LONG BEACH, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team came back from a six-point halftime deficit before holding off a late Long Beach State rally to pick up a 60-57 Black & Blue Rivalry win Saturday evening at the Walter Pyramid.
 
The Anteaters remained unbeaten in Big West play as they improved to 11-3 overall and 3-0 in conference.
 
Junior Nevaeh Parkinson provided a late spark for the 'Eaters with 12 of her 14 points coming in the second half, including eight in the fourth quarter. She broke a late 54-54 tie on a putback and had a big block with 12 seconds left in the game to lift UCI to its fifth consecutive victory.
 
"We had to slow Nevaeh down a little bit because she's so antsy to get the ball, which is great and we love that about her, but she was sealing too fast," said head coach Tamara Inoue. "So once she settled in she really got going. The match-up for her with everyone in this conference is going to be tough."
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Parkinson tied for the game high with 14 points on a 7-of-9 shooting performance. She also had four rebounds and her ninth block of the season.
 
Sophomore Nikki Tom finished with 11 points, five rebounds and four steals, while sophomore Olivia Williams had 10 points and seven boards.
 
Sophomore Hunter Hernandez added eight points, a team-best nine rebounds and four assists. Junior Diaba Konate and sophomore Déja Lee also dished out five dimes each as UCI had 17 assists on 22 made field goals.
 
The Anteaters won the battle on the boards, 33-23, with a 13-2 advantage in second-chance points. They shot 41.5% from the field, 34.8% from beyond the arc and were a perfect 8-of-8 at the free throw line.
 
Malia Bambrick paced the Beach with 14 points, while Kristyna Jeskeova had nine points, 10 rebounds and six steals.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: Long Beach State (7-7, 2-2 Big West) went up 7-3 before a Williams 3-pointer started a 9-0 run to give UC Irvine a five-point lead at the 2:50 mark. The Beach came back within one, but Tom closed out the first quarter with the Anteaters' third triple for a 15-11 cushion.
 
LBSU opened the second period on a 10-2 spurt to pull ahead, 23-17, with 6:14 remaining. Tom responded with another three and Hernandez drained a couple free throws to make it a one-point game. Long Beach State then outscored the 'Eaters, 7-2, over the final four minutes for a 30-24 edge at the half.
 
Tom and Amelia Scharpf each knocked down a 3-pointer to bookend a 15-5 rally that put UCI on top, 39-35, midway through the third frame. The Beach tied it up twice before Williams and Parkinson had back-to-back buckets in a seven-second span for a 45-41 advantage heading into the final 10 minutes.
 
Both teams were scoreless until LBSU made a pair of free throws at the 7:09 mark to cut the deficit in half. Parkinson then scored six unanswered points, and Williams followed with a corner three to give UC Irvine its largest lead of the game at 54-43 with 4:27 remaining. Long Beach State would not go down quietly, however, as it came storming back with an 11-0 run to knot the score with 1:23 to go.
 
Parkinson broke the tie 26 seconds later, while a Williams steal on the other end set up a couple free throws for Konate that put the visitors up, 58-54, with under a minute left. LBSU responded with a 3-pointer to close the gap to one, and after an Anteater turnover, Parkinson came up with a big block with 12 ticks on the clock. Hernandez was quickly fouled on the rebound and she calmly sank her two free throws to seal the 60-57 victory.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine is back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 11, when it makes the short trip to Cal State Fullerton for a 7 p.m. Big West showdown.
 
NOTES
• This was the eighth consecutive game that UC Irvine held its opponent to under 60 points.
• UCI and LBSU did not miss a free throw as they combined to go 18-of-18 at the charity stripe.
• The Anteaters have now won four of their last six meetings with Long Beach State.
• Every 'Eater that logged minutes made their way into the scoring column for the second-straight game.
• UC Irvine is 10-0 when it has multiple players score in double figures this season.
• Nikki Tom had her sixth game with 10+ points and first since Dec. 14.
• Olivia Williams had her third double digit scoring performance in her last four outings.
• This is the sixth time in seventh-year head coach Tamara Inoue's tenure that UCI has had a 5+ game winning streak.