached double figures in scoring in four consecutive outings.
• Andee Ritter remains on pace to break UCI's career record in 3-pointers made as she now has 159 triples.
• Ritter also moved into eighth on the program's all-time charts with 151 career steals.