CHENEY, Wash. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team (5-1) earned another hard-fought road win, defeating Eastern Washington, 67-65, Thursday evening at Reese Court.
 
The match-up of two 4-1 teams that were both receiving votes in the College Insider Women's Mid-Major Poll lived up to the billing. It was a seesaw battle that saw nine ties and five lead changes, and eventually came down to the final possession.

Neither side led by more than five in the first half, but the Anteaters took control in the third quarter, outscoring the Eagles, 23-10. They stayed out front in the fourth, and went up by as many as 11 with just under three minutes left to play before holding off a late EWU rally. It was Eastern's first home loss of the season.
 
"I thought we did a good job in the third quarter, coming out and being the aggressor," said head coach Tamara Inoue. "The fourth quarter was kind of up-and-down and they started to come back on us. We could have done a better job of getting the ball in and pushing it up, but it's still early. I'm really proud of DJ, Diaba and Nikki for breaking the press, and Naomi for hitting some clutch threes. Nyagoa also did a really good job defensively for us, so overall it was a good team win and as always I'm really enjoying this group."
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Graduate student Naomi Hunt led the 'Eaters with a season-high tying 17 points to go along with five rebounds and three steals. Sophomore Nikki Tom (6-10 FG) and junior Diaba Konate (4-7 FG) added 12 points each, while sophomore Déja Lee finished with 11. Konate also had a team-high five assists.
 
Graduate transfer Nyagoa Gony pulled down a team-best eight rebounds and had three blocks. Junior Nevaeh Parkinson chipped in seven points.
 
UCI won the battle on the boards, 38-29, and held a slight advantage in field goal percentage (44%-to-42%).
 
Jaydia Martin paced Eastern with 19 points, while Jacinta Buckley contributed 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: It went back-and-forth early on with seven ties and three lead changes in the first quarter. Eastern Washington (4-2) pulled ahead 16-12 at the 3:37 mark, but UC Irvine responded with an 11-2 run, capped by a three from Hunt, to take a 23-18 lead with under a minute remaining. The Eagles closed out the period with a three of their own to make it a two-point game.
 
Both teams slowed down on the offensive end in the second quarter. After Konate started the scoring with a couple free throws, EWU used an 8-0 rally to go on top, 29-25. Gony then knocked down a jumper to end a six-minute scoring drought for the Anteaters, and a three-minute drought for both teams. Lee followed by making 1-of-2 free throws to cut the deficit to one before Eastern got back on the board to go up, 31-28, at intermission.
 
It was all 'Eaters in the third frame as they outscored Eastern Washington, 23-10. After trading points in the first two minutes, UCI proceeded on a 16-3 run, taking a 46-36 advantage after an Olivia Williams layup at the 3:48 mark. UC Irvine maintained its double-digit cushion thanks to a late 3-pointer from Lee that gave the visitors a 51-41 lead heading into the final period.
 
EWU started the fourth on an 8-2 spurt to close the gap to four just three minutes into the quarter. Hunt eventually scored seven unanswered points to give the Anteaters their largest lead of the night at 64-53 with 3:20 remaining. The Eagles had one final push, however, as they came all the way back within one on a triple with 6.9 seconds left. Parkinson was fouled on the other end and converted 1-of-2 free throws before the 'Eaters got one final stop with 4.3 ticks on the clock for the 67-65 win.
 
UP NEXT: After a short break for finals week, UC Irvine will be back in action at Fresno State on Sunday, Dec. 11. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. at the Save Mart Center.
 
NOTES
• All four of UC Irvine's road games have been decided by two points or less.
• UCI held Eastern Washington, which entered tonight averaging 77.4 ppg, to fewer than 66 points for just the second time in six games.
• For the first time this year, the 'Eaters did not hold their opponent to a single-digit scoring quarter.
• They countered on the offensive end, however, with their sixth and seventh 20-point scoring periods.
• The Anteaters committed more turnovers than they forced (16-15) for the first time this season.
• With her three triples tonight, Naomi Hunt surpassed 200 career 3-pointers made (201).
• Nikki Tom had her second-straight double-digit scoring game and is shooting 71% from the field during that stretch.