HONOLULU - The UC Irvine women's basketball team picked up a big road win, defeating Hawai'i, 53-48, Thursday evening at the Stan Sheriff Center.
 
The Anteaters improve to 17-6 overall and 7-4 in Big West play, while moving into a tie for third with UC Riverside in the conference standings. The two teams, who will square off at the Bren Events Center on Saturday, are a half-game back of second-place CSUN.
 
"This is a tough place to play," head coach Tamara Inoue said. "Home court advantage is big at the University of Hawai'i, so coming in here we knew it was going to be a battle. Credit to my players for handling the pressure. We are still pretty young as a group, so I thought we did a good job of executing and finishing the game."
 
The 'Eaters shot 42 percent from the field, while holding the Rainbow Wahine to 37 percent. UCI also forced UH into 20 turnovers with 14 steals.
 
Sophomore Jordan Sanders led the way with a game-high 20 points, eight rebounds and three steals. Junior Lauren Saiki added 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting. She came up big down the stretch to give UC Irvine a three-point cushion with 26 seconds left in regulation. Senior Andee Ritter also had 10 points (6-6 FT), six boards and three assists.
 
Hawai'i (11-14, 7-5 Big West) went up 4-0 before Sanders got the Anteaters on the board with a jumper at the 6:40 mark. That started an 8-2 run that gave the visitors their first lead of the night. UH answered on the other end to tie it up, but the 'Eaters outscored the 'Bows by six over the final three minutes to pull ahead, 16-10.
 
Saiki started the second quarter with a layup for an eight-point lead. The Rainbow Wahine responded with six unanswered points before Sanders ended a four-minute scoring drought to put UCI on top, 20-16, with 5:12 remaining. The Anteaters pushed their advantage back to six on another Saiki layup, and held a 28-26 edge at the break.
 
The 'Eaters had the hot hand coming out of the locker room as Sanders accounted for the first six points of the third quarter. That fueled an 11-3 rally, capped by two more points from Sanders, to go up, 39-29 with 5:16 to play. Hawai'i was able to get back within single digits as UCI had a 43-36 cushion at the end of the period.
 
After a Saiki layup to start the fourth frame, things got interesting as the 'Bows made the only 3-pointers of the game within a two-minute span to close the gap to 49-48 at the 3:30 mark. Neither team was able to add to their point total until Saiki hit a big shot with 26 seconds on the clock. The Anteater defense stayed strong to come away with the 53-48 win.
 
Jadynn Alexander paced Hawai'i with 10 points, while Leah Salanoa added a team-best eight rebounds.
 
UC Irvine has a quick turnaround as it returns home to host UC Riverside in its Breast Cancer Awareness Game at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23. Fans are encouraged to wear pink in support of the cause, while a portion of all ticket proceeds will be donated to the UCI Breast Health Center.
 
NOTES
• UC Irvine forced at least 20 turnovers for the 16th time this year.
• It was the second time in the last three games UCI held its opponent to fewer than 50 points.
• The Anteaters improved to 15-0 when keeping their adversary under 70 points.
• They also remained undefeated at 11-0 when leading at halftime.
• Jordan Sanders recorded her 12th 20-point game of the season, and fifth in the last seven outings.
• Over the last seven games, she is averaging 22.1 points and 7.0 rebounds.
• Andee Ritter had one steal, putting her in a tie for third in school history with 180 career takeaways.