IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team (17-10, 9-4 Big West) nearly put together a comeback for the ages as it cut a 17-point fourth-quarter deficit down to six before ultimately dropping an 80-73 decision to Long Beach State Wednesday evening at the Bren Events Center.
 
The 'Eaters forced a season-high tying 29 turnovers with a season-best 24 steals, but were only able to convert 27 points off the 49ers' miscues. UCI shot 33.8 percent (26-77) overall and 27.5 percent (11-40) from 3-point range.
 
"We came out pretty flat; I thought our energy was low," UC Irvine head coach Tamara Inoue said. "At halftime we talked about bringing more energy and being more aggressive, but we just couldn't find it. It's not like we didn't do certain things well. We forced 29 turnovers, but usually we score quite a bit off those, and tonight with only 27 points, that's just not part of our makeup. Long Beach State came out fired up and ready to go. They did a great job and deserved to win this game."
 
The Anteaters' three juniors carried a bulk of the load on both ends of the floor, led by Morgan Green, who had 18 points, six steals, five rebounds and three assists. Andee Ritter added 13 points, four boards, four assists and five steals, while Deijah Blanks finished with six points, seven rebounds and four steals.
 
Freshman Haleigh Talbert also notched nine points for the second-straight game as she was 3-for-4 from field and 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. Freshman Jordan Sanders and senior Sabrina Engelstad registered eight points each.
 
Long Beach State (5-22, 3-10 Big West) pulled ahead, 7-2, before Ritter knocked down a 3-pointer to start a 9-0 run that put UC Irvine on top, 11-7, at the 6:27 mark. The lead would change hands four more times before the 'Eaters closed out the first quarter on an 8-0 spurt, capped by a triple from Green, to take a 21-14 advantage.
 
The 49ers cut the deficit to three early in the second period. Engelstad then got the Anteaters back on the board with a couple free throws at the 7:45 mark, and they proceeded on a 13-2 run over the next five minutes to take their largest lead of the night at 34-20. UCI was unable to hold on to its double-digit margin at the break as the Beach accounted for the final nine points to make it 34-29.
 
Long Beach State extended its run in the third quarter, scoring six unanswered to go up 35-34 with 8:19 to play. Blanks countered with a layup and the two teams continued to trade points over the next couple minutes before another 7-0 rally from LBSU put the visitors out front for good. They would go up by nine, but a three from Ritter closed the gap to 57-51 at the end of the frame.
 
UC Irvine's struggles continued in the fourth where it fell behind by 17 with 5:20 remaining. That didn't deter the 'Eaters from making a valiant comeback effort as Green knocked down three treys over a nearly two-minute span to spark a 15-4 run that brought them back within six at 77-71 with 42.2 seconds to go. Despite getting a couple more quick steals, UCI was unable get any closer and eventually ran out of time in the 80-73 setback.
 
Long Beach State shot 49.3 percent from the field and 50 percent from long distance. Shanaijah Davison led the way with 23 points, while Emma Merriweather and Cecily Wilson each had 18 points and 10 rebounds. Wilson also had 11 turnovers.
 
UC Irvine hits the road this weekend, traveling to league-leading UC Davis for a 2:30 p.m. showdown on Saturday, Feb. 24.
 
 
NOTES: UC Irvine suffered back-to-back losses for the first time since Nov. 25-26 … The 'Eaters remain in sole possession of second place in the Big West standings as they sit a half-game ahead of Cal Poly (9-5) … With three games left, UCI is still mathematically in the running for a share of the regular-season title as it is three behind first-place UC Davis (12-1) … Andee Ritter is now tied for third in program history with 138 career 3-pointers … Morgan Green has reached double figures in scoring in all 13 games she has played … UC Irvine lost its first game when leading at halftime in conference play … The Anteaters forced 20+ turnovers for the sixth-straight outing.