DAVIS, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team was unable to upend league-leading UC Davis for the second time in seven days as it dropped a 65-53 decision to the Aggies Saturday afternoon at The Pavilion.

The Anteaters (8-17, 4-7 Big West) previously topped UCD, 73-68, in Irvine on Saturday, Feb. 8.
 
UC Davis (14-10, 9-2 Big West) built a 23 point-lead early in the third quarter, and despite a late rally, the 'Eaters could not dig themselves out of the hole.
 
"We did a good job battling back in the fourth quarter; we had a little fight in us," UCI head coach Tamara Inoue said. "But, if you wait too long then you run out of time and that's what happened today. We knew Davis was going to come out strong and want to get us back. I think we can battle with them toe-to-toe, but you can't have bad quarters and expect to still win the game."
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Freshman Sophia Locandro put up her second-straight 20-point outing with a game-high 24 on 7-of-14 shooting from the field and an 8-for-10 performance at the free throw line. Locandro also finished with five rebounds, two blocks and two steals.
 
Junior Alexus Seaton contributed 10 points and four boards, while senior Lauren Saiki had nine points, five assists and four steals.
 
Cierra Hall paced the Aggies with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
 
UC Davis shot 47% percent while holding UCI to 28%. The 'Eaters were also outrebounded, 49-32.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: It was a seesaw battle in the early going with four ties before UC Davis broke a 9-9 deadlock with seven unanswered points. UC Irvine came right back with a 6-2 spurt over the final three minutes of the opening quarter. Locandro capped the scoring with a layup at the buzzer to bring the Anteaters within one at 16-15.
 
In the second period, the Aggies increased their lead to 22-15 before Locandro got the 'Eaters on the board with a 3-pointer at the 8:02 mark. Freshman Jayde Cadee followed with another triple to make it a one-point game (22-21), but UCD would outscore UCI, 13-2, the rest of the way for a 35-23 cushion at the break. The visitors were held scoreless over the final 5:45 of the first half.
 
UC Davis kept the momentum in the third frame with a 12-4 run giving the Aggies a 47-27 lead with 3:28 remaining. UC Irvine was able to cut the deficit to 14, but UCD scored the final seven points for a 55-34 advantage.
 
Davis took its largest lead of the afternoon to start the fourth quarter before the 'Eaters started to chip away with a 14-4 spurt, capped by a couple free throws from Locandro, making it 61-49 with 1:30 on the clock. UCI was unable to get any closer as the Aggies emerged with the 65-53 victory.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine will make the short trip to Long Beach State for a 7 p.m. showdown on Thursday, Feb. 20, before returning home to host Cal Poly in its annual Breast Cancer Awareness Game Saturday (Feb. 22) at 2 p.m.
 
NOTES
• Sophia Locandro recorded her team-leading fifth 20-point performance.
• It was also her second-straight, marking the first time this season an Anteater had back-to-back 20-point games.
• Locandro has reached double digits in scoring and registered at least two blocks in each of the last five outings.
• Lauren Saiki moved up one spot to No. 3 among UCI's single-season leaders with 162 assists.
• The Anteaters aren't the only team to have a tough time against the Aggies in Davis as UCD is 10-2 (6-0 Big West) at home.