IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team dropped a 63-45 decision to UC Riverside in the first of the teams' two-game non-conference series Friday evening at the Bren Events Center.
 
The Anteaters (4-5) got off to a slow start and were never able to recover as the Highlanders led wire-to-wire.
 
"I thought we had good looks, we just weren't making shots," said head coach Tamara Inoue. "To score six and nine points in the first and second quarters, it just shows you where our heads were at, we weren't in it. Riverside came after us and they did a great job. We just have to play better together. We have seniors, but we also have a lot of youth that we're mixing in there. So, it's back to the drawing board. The nice thing is we get to play here again tomorrow."
 
UCI finished the game shooting 31% from the field and was just 1-of-10 from beyond the arc. UCR, meanwhile, registered a 41% clip and was 5-of-25 from long distance. The visitors also held a 45-34 advantage on the boards.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Sophomore Chloe Webb led the 'Eaters with a team-high 13 points and seven rebounds. She was 6-of-13 from the field. Freshman Caiyle Kaupu added a season-high 11 points, while sophomore Sophia Locandro notched seven points and three boards. Redshirt freshman Kayla Williams chipped in six points, a season-best seven rebounds and two assists.
 
Keilanei Cooper paced UCR with a game-high 14 points, while Jada Holland registered 11 points, nine rebounds, six assists and four steals.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: UC Riverside (2-4) took an 11-2 lead before Kaupu ended a nearly four-minute scoring drought for UC Irvine with a layup at the 3:43 mark. The Anteaters were unable to get much else going on the offensive end allowing UCR to pull ahead, 16-6, by the end of the first quarter.
 
The Highlanders kept the momentum in the second period with a 13-2 run putting them on top, 29-8, with 5:40 remaining. Williams and Webb then had back-to-back layups, but the visitors stayed out front by double digits with a 33-15 cushion at intermission.
 
The 'Eaters started the third frame on a 5-2 spurt, capped by a 3-pointer from senior Dani Guglielmo, to make it a 15-point game, but UC Riverside came back with nine unanswered to go up, 44-20, at the 5:43 mark. The Highlanders maintained their 24-point lead at the end of the quarter.
 
UCR led by at least 20 until a 12-2 Anteater run closed the gap to 56-41 with 3:11 left in the game. That was the closest they would get, however, as UC Riverside came away with the 63-45 victory.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine and UC Riverside return to the Bren Events Center tomorrow for another non-conference match-up at 4 p.m.
 
NOTES
• This weekend's series between UCI and UCR does not count toward the teams' conference records.
• UC Irvine was held to single digits in multiple quarters for the first time this season.
• The Anteaters forced more than 15 turnovers for the eighth time in nine games.
• Chloe Webb has led the 'Eaters in scoring and rebounding in each of the team's last two contests.
• Caiyle Kaupu had her second-straight double-figure scoring performance.
• Melodie Kapinga saw her first action since Dec. 9, pulling down four rebounds in six minutes played.
• Kayla Williams has led the team in assists in every game this season.