IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team pulled away in the third quarter before holding off a late Cal Poly charge for a 54-51 victory over the Mustangs Saturday afternoon at the Bren Events Center.
 
The Anteaters (10-17, 6-7 Big West) were able to recover from a slow start in which they missed their first 14 shots. Despite the early offensive struggles, the 'Eaters stayed strong on the defensive end and went on to outscore CP, 21-12, in the third frame.
 
UCI would go up by as many as 12 in the fourth before Cal Poly (7-17, 4-9 Big West) made it interesting with eight unanswered points. The home team then came up with a couple big stops and made three free throws in the final 30 seconds to push the lead back to seven. The Anteaters held on to a two-possession lead until the very end as the Mustangs knocked down a three at the buzzer.  
 
"We have to stop coming out so flat in the first quarter," head coach Tamara Inoue said. "We've done that the last two games and were able to dig ourselves out of the hole, but that's not going to help us in March. Credit to our team though for finishing the game well. It wasn't a pretty game, but a win is a win and we'll take it."
 
BIG WEST IMPACT: It was another big win for the 'Eaters, who are sixth in the conference standings, but now just one game out of third place with three to go. They also created some separation from the bottom of the pack, going up two games on Cal Poly, which dropped to ninth.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Senior Lauren Saiki and freshman Sophia Locandro tied for the team lead with 13 points each. Locandro added seven rebounds and a career-high four blocks. Saiki also chipped in five boards, five steals and four assists.
 
Junior Haleigh Talbert finished with eight points, six rebounds and three steals. Junior Tahlia Garza had seven points and four boards, while classmate Alexus Seaton notched four points, six rebounds and three assists.
 
Cal Poly's Sierra Campisano led all players with 22 points and eight rebounds.
 
The Anteaters shot under 30% from the field, but forced 19 turnovers while committing only nine of their own. They held a lopsided 24-to-6 advantage in points off those turnovers.
 
"That is a stat we have been talking about," Inoue added. "We've been creating turnovers but we haven't been scoring off them so that was good to see today."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: It was a defensive battle in the first quarter as Cal Poly held an 8-5 lead after the first 10 minutes. UC Irvine went 0-for-14 from the floor, but held the Mustangs to just four field goals. The visitors went up 8-0 before a Talbert free throw put the 'Eaters on the board at the 5:21 mark. Saiki, Locandro and freshman Jayde Cadee also got to the charity stripe in the final four minutes.
 
UCI quickly turned it around in the second period as Seaton opened the scoring with a jumper. The Anteaters proceeded to make three of their first four shots, tying it up at 11-11 on a layup from Saiki with 8:30 to play. It went back-and-forth over the next few minutes until Cal Poly pulled ahead, 20-16, with 3:54 remaining in the half. Talbert answered with an and-one, but the Mustangs came right back with a three-point play on the other end. CP went on top by as many as five before a Saiki layup cut the deficit to 24-21 at the break.
 
UC Irvine put its foot on the gas in the third frame with a 10-0 rally, bookended by 3-pointers from Saiki, giving the 'Eaters a 31-24 lead at the 7:35 mark. Cal Poly then ended a three-minute scoring drought with a layup, but the two teams traded blows the rest of the way with UCI staying out front and holding a 42-36 advantage heading into the fourth.
 
The Anteaters increased their cushion to 51-39 on a Cadee triple with 4:40 left in the game. The Mustangs made it interesting with an 8-0 spurt closing the gap to 51-47 at the 1:43 mark. Talbert then came up with a big steal and Saiki was sent to the free throw line where she made 1-of-2.
 
After getting another stop, Locandro sank a couple more free throws with 20 seconds on the clock, ultimately putting the game out of reach. CP made the end score look closer than it was with a three at the buzzer cutting the final margin to 54-51.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine is back in action next week, hosting Hawai'i in a 7 p.m. showdown on Thursday, Feb. 27.
 
NOTES
• UC Irvine completed the regular-season series sweep of Cal Poly for the second year in a row.
• The Anteaters have won five-straight in their all-time series with the Mustangs.
• The 'Eaters have picked up some momentum in the month of February where they are now 5-2.
• Lauren Saiki has 4+ steals in each of the last three outings and ranks eighth in school history with 163 career takeaways.
• Saiki also had four assists, increasing her season total to 177 and putting her 13 away from breaking the school record.
• Sophia Locandro has reached double figures in scoring and had multiple blocks in six of the last seven games.
• Saturday was UCI's annual Breast Cancer Awareness Game.