HONOLULU - UC Irvine women's basketball was unable to slow down a hot-shooting Hawai'i team in a 94-70 loss Thursday evening at the Stan Sheriff Center.
 
The Rainbow Wahine (10-10, 4-3 Big West) shot 52% from the field and knocked down 14 threes. The Anteaters had an early three-point lead, but the 'Bows hit back-to-back triples and proceeded to outscore the 'Eaters, 22-7, over the final six minutes of the first quarter. The home team remained in the driver's seat with a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
 
"Hawai'i is a tough place to play," UCI head coach Tamara Inoue said. "You have to play your best game here. If you're not focused from the very beginning, they can run away with it, and that's exactly what they did. You expect their players to step up at home, so you have to match their intensity and we didn't do that tonight."
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Junior Dani Guglielmo paced UC Irvine with a career-high 19 points to go along with four rebounds. She went 5-for-12 from downtown. Senior Lauren Saiki finished with 16 points and four assists, while junior Alexus Seaton added 10 points. Junior Joy Akaegbu-Cleveland matched her season-high with nine points. Junior Haleigh Talbert corralled a team-best seven boards.
 
Julissa Tago led five 'Bows in double figures with a game-high 25 points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: The first quarter was a game of runs. Hawai'i struck first but Seaton scored six unanswered points to give UC Irvine a 6-2 lead at the 7:11 mark. The Anteaters stayed out front until the Rainbow Wahine used a 10-0 rally to pull ahead, 15-8. The 'Eaters responded with a jumper from Akaegbu-Cleveland and a Guglielmo three to cut the deficit to two, but UH closed out the period on a 12-2 spurt to go up, 27-15.
 
The 'Bows kept the momentum in the second frame as they extended their lead to 43-24 with 3:58 left in the half. Talbert then ended a nearly two-minute scoring drought with a triple, but the visitors would head into the locker room trailing, 48-32.
 
Hawai'i shot 51% from the field, while holding UC Irvine to 39% in the first half.
 
The Rainbow Wahine continued to roll in the third quarter, going up by as many as 24 before the Anteaters used an 8-2 run, capped by a Guglielmo 3-pointer, to get the deficit down to 18. The 'Bows then connected on another three just before the buzzer to go up, 73-52.
 
The 'Eaters (5-15, 1-5 Big West) continued to fight, opening the fourth period with an 11-5 rally to make it a 15-point game with 6:34 to go. They were unable to get any closer, however, as Hawai'i ran away with the 94-70 victory.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine has a quick turnaround as it returns to the mainland for another road game, traveling to UC Riverside on Saturday, Feb. 1. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m.
 
NOTES
• After allowing a season-low 56 points against NCAA DI opponents in its last two games, UC Irvine gave up a season-high 94.
• UCI also suffered its first road loss to Hawai'i since Jan. 2017
• Dani Guglielmo has made 11 3-pointers over the last three games, and is averaging 12.3 points during that stretch.
• Lauren Saiki has led the 'Eaters in assists in 13 consecutive games.
• Haleigh Talbert saw her six-game double-figure scoring streak snapped.