IRVINE, Calif. - In a tightly contested game from start to finish, the UC Irvine women's basketball team came up just short, falling to Saint Mary's, 67-64, Wednesday afternoon at the Bren Events Center.
 
Neither team went up by more than six, while there were 15 lead changes and 10 tie scores.
 
The Anteaters would erase a late six-point deficit and knot it up at 62-62 on a three-point play from sophomore Sophia Locandro midway through the fourth quarter. The 'Eaters pulled even again at 64-all with 4:30 remaining in regulation, but were held scoreless the rest of the way, while the Gaels were able to knock down a corner three in the final two minutes to pull out the win.
 
"It's frustrating, and it really comes down to defense and rebounding," said head coach Tamara Inoue. "If we could have got a defensive board at the end there, we would have been fine. Those are things that we have to clean up. The end of game situations are the experience we need, so I'm glad Saint Mary's was gracious enough to come down and play us. We have a lot to learn from today."
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Locandro paced UC Irvine with 20 points and four rebounds. Redshirt freshman Kayla Williams also finished with 15 points, five assists and three steals. Sophomore Chloe Webb added eight points and a team-high seven rebounds, while senior Alexus Seaton chipped in seven points. Sophomore Jayde Cadee and senior Dani Guglielmo each had six points on a pair of threes.
 
UCI shot 37% from the field, while Saint Mary's registered a 44% clip. Both teams struggled from downtown, but it was the Anteaters who held the 27%-to-24% edge. The 'Eaters also forced 18 turnovers, while committing only 12 of their own.
 
Finau Tonga led SMC with a game-high 23 points and 12 rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: UC Irvine (1-3) struck first with a Locandro putback at the 9:37 mark, but the lead would change hands six times over the next six minutes. Saint Mary's then used a 6-0 spurt to pull ahead, 19-14, with 1:27 on the clock. Seaton responded with four consecutive free throws, starting an 8-2 Anteater run to close out the first quarter. A steal and layup from Webb in the final seconds capped the rally and gave the home team a narrow 22-21 cushion.
 
It remained a seesaw battle in the second period with five more lead changes. The 'Eaters went up, 32-29 on a Guglielmo triple before Tonga knotted the score with an and-1 for the Gaels. Williams then reeled off five-straight points with a trey and a layup to give UCI its largest lead of the afternoon, 37-32, with 1:36 remaining. SMC answered with the final four points to reclaim a one-point advantage (38-37) at the break.
 
Saint Mary's (1-4) kept the momentum in the third frame, going up by five early and maintaining a 47-42 lead at the 4:55 mark. Webb then grabbed a defensive rebound and went coast-to-coast for a layup. Williams followed with a traditional three-point play, and the Anteaters extended that into a 10-3 run for a 52-50 edge. The Gaels quickly answered on the other end with a layup and pulled ahead, 56-53, by the end of the quarter.
 
The two teams continued to battle in the fourth but UC Irvine was unable to break through in the final minutes. UCI tied it up twice, including at 64-64 with 4:30 left to play. That score held until SMC's Tayla Dalton knocked down a corner three at the 1:19 mark. Her shot ended up being the game-winner as the visitors held on for the 67-64 victory.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine will head south for its final two preseason games this weekend as the Anteaters are set to play at San Diego State on Saturday, Dec. 19, and at the University of San Diego on Sunday, Dec. 20. Both contests are set for a 4 p.m. start.
 
NOTES
• UC Irvine has used a different starting lineup in each of its first four games.
• Senior Haleigh Talbert missed the first contest of her career, snapping a streak of 97 consecutive games played.
• Joy Akaegbu-Cleveland made her season debut after missing the first three games with an injury.
• Sophia Locandro had her first 20-point game of the season and seventh of her career.
• Kayla Williams has reached double digits in scoring in every game this year, and is averaging a team-leading 16.0 ppg.
• Chloe Webb has led the 'Eaters on the boards in the last two contests and is averaging a team-best 8.7 rebounds per game.