SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team took control late in the second quarter and ran away with a 69-56 win against UC Santa Barbara Monday evening at The Thunderdome.
 
The Anteaters (4-4, 2-0 Big West) outscored the Gauchos, 42-25, over the second and third periods to lead them to their first regular-season series sweep of UCSB since 2015.
 
"It feels really good for us to come back in the second game and take care of business," said head coach Tamara Inoue. "We still faltered a little in the fourth quarter, but overall I thought we did a good job of sticking to the game plan."
 
The 'Eaters, who shot 43% from the floor, got most of their points in the paint where they held a lopsided 50-10 advantage. They also won the battle in rebounding (41-30), assists (22-14), steals (10-4) and turnovers forced (20-10) in one of their best all-around performances of the season.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Sophomore Chloe Webb led the way with a season-high 17 points (7-13 FG) to go along with a team-best seven rebounds. Senior Tahlia Garza went 8-for-10 from the field to match her career high with 16 points, and also pulled down five boards.
 
Freshman Caiyle Kaupu registered her first collegiate double-figure scoring game with 10 points, while sophomore Sophia Locandro finished the evening with 10 points and six rebounds.
 
"Sophia did a great job of setting the tone and getting after it," said Inoue. "Once she got into some foul trouble, I thought Tahlia came in and took some really smart shots. We know Caiyle can score as well; she likes the physicality so we love feeding her the ball."
 
Redshirt freshman Kayla Williams directed the offensive effort with a career-high 10 assists. Freshman Victoria Baker also contributed four points, five rebounds and four assists.
 
Alyssa Marin paced the Gauchos with 19 points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: Locandro scored six early points, including an and-one that gave UC Irvine an 8-3 advantage at the 6:34 mark. The Anteaters kept the momentum, pulling ahead, 12-5, on a Webb layup with 4:32 to go. UC Santa Barbara then stormed back, closing out the first quarter on an 8-0 run to take its first lead of the night at 13-12.
 
A seesaw battle ensued in the second period with four lead changes and two tie scores before a triple from senior Dani Guglielmo, which tied it up at 23-all, started a 13-2 rally that put the 'Eaters on top by eight with a minute-and-a-half remaining. The Gauchos would counter with a three to make it 33-28 at the break.
 
UCI broke the game open in the third frame as Webb scored 11-straight points before UCSB got on the board. The Anteaters went on to outscore the Gauchos, 21-10, in the quarter to go up 54-38.
 
UC Santa Barbara (0-6, 0-2 Big West) used an 8-0 spurt late in the fourth period to cut the deficit to single digits at 61-52 with 3:27 left to play. Garza and Williams then combined for six consecutive points to put the game out of reach as the visitors emerged with the 69-56 victory.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine is set to continue its six-game Big West road swing at UC Davis on Jan. 8 and 9.
 
NOTES
• UC Irvine used the same starting lineup in back-to-back games for the first time this year.
• The Anteaters matched their largest margin of victory this season.
• Three of their four wins have been decided by 10+ points.
• UCI dominated the boards for the second-straight night, outrebounding UCSB, 90-69, in the two contests.
• Kayla Williams saw her streak of seven consecutive double-figure scoring outings come to an end, but dished out a career-high 10 assists.
• Williams is the first 'Eater with 10+ assists since Lauren Saiki had 12 vs. UC Riverside on March 5, 2020.
• Sophia Locandro scored all 10 of her points in the first 12 minutes of action before getting into foul trouble.
• Tahlia Garza played in her 100th career game.
• Freshmen Tarryn Ross and Catherine Swanson made their collegiate debuts, both checking in with 1:14 remaining in the game.