RIVERSIDE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team (12-3, 2-1 Big West) didn't have another comeback up its sleeve on Thursday evening as it dropped an 88-72 decision to UC Riverside at SRC Arena.
 
It was only the second time the Anteaters have allowed more than 80 points this season. The Highlanders were nearly unstoppable through the first three quarters where they shot 66 percent from the field. UCR finally cooled off in the fourth, but the deficit was too big for the 'Eaters to overcome.
 
"It was going to be tough to recover from that first half, and then we came out and didn't do our job in the third quarter," head coach Tamara Inoue said. "(UC Riverside) played great. They were patient and made their shots. We couldn't compete with their height."
 
Junior Lauren Saiki paced UCI with 16 points. Junior Yazzy Sa'Dullah had her second-straight double-figure scoring game with 10 points, to go along with five assists. She was 6-of-6 at the free throw line.
 
Junior Brooke Bayman and sophomore Dani Guglielmo added season highs with 10 and nine points, respectively. Senior Andee Ritter led the team with six rebounds, while sophomore Haleigh Talbert finished with five points, five boards and four assists. Senior Sabrina Engelstad also notched seven points and four rebounds, and sophomore Tahlia Garza registered five points and five boards.
 
The 'Eaters shot 30 percent overall, 28 percent from long distance and 77 percent at the free throw line. They forced 25 turnovers, but scored only 14 points off those miscues.
 
UC Riverside (7-10, 1-2 Big West) went up 4-0 before Garza got UC Irvine on the board with a layup at the 8:03 mark. The Highlanders stayed out front and increased their advantage to 14-3 halfway through the opening quarter. The Anteaters started to chip away, pulling within five following back-to-back 3-pointers from Guglielmo and Saiki, but UCR would take a 24-16 lead at the end of the period.
 
The home team kept the momentum in the second frame, using a 12-2 run to go on top, 36-18, with 6:24 on the clock. It would go back-and-forth over the next couple minutes until UC Riverside made another late push for a 53-35 cushion at the break.
 
UCR shot 71 percent in the first half, while holding UCI to 28 percent.
 
UC Irvine was unable to get much going after intermission, trailing by at least 19 throughout the third. The 'Eaters finally got some momentum late in the fourth quarter as a Guglielmo triple capped a 12-0 run that made it 86-70, but that was the closest they would get with time running out. The Anteaters ended up outscoring the Highlanders, 22-12, and holding them to 33 percent shooting in the final stanza.
 
Jannon Otto led UC Riverside with 31 points, 12 rebounds and five assists. Marina Ewodo added 21 points on an 8-for-9 performance from the field, while Daphne Gnago finished with 11 points, 11 boards and eight assists.
 
UC Irvine stays on the road this weekend as it heads to two-time defending Big West regular-season champion UC Davis for a 2:30 p.m. showdown on Saturday, Jan. 19.
 
NOTES
• UC Riverside's 88 points were the second-most UC Irvine has allowed this season.
• It was also a new season high for the Highlanders, who came into tonight's game averaging 59 points.
• The Anteaters forced more than 20 turnovers for the 12th time this year.
• Lauren Saiki reached double figures in scoring for the sixth time in the last seven outings.
• She tied her season low with only one assist, ending a streak of 10 games with 5+ helpers.
• Brooke Bayman, who made her first 3-pointer of the year last Saturday, made a season-best two triples.
• Dani Guglielmo had the first two-point basket of her career as 23 of her 24 made field goals have been from beyond the arc.
• Senior Andee Ritter returned to the lineup, but the 'Eaters were without their leading scorer Jordan Sanders.
• Sanders' streak of 31 consecutive games played and started came to an end.
• Tahlia Garza made her 33rd career start, but first of the 2018-19 campaign.