SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team dropped a 67-57 decision to UC Santa Barbara Wednesday evening at The Thunderdome.
 
Despite trailing for 35 minutes, the Anteaters (6-16, 2-6 Big West) kept themselves within striking distance until a fourth-quarter run by the Gauchos. The 'Eaters were down by eight after three, but UCSB outscored UCI, 13-6, over the first seven minutes of the final frame to put the game out of reach.
 
"At UC Riverside, everyone came to play and everyone did their job," head coach Tamara Inoue said. "Today we struggled with that. Sophia was 75% with her ankle but did a great job for us. I thought Lauren battled really well and Haleigh did a good job too. So, now we need everybody else to step up as well."
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Senior Lauren Saiki led UC Irvine with 18 points, while tying her season high with five rebounds. Junior Haleigh Talbert added 15 points, four boards, three assists and two steals. Freshman Sophia Locandro also finished with 14 points and a team-best eight rebounds.
 
The Anteaters struggled from beyond the arc where they were 0-for-15. It was the first time this season they did not make a 3-pointer.
 
"We really needed Lauren to score today just because of the way they were playing her and the way we were shooting from the outside," Inoue added. "She recognized that and was more physical. I like her competitive drive right now."
 
UC Santa Barbara's Ila Lane led all players with 25 points and 20 rebounds.
 
The 'Eaters shot 43% from the field. The Gauchos were 44% overall and 21% from deep.
 
UCI forced UCSB into 16 turnovers and held a 17-8 advantage in points off those miscues, but was outrebounded, 45-26.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: The two teams went back-and-forth over the first five minutes with three tie scores. After UC Irvine went up 8-4 on a Talbert jumper at the 6:00 mark, UC Santa Barbara came all the way back with an 11-2 run to go on top by five. Locandro then ended the first quarter with a bucket to make it 15-12.
 
The Gauchos (9-12, 4-4 Big West) increased their cushion to 24-12 after scoring the first nine points of the second period. Junior Dani Guglielmo then got the Anteaters back on the board with a jumper at the 7:25 mark. The 'Eaters were able to pull within eight, trailing 36-28 at the half.
 
UCI looked strong out of the break as a 10-5 spurt, capped by a Talbert layup, cut the deficit to three at 41-38 with 4:32 remaining in the third frame. UCSB would not relinquish the lead, answering with a 10-3 run of its own to go up, 51-41. UC Irvine made it an eight-point game (52-44) by the end of the quarter.
 
It was all Gauchos in the fourth. After trading buckets to start the period, UC Santa Barbara outscored the Anteaters, 11-4, over the next six minutes to take a commanding 65-50 lead. The 'Eaters would keep fighting but ran out of time in the 67-57 loss.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine returns home to host league-leading UC Davis on Saturday, Feb. 8. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the Bren Events Center.
 
NOTES
• UCI was playing its third Big West road game in seven days, previously traveling to Hawai'i and UC Riverside.
• UC Irvine came into tonight's contest averaging 7.1 3FG made per game.
• The Anteaters have had a different leading scorer in each of their last four outings.
• Lauren Saiki saw a streak of 14 consecutive games leading the team in assists come to an end.
• She tied her season low with two helpers, marking only the third time this season she finished with fewer than five.
• Saiki still moved into sole possession of No. 7 among UCI's single-season leaders (143).
• Sophia Locandro reached double figures in scoring in back-to-back games for the first time in her collegiate career.
• Haleigh Talbert has also scored 10+ points in seven of the team's eight Big West games.