PULLMAN, Wash. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team fell to Pac-12 member Washington State, 87-59, Sunday at Beasley Coliseum.
 
"I thought we had good spurts at times to where we could cut into their lead, but then we would let them come back into it," UCI head coach Tamara Inoue said. "We have to do a better job defensively and make sure that we understand what we are supposed to be doing. We just have to figure it out."
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Senior Lauren Saiki led the Anteaters with 12 points and six assists. It was her seventh double-figure scoring game, and her ninth outing with at least six assists this year. Junior Haleigh Talbert added 11 points and four rebounds, while classmate Alexus Seaton finished with 10 points and four boards.
 
Junior Joy Akaegbu-Cleveland pulled down a team-high eight rebounds. Freshman Sophia Locandro chipped in six points, five boards and two blocks. Senior Yazzy Sa'Dullah and junior Dani Guglielmo also had six points each.
 
UCI struggled from the field, shooting 29% compared to 52% for the Cougars. The Anteaters were better from long distance, however, where they were 8-for-18 (44%).

Borislava Hristova anchored the WSU effort with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Bella Murekatete also had a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 13 boards.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: UC Irvine (3-7) won the tip and took advantage with a Saiki layup on the opening possession. It went back-and-forth over the next two minutes until Washington State scored five unanswered to pull ahead, 9-4, at the 5:45 mark. The Anteaters kept it close, but a half-court shot at the first-quarter buzzer gave the Cougars a 26-17 lead.
 
WSU (6-4) went up by double digits early in the second period before back-to-back triples from Saiki and Talbert brought the 'Eaters within seven at 30-23. Washington State then used an 11-2 spurt for a 16-point margin (41-25) at the 5:44 mark. UCI scored the next three points with a Seaton free throw and Locandro layup, but the visitors went into the half trailing, 45-30.
 
UC Irvine opened the third frame on a mini 5-2 run, which was capped by a 3-pointer from Sa'Dullah, to cut the deficit to 47-35. After trading buckets, the Cougars started to run away as a 10-2 rally gave them a 59-39 lead with 4:14 to play. Guglielmo then knocked down a transition three and hit another trey just one minute later to make it 61-45. WSU scored the final four points of the quarter, however, for a 65-45 cushion.
 
The 'Eaters were unable to cut into the Cougar lead in the fourth.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine will stay in the Pacific Northwest, traveling to Seattle for the Husky Classic, Dec. 20-21. The Anteaters are set to face Vanderbilt on Friday and San Francisco on Saturday.
 
NOTES
• Washington State is the second Pac-12 team UC Irvine has faced this season.
• Lauren Saiki had her first double-figure scoring game since Nov. 29.
• Saiki has made a 3-pointer in 12 consecutive games dating back to last year.
• Joy Akaegbu-Cleveland has led the Anteaters in rebounding in each of the last three games.
• She is averaging 8.7 boards during that stretch.