IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team continued to show its toughness and resiliency as it mounted a late fourth-quarter comeback, outscoring CSUN, 16-3, over the final five minutes for a 65-61 victory Saturday afternoon at the Bren Events Center.
 
The Anteaters have trailed by double digits in each of their last four wins and erased a 14-point deficit for the second-straight game. They improve to 12-2 overall and 2-0 in Big West action.
 
"My players never stop playing and that's been our thing all year long," head coach Tamara Inoue said. "We truly play for each other and that really showed today. It's always a team effort and a team win; we believe in each other."
 
Junior Yazzy Sa'Dullah led the 'Eaters with a game and season-high 19 points (4-7 3FG). She also matched her season best in rebounds (4) and steals (4). Sophomore Jordan Sanders added a solid stat line with 12 points, five boards, four assists, three steals and two blocks.
 
Junior Brooke Bayman contributed nine points, including a dagger 3-pointer with 10 seconds left in regulation. Sophomore Haleigh Talbert chipped in eight points, while junior Lauren Saiki had six points and five assists. Saiki was scoreless until hitting a pair of threes in UCI's late rally. Sophomore Dani Guglielmo also knocked down two shots from beyond the arc to tie her season high with six points.
 

Brooke's shot to close it out?????? pic.twitter.com/OU69tXWoQo

— UCI W Basketball (@UCIwbb) January 13, 2019

As a team, the Anteaters were just 35.7 percent from the floor, but made a season-high 11 3-pointers. They also scored 26 points off 25 forced turnovers.
 
CSUN (7-9, 1-1 Big West) took an early 6-2 lead before Sa'Dullah drained three triples over a one-minute span to put UC Irvine on top, 11-9, at the 3:55 mark. The Matadors tied it up on their next possession and pulled ahead, 15-12, by the end of the first quarter.
 
The 'Eaters fell behind by five to start the second period, but responded with an 8-2 run, capped by a Guglielmo 3-pointer, to take a 21-20 lead with 6:07 to play in the half. CSUN then went up, 26-23, before another Guglielmo trey evened the score at the 2:25 mark. The Matadors would come back with seven unanswered points, but Sa'Dullah knocked down a three at the buzzer to close the gap to 33-29 at intermission.
 
CSUN took the momentum in the third stanza, opening up a 50-36 advantage with 3:15 remaining. The Anteaters refused to quit, however, as they bounced back with a 9-0 run to make it 50-45 heading into the fourth. UCI got to the line during that stretch, making 7-of-8 free throws before Sa'Dullah capped the scoring with a steal and layup.
 
The Matadors were able to stay out front in the fourth and led 58-49 after back-to-back buckets with 5:44 to go. That is when UC Irvine dug deep on the defensive end, and converted on the offensive end. Over the next five minutes, the 'Eaters forced CSUN into four turnovers and four missed shots. Early in the Matadors' drought, Saiki and Talbert each connected from long distance to quickly make it a three-point game with 3:32 on the clock.
 
A Sa'Dullah 3-pointer sandwiched in between jumpers from Bayman and Sanders put the home team on top, 62-58, at the one-minute mark. CSUN then got back on the board with a triple, but Bayman came up big as she made her first three of the season with the shot clock winding down, and the game clock at 10 seconds, to complete the furious rally.
 
CSUN shot 41.1 percent from the floor but was just 3-for-12 from behind the arc. De'Jionae Calloway paced the Matadors with 15 points, while Channon Fluker and Jordyn Jackson had 11 apiece. Juliana Louis pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds.
 
UC Irvine hits the road next week for Big West games at UC Riverside (Jan. 17) and UC Davis (Jan. 19).
 
NOTES
• UC Irvine is off to its first 2-0 Big West start since 2010-11.
• UCI continued to improve on its best overall start in program history at 12-2.
• The Anteaters have erased a double-digit deficit in each of their last four wins.
• During that stretch, they have outscored their opponents by 14.0 ppg in the second half.
• Today marked only the third time this season the 'Eaters trailed with five minutes left in regulation, and first time they have come back to win.
• UC Irvine is now 3-0 against CSUN when playing at the Bren Events Center in the Tamara Inoue era (since 2016-17).
• Yazzy Sa'Dullah matched her career best with four 3-pointers made.
• Sa'Dullah's game-high 19 points crushed her previous season best of eight at Oregon on Dec. 21.
• It was the first time this season that someone other than Jordan Sanders, Lauren Saiki or Andee Ritter led the team in scoring.
• Jordan Sanders dished out a career-high four assists and led the team in rebounding for the eighth time.
• Brooke Bayman's clutch three with 10 seconds left was her first make, and only her third attempt, from beyond the arc this season.
• Dani Guglielmo played more than 15 minutes for the first time since the season opener, and scored her first points since Dec. 2.
• Lauren Saiki extended her streak of games with 5+ assists to 10.
• Andee Ritter missed her first game of the year with an injury.