IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team used a big fourth quarter to defeat Seattle University, 65-60, in its non-conference finale Saturday afternoon at the Bren Events Center.
 
The Anteaters (10-2) trailed by five after three periods, but outscored the Redhawks, 24-14, over the final 10 minutes.
 
"The first quarter we came out ready to go, and then we let up," head coach Tamara Inoue said. "We had to get ourselves out of a hole. We know we can make a good push in the fourth quarter, and bank on the fact that we'll outwork people and get after it. Seattle U has a lot of players that play significant minutes so we wanted to keep going at them and tire them out. But, we have to learn how to play for 40 minutes. I feel like we're getting there, we just let up a little bit today."
 
Sophomore Jordan Sanders registered a team-high 19 points and eight rebounds. Senior Andee Ritter also finished with 15 points, all of which came in the second half. Junior Lauren Saiki added 10 points, six assists, three rebounds and two steals. Senior Sabrina Engelstad went 4-for-5 from the field for nine points, while sophomore Tahlia Garza contributed four points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
 
The 'Eaters didn't have their best shooting night at 35 percent, but grinded out the win as they held SU to just 32.3 percent. They also scored 18 points off 22 forced turnovers.
 
Both teams got off to a slow start as they combined to go 8-for-27 from the floor in the first quarter. UC Irvine took a 6-2 lead on a Garza layup at the 6:53 mark. The Redhawks chipped away and tied it up at 6-6 before Sanders ended a four-minute scoring drought for the Anteaters. UCI went on to close out the period on a 9-1 run, capped by a three from Saiki, for a 15-7 lead. SU made just one field goal in the opening frame.
 
Seattle U (0-13) regrouped in the second quarter, going on an 11-0 run to pull ahead, 18-15, with 6:20 to play. Engelstad then got UC Irvine back on the board with a layup and Sanders followed with a jumper to put the home team on top by one. There would be two more lead changes before the Redhawks used a 10-1 spurt for a 30-24 cushion at the break.
 
SU went up by 10 early in the third stanza. Junior Brooke Bayman then converted at the free throw line on back-to-back possessions, and classmate Yazzy Sa'Dullah followed with a layup to quickly make it a four-point game. The Anteaters were unable to catch Seattle U, however, as they trailed, 46-41, at the end of the period.
 
The 'Eaters then found their rhythm in the fourth quarter, starting with a Sanders jumper at the 9:28 mark. The Redhawks came right back on the other end, but a three-point play from Saiki began an 8-0 rally that gave UCI a 51-48 edge with 6:09 remaining.
 
UC Irvine would not relinquish that lead as a triple from Ritter made it 58-50 with 53.7 seconds on the clock. Seattle U started fouling and was able to close the gap to three, but the Anteaters went 6-for-6 at the line down the stretch to seal the 65-60 win.
 
Joana Alves paced the Redhawks with a game-high 29 points and 12 rebounds. Kamira Sanders also had 11 points and nine boards.
 
UC Irvine will open Big West play next week when it travels to San Luis Obispo for a 2 p.m. showdown at Cal Poly on Saturday, Jan. 5.
 
NOTES
• UC Irvine secured its second consecutive 10+ win season for the first time since 2010-11 and 2011-12.
• It is the fastest the 'Eaters have reached 10 wins in program history as they are off to their best 12-game start (10-2).
• Their previous best was 9-3 in 1984-85.
• UCI is the only Big West team that will enter conference play with at least 10 victories.
• The Anteaters have forced at least 22 turnovers nine times this season.
• This was the fourth-straight game that Andee Ritter, Jordan Sanders and Lauren Saiki all reached double figures in scoring.
• Saiki has also had at least five assists in each of the last eight outings, and is averaging 8.1 apg during that stretch.