IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team showed a little rust on the offensive end in their season opener, dropping a 72-55 decision to California Baptist Saturday afternoon at the Bren Events Center.
 
"Right now, we are just happy to be on the floor," said head coach Tamara Inoue. "We want to go hard every day and continue to play this season healthy. It was good to get this one out of the way and shake off the rust. I think moving forward we'll be fine; we'll continue to get better and get ready for conference."
 
The Anteaters (0-1), who have been limited in practice with five players sidelined by injury, shot 24% from the field and 18% from 3-point range.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Sophomore Sophia Locandro and redshirt freshman Kayla Williams tied for the team lead with 11 points each. Locandro added six rebounds and two blocks, while Williams had five boards, two assists and two steals.
 
Sophomore Jayde Cadee finished with nine points and five rebounds, and senior Haleigh Talbert chipped in seven points, four boards, two assists, two steals and one block. Senior Dani Guglielmo also had six points and five rebounds, and freshman Victoria Baker notched six points in her collegiate debut. Senior Tahlia Garza led the 'Eaters on the glass with seven rebounds.
 
California Baptist (2-0) shot 43% from the field and 38% from beyond the arc. Ane Oleata paced the Lancers with 17 points, seven rebounds, seven steals and five assists. Nicole Avila-Ambrosi also had 14 points, while Britney Thomas finished with 10 points and nine rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: Both teams got off to a slow start as California Baptist opened the scoring with a layup two minutes into the game. Talbert quickly tied it up on the other end, but the Lancers responded with a 10-2 run to pull ahead, 12-4, at the 4:48 mark. Baker then knocked down a three for her first collegiate points, and it went back-and-forth until a Guglielmo triple with five seconds on the clock made it 16-11 at the end of the first quarter.
 
CBU stayed out front in the second period and took its largest lead of the half at 29-17 with 5:12 to play. Cadee then connected from downtown, ending a nearly two-minute scoring drought for the Anteaters. After the visitors came back with a layup, Williams converted on the final shot with a driving layup to close the gap to 31-22 at intermission.
 
The Lancers scored the first seven points of the third frame, increasing the margin to 16 points. Locandro answered with a couple free throws and Williams followed with a layup, but CBU proceeded to go on an 18-5 run for a 60-31 advantage. Williams once again connected on a driving layup at the buzzer to make it 60-33 heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
The 'Eaters had their best quarter in the fourth where they outscored California Baptist, 22-12. A late 9-1 spurt made it a 14-point game, but it was too little, too late as California Baptist came out on top, 72-55.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine will make the short drive to Los Angeles for a 6 p.m. showdown at LMU next Thursday, Dec. 3.
 

NOTES
• UC Irvine suffered its first season-opening loss since 2016-17.
• It was also UCI's first loss at the Bren Events Center since Jan. 25, snapping a five-game home winning streak.
• The 'Eaters held the advantage in turnovers, forcing 19, while committing 15.
• All eight Anteaters who logged minutes made their way into the scoring column.
• Sophia Locandro led the team in scoring for the 10th time in her career.
• Kayla Williams played 35 minutes in her first collegiate game, and first official competition in over a year.
• The 'Eaters were without the services of Alexus Seaton, Chloe Webb, Joy Akaegbu-Cleveland, Caiyle Kaupu and Tarryn Ross.