MALIBU, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team got out to a hot start but couldn't hold off Pepperdine in a 63-58 season-opening loss Tuesday evening at Firestone Fieldhouse.
 
The Anteaters (0-1) scored the first 12 points of the game and led 22-10 after the opening quarter.

The Waves (1-0) came storming back in the second and third periods where they outscored UCI, 41-21. The 'Eaters continued to battle, making it a two-point game with just under a minute to go but were unable to get the shots to fall down the stretch.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Junior Déja Lee led all players with a career-high 23 points to go along with six rebounds and two assists. Junior Nikki Tom joined her in double figures with 14 points.

Senior Nevaeh Parkinson added seven points and a team-best nine rebounds, while classmate Diaba Konate chipped in six points, three assists and two steals. Tom and senior Nevaeh Dean each had four steals.
 
After going 9-for-18 from the floor in the first quarter, UC Irvine cooled off, finishing the game at 29% (18-63) overall and 27% (6-22) from beyond the arc. Pepperdine shot 50% from both the field (25-50) and from 3-point range (7-14). Both sides pulled down 37 rebounds, while the Anteaters won the battle in turnovers forced (24-15) and steals (12-10).
 
Myra Gordon paced the Waves with 17 points. Jane Nwaba also had 11 rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: UC Irvine raced out to a 12-0 lead at the 6:47 mark. Lee scored the first seven points of the game and Tom followed with a 3-pointer to force an early Pepperdine timeout. After Konate sank a jumper, the Waves finally got on the board. The Anteaters proceeded to go up by as many as 16 before a three-minute scoring drought allowed the home team to pull back within 10. Parkinson then answered with a putback to give UCI a 22-10 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
 
The two teams traded points through the first six minutes of the second period. Pepperdine then closed out the half on a 9-0 run to close the gap to 30-27 at the break. 
 
After Tom knocked down a couple triples to start the third quarter, the Waves turned the tables with a 19-2 rally that gave them a 48-38 lead. The Anteaters were able to cut the deficit to single digits, trailing 51-43 heading into the fourth.
 
The 'Eaters remained within striking distance over the final 10 minutes and made it a two-point game (60-58) on a second-chance jumper by Lee with 54.1 seconds on the clock. UCI forced Pepperdine into a turnover on the ensuing possession but were unable to get on the board the rest of the way. The Waves made 3-of-4 at the charity stripe to secure the 63-58 win.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine returns to the hardwood on Saturday, Nov. 11, when it hosts Seattle U in its home opener at the Bren Events Center. The Anteaters will unveil their 2022-23 Big West Championship banner prior to the 2 p.m. tip off.
 
NOTES
• UC Irvine opened the season on the road for the first time since 2014-15.
• The Anteaters are now 5-3 in openers in eighth-year head coach Tamara Inoue's tenure.
• Déja Lee had her third career 20-point game.
• Nikki Tom made her 66th consecutive appearance and 43rd consecutive start.
• Tom also surpassed 400 career points and recorded her 100th career steal.
• Clara Djoko and Shirel Nahum made their collegiate debuts.