IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team closed out non-conference play Wednesday afternoon with a milestone victory as they defeated Grand Canyon, 64-51, for seventh-year head coach Tamara Inoue's 100th career win.
 
Inoue is just the second coach in program history to reach the century mark.
 
"Being at UC Irvine and able to accomplish this is fun," said Inoue. "I can't thank Paula Smith enough for giving me this opportunity and for doing this together."
 

The Anteaters will take a conference-best 8-3 record into Big West play. They improved to 4-0 at home and have now won their last 10 at the Bren Events Center dating back to last season.
 
The Lopes (8-3), who were ranked 20th in the College Insider Women's Mid-Major Poll, came into today's game averaging 80.0 points and shooting 46.6%, but they were stifled by UCI's defense, being held to under 60 points and below 40% from the field for the first time this year. It was also GCU's first double-digit loss.

"They're a great team," Inoue added. "They're aggressive like us and play very similar to us; I just appreciate my team that never quits. That for me is exciting."
 
The 'Eaters trailed by as many as 10 in the first half and were down nine at intermission before turning it around in the third quarter where they outscored Grand Canyon, 22-5. They took their first lead since late in the first period on a Diaba Konate jumper with 1:53 remaining, and continued to push, increasing their margin to eight heading into the fourth.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Sophomore Hunter Hernandez registered her second double-double in four games with 13 points and a career-high tying 10 rebounds. Hernandez went 9-for-10 at the free throw line.
 
Junior Diaba Konate led all players with 15 points to go along with three assists and two steals. She finished the day going 4-for-7 from the field and 7-of-8 at the charity stripe.
 
Sophomore Olivia Williams also reached double figures in scoring with 11 points (3-4 3FG). Graduate student Naomi Hunt added eight points and six boards, while junior Nevaeh Parkinson notched seven points and three blocks.
 
The Anteaters shot 36.6% (15-41) from the field, 30.8% (4-13) from beyond the arc and 83.3% at the free throw line. They scored nearly half of their points at the foul line where they were 30-for-36. UCI held Grand Canyon to just 28.1% (18-64) overall and 9.5% (2-21) from long distance.
 
Despite committing a season-high 26 turnovers, the 'Eaters still forced 22 and outscored GCU in points off miscues, 22-21.
 
Olivia Lane paced the Lopes with 12 points, six rebounds and three steals.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: UC Irvine struck first, winning the tip and taking the early advantage on a Williams 3-pointer. The Anteaters stayed out front, going up 5-2 at the 7:01 mark, but Grand Canyon responded with a 7-2 spurt to take its first lead of the game with 2:33 remaining. The Lopes went on top by as many as seven before three free throws from Hunt made it 16-12 at the end of the first quarter.
 
GCU opened the second period on a 7-1 run for a 20-13 margin at the 7:33 mark. The 'Eaters answered with a Hernandez jumper to close to single digits, but the visitors would not relinquish the lead with a 35-26 cushion at the break.
 
UCI came out firing in the third frame with back-to-back triples from Williams and Nikki Tom cutting the deficit to three. The Anteaters eventually pulled even at 38-38 following a pair of Parkinson free throws with 3:38 to go and took their first lead since the opening quarter on a Konate jumper nearly two minutes later. UC Irvine kept the momentum, scoring the final six points for a 48-40 advantage.
 
Williams started the fourth period with her third 3-pointer of the game. The Lopes then used a mini 7-2 run to close the gap to six, but that was the closest they would get as Konate countered with a jumper and the 'Eaters went 9-for-12 at the free throw line over the last 1:30 for the 64-51 win.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine hosts CSU Bakersfield next Saturday, Dec. 31, in its Big West opener. The Anteaters and Roadrunners are set for a 2 p.m. tip at the Bren Events Center.
 
NOTES
• UC Irvine evened its all-time series with Grand Canyon at two wins apiece.
• It was the largest margin of victory (13) in the series for either team.
• The Anteaters were also the first to score over 60 points in a game between the two squads.
• UCI has allowed fewer than 60 points in nine of its 11 games.
• The 'Eaters have held all but one of their opponents to at least one single digit scoring quarter.
• UCI has forced 20+ turnovers on nine occasions.
• Diaba Konate is now less than 100 points away from reaching 1,000 in her career as she increased her total to 910.
• Over the last four games, Hunter Hernandez is averaging 15.0 points and 5.8 rebounds, while shooting 58% FG and 83% FT.