IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team was tied with league-leading UC Davis at the half, but they were unable to gain any momentum over the final 20 minutes in a 63-44 loss Saturday afternoon at the Bren Events Center.
 
UCI dropped to 17-9 overall and 7-7 in Big West action. The Aggies (21-6, 13-1 Big West), who won their 12th-straight, clinched the outright regular-season title for the third year in a row.
 
"We had 60 attempts to their 55 and we took 26 threes that I thought were really good shots, but if you can't make them, you can't win games," head coach Tamara Inoue said. "I thought we defended the 3-point line really well, but we got posted up quite a bit. There are other things UC Davis can do, and that's why they're the Big West champs; they're very smart in the way they game plan."
 
The 'Eaters did hold UCD below its scoring average of 71.3 points per game. The visitors shot 45.5 percent overall, 20 percent (2-of-10) from long distance and 85 percent (11-13) at the charity stripe. Their two threes were a season low.
 
UC Irvine just couldn't get going on the offensive end, shooting a season-low 21.7 percent from the field. They were 5-of-26 from 3-point range and 13-for-15 at the free throw line.
 
Sophomore Haleigh Talbert finished with a team-best 10 points and six rebounds. Junior Lauren Saiki added nine points and three steals, while sophomore Dani Guglielmo chipped in six points. Junior Brooke Bayman also pulled down a career-high tying six boards. UCI was without its leading scorer Jordan Sanders.
 
UC Davis struck first and stayed out front, taking a 14-8 lead at the 4:03 mark. Talbert then scored five unanswered with a 3-pointer and a couple free throws before junior Yazzy Sa'Dullah's triple put UC Irvine on top, 16-14. The Anteaters extended their rally into an 11-2 run, capped by a three-point play from sophomore Alexus Seaton, to pull ahead, 19-16, with 50.7 seconds on the clock. The Aggies got the final bucket of the quarter to close the gap to one.
 
After UCD reclaimed the advantage less than two minutes into the second period, the 'Eaters responded with back-to-back treys from Talbert and senior Andee Ritter to take their largest lead of the game at 27-23. It would go back-and-forth the rest of the way as the two teams were in a 31-31 deadlock at intermission.
 
UC Davis went up by three (34-31) on its first possession of the second half, but sophomore Tahlia Garza would make it a one-point affair with a pair of free throws at the 6:54 mark. UC Irvine then went cold as the Aggies scored six consecutive points before Saiki's layup ended a four-minute scoring drought with 2:16 remaining. It was the Anteaters' first field goal of the frame. UCD increased its margin to 46-38 by the end of the quarter.
 
The Aggies kept the momentum in the fourth stanza, outscoring the 'Eaters, 17-6, for the 63-44 win.
 
Morgan Bertsch paced UC Davis with 26 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Cierra Hall was the only other Aggie in double figures with 10 points.
 
UC Irvine concludes the regular season with two games next week. The Anteaters will travel to CSUN on Wednesday, March 6, before returning home to host Long Beach State in a 2 p.m. Senior Day showdown on Saturday (March 9).
 
NOTES
• UC Irvine is out of the running for the second seed which receives a double-bye into the Big West Tournament semifinals. 
• Andee Ritter knocked down her 192nd career 3-pointer, putting her seven away from breaking UCI's all-time record.
• The Anteaters' 44 total points were a season low.
• They scored just 13 points on 3-of-32 shooting in the second half.
• Haleigh Talbert (10) led the team in scoring for the first time this season.
• UC Irvine was limited to one player in double figures for only the second time this year.
• This is the first time all season UCI has lost three games in a row.
• The Anteaters' leading scorer, Jordan Sanders, sat out today's game with an injury.
• Alexus Seaton made her first career start in place of the injured Sanders.