SAN JOSE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team led by as many as 17 before holding off a late San Jose State rally to defeat the Spartans, 74-66, Sunday afternoon at The Event Center.
 
The 'Eaters remained undefeated at 7-0, while the Spartans dropped to 1-5.
 
"Road games are always tough," head coach Tamara Inoue said. "And, right now we aren't making our threes but that's okay because we can get it done everywhere else. I'm proud of our effort of finishing the game. When it got close, we didn't tighten up. I thought we did a good job of taking the game minute by minute and second by second."
 
Sophomore Jordan Sanders recorded her fourth-straight 20-point game as she finished with a game-high 24. She also pulled down a team-leading nine rebounds.
 
Junior Lauren Saiki recorded 13 points and seven assists, while committing only one turnover. Sophomore Haleigh Talbert added 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. Senior Andee Ritter chipped in six points and eight rebounds.
 
UCI held a big advantage at the free throw line where they were 24-of-32. SJSU was only able to get to the line 13 times where they made nine. The Anteaters were also plus-three on the boards (45-42).
 
UC Irvine got a couple quick buckets from Sanders to take a 4-0 lead. San Jose State then got on the board, and came back to knot the score at 6-6. The Anteaters reclaimed the lead with a layup from sophomore Tahlia Garza, but the Spartans used an 11-2 run over the final six minutes to pull ahead, 17-10, at the end of the first quarter.
 
The 'Eaters regrouped during the short break as Sanders came out firing in the second period with seven-straight points to make it 17-17 at the 6:42 mark. After SJSU converted 1-of-2 at the charity stripe, the Anteaters put together a 7-0 rally, to go on top, 24-18. They extended that into an 18-4 run to take their largest lead of the first half (35-22). Talbert scored seven of her points during that stretch. The home team was able to get a couple more free throws in the final seconds as UCI owned a 35-24 cushion at the break.
 
UC Irvine made its late push without the services of its top two scorers, Sanders and Saiki, as they each picked up two fouls by the 5:28 mark of the second frame.
 
The Anteaters kept the momentum after intermission, going up 41-24 on a Sanders jumper. The two teams then went back-and-forth over the remainder of the third quarter with the 'Eaters taking a comfortable 55-40 lead heading into the fourth.
 
In the final stanza, UC Irvine went back on top by 17 on a Sanders jumper at the 8:03 mark. UCI stayed out front by double digits until a 6-1 spurt brought the Spartans within eight (68-60) with 2:38 to play. Sanders answered with another jumper to put the game out of reach.
 
SJSU was able to make it a six-point game but there were only 17.2 seconds on the clock, and Saiki sank a couple free throws down the stretch to secure the 74-66 win.
 
Raziya Potter led San Jose State with 17 points and five assists. Fieme'a Hafoka also had 15 points.
 
UC Irvine returns home for a single game against San Diego State at 7 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 7, before embarking on a week-long road trip to the Pacific Northwest where the Anteaters will face Portland (Dec. 16), Portland State (Dec. 18) and No. 3 Oregon (Dec. 21).
 
 
NOTES
• UC Irvine's seven-game win streak matches its longest from last year, which ranks third in program history.
• The 'Eaters are one of 25 teams to remain undefeated on the year (not including all of Sunday's games).
•The Anteaters improved to 17-12 all-time against San Jose State.
• For the first time this season, UCI did not force more than 20 turnovers.
• UCI won the battle on the boards for the second time this season.
• The 'Eaters allowed just seven points in the third frame, marking the fourth time they have held their opponent to a single digit quarter.
• Jordan Sanders had her fifth 20-point performance of the season, and fourth in as many games.
• Haleigh Talbert finished with 12 points for the fourth time this season.
• Andee Ritter saw her career-long 17-game streak with a made 3-pointer come to an end.