LONG BEACH, Calif. - UC Irvine women's basketball dropped a 69-63 decision to Colorado State in their non-conference finale Saturday evening at the Walter Pyramid.
 
It was a close battle from start to finish with seven ties and 15 lead changes. The Anteaters came back from a six-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to go up, 62-61, following back-to-back layups from Nevaeh Parkinson. Those were the last field goals of the game as the Rams were able to outscore UCI, 8-1, at the free throw line over the final two minutes to improve to 9-1 on the season.
 
"Colorado State is a great, seasoned team," said head coach Tamara Inoue. "For us, I thought we did a good job of battling and sticking with it, but our execution and free throws hurt us at the end. We will definitely learn from this game. It's a long season; we have 20 games ahead of us in conference and we have a lot of work to do."
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Graduate student Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba registered the Anteaters' first double-double of the year with 19 points and a season-best 11 rebounds in 21 minutes played. She scored the last eight points of the first quarter and had nine in the fourth period.
 
Junior Déja Lee and senior Diaba Konate finished with 11 points each. Konate also had six rebounds, three assists and three steals, while Lee added five boards and five steals. Senior Nevaeh Parkinson chipped in eight points and senior Nevaeh Dean had six points and five rebounds.
 
UCI shot 40% from the field, but was just 13% from beyond the arc and 65% at the charity stripe. The 'Eaters outrebounded the Rams, 39-29, and held the advantage in points off turnovers (15-9), points in the paint (36-14), second-chance points (19-3) and bench points (29-17).
 
Colorado State shot 45% overall and was 12-of-28 from beyond the arc. Caiylyn Crocker and Kendyll Kinzer paced CSU with 13 points each. McKenna Hofschild, who entered the game averaging 23.2 points per outing, was held to just nine points. Hofschild dished out eight assists but had five turnovers.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: UC Irvine (6-4) scored the first four points with jumpers from Konate and Lee before Colorado State got on the board and proceeded on an 11-2 run to pull ahead by five at the 6:39 mark. The Anteaters then held the Rams scoreless the rest of the way. Sidi Baba provided the offense with UCI's final eight points to boost the 'Eaters to a 16-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
The two sides traded points until CSU scored six unanswered to go up, 20-19, with 6:04 remaining. A seesaw battle ensued with six lead changes and one tie over the next five minutes. Konate then knocked down a pull-up jumper and Parkinson followed with a couple free throws to give UCI a 33-30 edge. Colorado State got to the foul line with 0.4 seconds on the clock and knocked down 1-of-2 to make it a two-point game at the half.
 
It remained a tightly-contested affair in the third frame. After two early ties, the Rams went on top, 38-35, on a triple at the 7:45 mark. They stayed out front by three until layups from Konate and Parkinson gave UC Irvine a 43-40 cushion with 4:06 remaining. CSU answered with a 3-pointer and took a 50-46 lead at the end of the period.
 
Nikki Tom knocked down a three to start the fourth, but Colorado State came back with five-straight points for the largest margin of the game at 55-49 with 8:09 remaining. Sidi Baba then took control, scoring the Anteaters' next eight points, capped by an and-1 to tie it up at 57-all. The Rams reclaimed the lead until back-to-back buckets from Parkinson put the 'Eaters on top, 62-61, at the 2:12 mark, but CSU went 8-for-8 at the charity stripe down the stretch to pull out the win.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine is off until Thursday, Dec. 28, when it heads to UC Riverside for its Big West opener.

NOTES
• UCI gave up a season-high 69 points but extended its streak of holding its opponent to under 70 to 44-straight games.
• Colorado State, which was receiving votes in the AP Poll, entered tonight's contest averaging 76.2 ppg.
• Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba had the Anteaters' first double-double since Nevaeh Parkinson vs. Hawai'i on Feb. 25.
• Sidi Baba's 19 points were two shy of her career high that she set at Texas Tech on Nov. 29.
• Nikki Tom played in her 75th consecutive game.