IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team opened the 2019-20 campaign with a thrilling 79-77 win over San José State Tuesday evening at the Bren Events Center.
 
The Anteaters (1-0) saw a late seven-point lead disappear as they found themselves down 74-73 with 1:29 remaining. Junior Alexus Seaton then ended a two-minute scoring drought with a bucket and senior Lauren Saiki followed with a clutch 3-pointer to put UCI on top for good.
 
"I feel like it has become a tradition for us to have close games in home openers, so we decided to keep it going today," UC Irvine head coach Tamara Inoue said. "But, San José State did a great job of staying strong and coming back late. We had some opportunities to pull away, but we didn't so it'll be a work in progress and we'll get there."
 
As a team, the 'Eaters shot 47.8% from the field and were 5-of-18 from 3-point range. They held the advantage in points off turnovers (24-10), points in the paint (40-30) and bench points (26-5). 
 
WHO STOOD OUT: Alexus Seaton led four Anteaters in double figures with a career-high 17 points. She was 6-of-9 from the field and 5-for-8 at the free throw line. Seaton also finished with a career-high seven rebounds and five assists. 
 
"Alexus is a special kid," Inoue added. "She came from a good program in Texas but really took these first two years to develop and play at the speed we want her to play at. She never gave up and earned herself a starting job. I think she still has a high ceiling to go after."

Junior Jordan Sanders added 16 points and a team-best eight boards, while Lauren Saiki had 16 points, seven assists and three steals. Freshman Sophia Locandro chipped in 11 points (5-7 FG) in her official collegiate debut.

Tyra Whitehead paced San José State (0-1) with 21 points, 12 rebounds and four steals.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: UC Irvine came out of the gates hot, with a pair of jumpers in the first minute putting them up, 4-0. San José State then countered, going on an 8-0 run to take the lead at the 5:52 mark. The Anteaters stormed back with seven-straight points, capped by a Locandro layup, to go on top, 11-8, with 3:14 to play. The Spartans would rally once again, taking a five-point advantage before Saiki drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to close the gap to 19-17.
 
In the second quarter, UCI quickly knotted the score at 21-21 following back-to-back jumpers from Seaton and Sanders. The 'Eaters eventually reclaimed the lead at 26-25 on a Dani Guglielmo triple at the 7:22 mark. UC Irvine continued on a 12-3 spurt to pull ahead, 35-28, with 4:27 to play. The Spartans were able to cut the deficit to two, but the Anteaters stayed out front with a 42-38 cushion at the half.
 
UC Irvine held onto a slim lead for most of the third frame, but an SJSU 3-pointer at the two-minute mark put the visitors ahead for the first time since early in the second quarter. The Spartans maintained their advantage, going up 60-59 heading into the fourth period.
 
The Anteaters quickly responded in the final quarter with back-to-back layups from Tahlia Garza giving them a 63-60 edge. After San José State got back on the board, UCI proceeded to go on an 8-2 run to extend the lead to 73-66 with 5:18 left. The Spartans stayed in it, however, reeling off eight consecutive points to go up, 74-73, with 1:28 remaining. That is when Seaton came up big with a layup and Saiki followed with a three to make it 78-74. SJSU responded with a three-point play, but Saiki made 1-of-2 free throws on the other end, and with the clock winding down, UC Irvine's defense got a huge stop to secure the 79-77 win.

UP NEXT: UC Irvine will travel to Corvallis, Ore., for a first-round Preseason WNIT game at No. 6 Oregon State on Saturday, Nov. 9. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks.
 
 NOTES
• UC Irvine is now 3-1 in season openers under the direction of fourth-year head coach Tamara Inoue.
• The Anteaters are 1-0 for the third-straight year.
• The 'Eaters improved to 18-12 in their all-time series with San José State.
• Alexus Seaton established career highs in points (17), rebounds (7) and assists (5).
• Joy Akaegbu-Cleveland, Jayde Cadee, Sophia Locandro and Chloe Webb made their UCI debuts.
• Locandro is the first Anteater to score 10+ points in her debut since teammate Tahlia Garza in 2017-18.