IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team showed heart and pure determination in a remarkable 74-60 overtime win against UC Santa Barbara Wednesday evening at the Bren Events Center.
 
It was an emotional night as the Anteaters saw their third starter of the season go down with an injury late in the game. UCI was trailing 56-51 with 35 seconds left in regulation. After Hunter Hernandez made 1-of-2 free throws, she was fouled on the next play but had to be helped off the court.
 
Rallying around their teammate, the 'Eaters played inspired basketball. Déja Lee came off the bench to convert both free throws and make it a two-point game. They then forced a turnover and Amelia Scharpf made it count, hitting the game-tying jumper on an inbounds pass from Diaba Konate with nine ticks on the clock. UC Irvine got another stop on the other end to send the game to overtime.
 
It was all Anteaters in the extra period as they scored the first five points and extended that into a 14-2 run to open a 70-58 lead with 1:22 remaining. They continued to knock down their free throws, outscoring the Gauchos 18-4 in OT.
 
With the victory, the 'Eaters secured their second-straight 20-win season. It is the first time they have had back-to-back 20-win campaigns since 1983-84 and 1984-85.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Junior Diaba Konate led UC Irvine with a season-high 20 points, six assists and four steals. In her 100th career game played, Konate eclipsed 1,000 points in her collegiate career (1,004).

Sophomore Hunter Hernandez also had her fourth-straight double-figure scoring game with 18 points (7-14 FG), while sophomore Amelia Scharpf had 10 (4-8 FG).
 
Junior Nevaeh Dean flirted with a double-double, finishing with nine points, including five in overtime, and a career-best nine rebounds. Dean also swiped a career-high five steals. Sophomore Nikki Tom chipped in nine points, and junior Nevaeh Parkinson pulled down seven boards.
 
The 'Eaters scored 28 points off 22 forced turnovers and went 22-for-29 at the free throw line. They committed only 12 miscues of their own.
 
Alexis Whitfield paced UCSB with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: UC Irvine pulled ahead 11-4 following a Hernandez jumper at the 4:14 mark. UC Santa Barbara (16-8, 9-5 Big West) then outscored the Anteaters, 10-2, the rest of the way to take its first lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
The Gauchos opened the second period with a 3-pointer, but the 'Eaters came right back with six unanswered, capped by a steal and layup from Dean, to reclaim the advantage at 19-17 with 6:59 to play. The seesaw battle continued for the remainder of the half with three more ties and three more lead changes. UCSB ended up with the slight 26-25 edge at the break after knocking down a pair of free throws with 32 seconds on the clock.
 
The two teams traded buckets to start the third frame before UCI went on top, 34-30, on a traditional three-point play by Konate. The home team stayed out front until UC Santa Barbara made four free throws in the final two minutes to pull even at 38-38.
 
UC Irvine, which was 0-for-8 from beyond the arc through three quarters, kicked off the fourth with triples from Scharpf and Hernandez. UCSB continued to counter, however, as it did not trail by more than three through the first four minutes. The Gauchos then put together a 10-2 spurt to go up, 56-51, with 35 seconds remaining.
 
The Anteaters put their heads down and kept battling, starting with Hernandez drawing the foul and making the first of two free throws. They were able to keep possession with the rebound going out of bounds, last touched by UC Santa Barbara. On the next play, with just two seconds going off the clock, Hernandez got fouled again, but this time she went down with the injury. Lee then came in and calmly knocked down both free throws to make it 56-54.
 
The 'Eaters continued to play stellar defense as Dean picked up the steal with 19 seconds to go. After Parkinson's layup was blocked out of bounds, UCI called timeout to draw up a play that was executed to perfection as Konate found Scharpf on the inbounds for the game-tying jumper. UC Irvine then forced a miss on the other end to send the game to overtime.

Dean scored the first three points of the extra period to spark the Anteaters. They continued on a 14-2 run to go up 70-58 at the 1:22 mark. Konate then made four free throws in the final minute to seal the 74-60 victory.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine will travel to UC Davis for a 3 p.m. Big West tilt on Saturday, Feb. 15. The game will be broadcast live on Spectrum SportsNet and ESPN+.
 

NOTES
• The Anteaters are 20-5 for the second time in program history and first since 1984-85.
• It is UCI's fifth 20-win season and third under head coach Tamara Inoue.
• UC Irvine has now won six in a row against the Gauchos with its last loss in the series coming on Feb. 5, 2020.
• The 'Eaters (12-2) remain a half-game behind Long Beach State (13-2) in the conference standings.
• Nevaeh Dean is the fifth different Anteater to record five steals in a game this season.
• Diaba Konate made a season-high 10 free throws on 11 attempts.
• Konate is shooting a Big West-leading 91.9% at the charity stripe.
• Hunter Hernandez has reached double figures in scoring in 11 of 14 conference games.