IRVINE, Calif. - The highly anticipated showdown between the Big West's second and third-place teams ended up being a blowout as UC Irvine easily handled Cal Poly, 107-66, Thursday evening at the Bren Events Center.
 
The Anteaters' 107 points were the most they have scored in the NCAA Division I Championship era (since 1981-82), and tied an overall single-game record that was set against UC Santa Cruz back in 1979. It is the first time in program history they have reached the century mark twice in one season.
 
The 'Eaters, who avenged a 79-76 road loss to CP back in January, improve to 17-8 overall and 9-2 in conference play, increasing their lead over the Mustangs to a game-and-a-half. UC Irvine's nine league wins are tied for the fourth most in program history, while their seven-game win streak is also the third-longest by an Anteater squad.
 
"Faith (Mimnaugh) is a legendary coach and one of the things you know about her and her teams is they never stop playing," UCI head coach Tamara Inoue said. "To get to 107 is a great thing, but by no intention were we trying to do that. It was just about us not letting up because Cal Poly came back on us before. The way they play you really can't leave anything to chance."
 
Junior Morgan Green filled up the stat sheet with 29 points (10 FG, 5 3FG), eight rebounds, eight assists, six steals and one block. Green, who has played in 11 contests, notched her fourth consecutive 20-plus point game and eighth of the season.
 
Freshman Jordan Sanders had another remarkable performance with a season-best 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting. She also picked up seven rebounds and two steals.
 
Junior Andee Ritter had her best outing since returning from an injury on Jan. 27, as she tied her season-high with 14 points to go along with five boards. Ritter was 4-of-9 from long distance.
 
Senior Sabrina Engelstad also totaled nine points in 15 minutes, while junior Deijah Blanks had seven points in nine minutes. Sophomore Lauren Saiki chipped in five points and four assists.
 
As a team, the Anteaters shot a blistering 58.3 percent for a new season high. They also established season bests in field goals made (42), 3-pointers made (14) and steals (18). UCI forced the Mustangs into 28 turnovers and scored 41 points off those miscues.
 
It was a seesaw battle early in the first quarter with two ties and five lead changes over the first four minutes. Cal Poly then broke a 10-10 deadlock with a 14-3 spurt to pull ahead by 11 with 52 seconds on the clock. Freshman Haleigh Talbert was then able to knock down a 3-pointer to bring UC Irvine back within single digits at 24-16.
 
The 'Eaters took control in the second period where they outscored the Mustangs by an astounding 35-5 margin. They matched their season high for points in a quarter, which they initially established in the opener against Utah State. Ritter and Green started the rally with back-to-back threes before CP made its only field goal of the frame at the 8:35 mark. The Anteaters then went on a 20-0 run that was capped by two more triples from Ritter to break open a 42-26 lead with 3:24 remaining in the half. UCI didn't let up, increasing its cushion to 22 (51-29) at the break.
 
UC Irvine shot 70 percent overall (7-9 3FG) in the second quarter, and finished the first half with a 62.5 clip.
 
After trading buckets to start the third, the Anteaters used a 21-8 sprint that put the game completely out of reach (76-39). The Anteaters stayed out front by at least 32 points the rest of the way, and freshman Dani Guglielmo's 3-pointer with 2:10 left in the game got the 'Eaters to the century mark for the second time in two weeks.
 
Cal Poly (14-10, 8-4 Big West) shot 35.9 percent from the floor, and was led by Emily Anderson's 11 points. UCI was able to hold Dynn Leaupepe, who entered tonight's contest averaging a Big West-leading 26.6 ppg, to just 10 points.
 
UC Irvine will now hit the road for a 7 p.m. Big West tilt at UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Feb. 17.
 
NOTES: At 17-8, UC Irvine has its best record through 25 games since the 1984-85 campaign (20-5) … The 'Eaters have more than doubled their total number of victories from each of the last three years … With five regular-season games left, they have already matched the fourth-highest win total in school history … Morgan Green increased her season scoring average to 24.5 points per game, just 0.8 behind Dynn Leaupepe (25.3 ppg) in the Big West rankings … Green is tops in the conference with 3.4 threes made per contest … She has tied her season-long streak of consecutive 20+ point games (4) … Since Jan. 31, Green is averaging 29.5 points per outing … Jordan Sanders has now reached double figures in scoring in seven-straight games … The 'Eaters are 13-0 when she finishes with at least 10 points … Andee Ritter has made 134 career 3-pointers and needs four more to crack the top-three in school history … The Anteaters have forced 20 or more turnovers in four-straight games and have done so 13 times this year … Their 35 points in the second frame are tied for the second most in program history … Cal Poly's five points in that same quarter were the third-fewest UC Irvine has allowed this season … It was the ninth time UCI has held its opponent to a single-digit period.