SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team had a rare off-shooting night and saw its seven-game win streak snapped with an 82-55 loss to UC Santa Barbara Saturday evening at The Thunderdome.
 
UCI (17-9, 9-3 Big West) shot under 30 percent for just the second time this season (first since Nov. 24), and tied a season low with two 3-pointers made.
 
Junior Morgan Green finished with a team-high 13 points, four assists and three steals. Junior Andee Ritter, and freshmen Jordan Sanders and Haleigh Talbert, tallied nine points each. Talbert added five rebounds and three steals, while Ritter pulled down four boards. Freshman Tahlia Garza chipped in six points, five rebounds and two blocks.
 
The 'Eaters were outrebounded, 51-37, and despite forcing 22 turnovers, they totaled only 13 points off those miscues.
 
UC Irvine took an 8-5 lead on a pair of free throws from Green at the 5:51 mark, but UC Santa Barbara came right back to knot the score. The two teams then traded points over the next two-plus minutes before the Gauchos closed out the first quarter on a 14-1 run to pull ahead, 26-15.
 
UCSB kept the momentum in the second period, scoring the first nine points and extending its lead to 35-15 with 5:08 to play. Ritter then answered with a jumper, ending the Anteaters' five-minute scoring drought. That got UCI going as Garza and Sanders followed with traditional three-point plays to spark an 8-2 spurt that cut the deficit to 14 (37-23) at the 3:16 mark, but the home team rallied to take a 40-24 advantage at the break.
 
UC Irvine got off to another slow start in the second half, falling behind 47-26 with 5:13 remaining in the third quarter. The Anteaters then got a boost with back-to-back buckets from Sanders and Ritter before UC Santa Barbara countered with another trey. The Gauchos went on to end the third frame with a 53-35 cushion.
 
UCI made it a 16-point game after a 6-0 sprint that was capped by two free throws from Green with six minutes to go. That was the closest the 'Eaters would get, however, as UC Santa Barbara regrouped and ran away with the victory.
 
UCSB (11-14, 8-5 Big West) shot 45.6 percent from the floor and an impressive 52.9 percent from long distance. Makala Roper paced five Gauchos in double figures with 15 points, while Drew Edelman recorded 12 points and 15 rebounds.

UC Irvine returns to the friendly confines of the Bren Events Center next week as it hosts Long Beach State in a 7 p.m. Black & Blue Rivalry game on Wednesday, Feb. 21.
 
NOTES: UC Irvine suffered its first loss in nearly a month (Jan. 18) … Its seven-game win streak stands as the third-longest in school history ... The 'Eaters are still second in the Big West standings and remain 1.5 games ahead of Cal Poly … UCI forced 20+ turnovers for the fifth-straight outing … The Anteaters had their lowest offensive output since scoring 53 against Wichita State on Nov. 26 … Morgan Green kept her double-digit streak alive as she has now scored more than 10 points in all 12 games she has played …  Jordan Sanders' seven-game double-figure scoring streak came to an end … Tahlia Garza had her third-consecutive game with two blocks, increasing her season total to 38, just one shy of tying for 10th in single-season program history … Andee Ritter inched closer to UCI's No. 3 mark in career 3-pointers made with 135, three behind Kristen Green.