CORVALLIS, Ore. – The UC Irvine women's basketball team hung with No. 6 Oregon State through the first half and were within 11 early in the third quarter, but the Beavers used their height and timely 3-point shooting to run away with the 86-57 victory Saturday evening at Gill Coliseum.
 
"We were doing a good job of defending the three in the first half," UCI head coach Tamara Inoue said. "We were really aggressive on the offensive end, shooting freely and loose. I think fatigue started to get to us, and (Oregon State) is a great team; they're a Final Four team for a reason. But, we played hard and I'm really proud of my players for the way they battled. They didn't hang their heads and they kept going after it."
 
Five of the 10 Beavers that saw playing time were at least 6-foot tall with three standing above 6-4. Despite OSU's height advantage, the Anteaters won the battle in offensive rebounds, 14-to-8.
 
Oregon State finished the game shooting 59.6 percent from the field and 50 percent from behind the arc. The 'Eaters were able to stay in it early with 13 forced turnovers in the first half.  
 
STAT LEADERS: Junior Jordan Sanders paced UC Irvine with 23 points and five rebounds. It was her first 20-point game of the season and 17th of her career. Senior Lauren Saiki had 14 points and nine assists. Sanders and Saiki combined to go 6-for-13 from long distance.
 
Junior Alexus Seaton finished with six points and four steals, while classmate Haleigh Talbert chipped in five points and four rebounds. Junior Tahlia Garza also had four points and five boards.

The Beavers' Mikayla Pivec led all scorers with 25 points, and added 12 rebounds and eight assists. Taylor Jones (20 points, 10 boards) and Aleah Goodman (12 points, 10 assists) both had double-doubles as well.

As a team, UCI shot 33.3 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from 3-point range.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: UC Irvine (1-1) took an early 6-5 lead after Saiki and Sanders each knocked down a 3-pointer. Oregon State answered with a three of its own and proceeded to go on an 11-2 run to pull ahead, 16-8, at the 6:21 mark. The Anteaters then got five quick points from Saiki to cut the deficit to 16-13. The 'Eaters would make it a two-point game on a Chloe Webb layup, but the Beavers closed out the first quarter with a 10-2 spurt to go on top, 27-17.
 
OSU (1-0) scored the first bucket of the second period before UCI responded with a 10-4 rally, capped by back-to-back buckets from Seaton to close the gap to 31-27 with 5:09 remaining. That was the closest the Anteaters would get, however, as the home team scored 11 of the final 13 points for a 45-31 cushion at the half.
 
It went back-and-forth to start the third frame with UC Irvine pulling within 11 on a Talbert triple at the 7:51 mark. OSU then reeled off 12-straight points for a commanding 61-38 advantage. Sanders would end a four-minute scoring drought for the 'Eaters, but Oregon State went up 67-44 by the end of the quarter.
 
The Beavers outscored the Anteaters, 19-13, in the fourth period to take the 86-57 win.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine has been regrouped into a consolation bracket that will take place in Kansas City, Missouri, next weekend. The Anteaters are set to face Davidson on Friday, Nov. 15, at 1:30 p.m. (PT). The other two teams in the bracket are Portland State and host Kansas City.
 
 
Notes
• This was the second year in a row UC Irvine faced a top-10 team in the state of Oregon.
• The Anteaters have forced at least 16 turnovers in each of their first two games and own a 4.0 turnover margin.
• Jordan Sanders registered her 17th career 20-point game.
• Sanders, the fifth leading returning scorer in the nation, is now averaging 19.5 points per game.
• Lauren Saiki narrowly missed her third career double-double with 14 points and a season-best nine assists.
• Alexus Seaton tied her career high with four steals, all of which came in the first half.