HENDERSON, Nev. - The top-seeded UC Irvine women's basketball team fell to No. 9 CSU Bakersfield in a 61-59 double-overtime heartbreaker in the quarterfinals of the Hercules Tires Big West Championships presented by The Hawaiian Islands at the Dollar Loan Center.
 
The Anteaters (24-6) struggled offensively, shooting a season-low 20% from the field.
 
Despite going 8-for-34 while CSUB was 10-of-20 in the first half, UCI went into the locker room down by only two. The 'Eaters used a 13-0 rally in the third quarter to take their largest lead of the day at 38-31. The Roadrunners chipped away, eventually pulling even at 45-all with 3:17 remaining in regulation. It was a seesaw battle the rest of the way as the two teams remained in a 50-50 deadlock after 40 minutes.
 
The 'Runners took the lead in the first overtime and were up 55-53 in the final seconds. Déja Lee drove into the paint and had the ball knocked out of her hands, but it went right to Nyagoa Gony who drained the jumper at the buzzer to keep UC Irvine alive.
 
The Anteaters carried that momentum into the second extra period with free throws from Lee and Nikki Tom making it 59-56 at the 3:58 mark. Bakersfield responded with a triple to tie it up and Taylor Caldwell hit the eventual game-winning jumper with 22 seconds on the clock.
 
"Congratulations to Bakersfield; Greg (McCall) and I have been battling for a long time since my days at New Mexico State," said head coach Tamara Inoue. "He does a really good job there and they came out on top today so best of luck to them in the rest of this tournament.
 
"It's hard to win a game shooting 20% from the field. I thought we had good looks but more importantly, what we're pretty good at is free throws and making layups, and those two things today were a little bit of a struggle for us. But, to shoot 20% and go to double overtime shows how special this team is."
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Sophomore Déja Lee led UC Irvine with 18 points and three steals. Junior Nevaeh Parkinson, who fouled out late in the fourth quarter, finished with eight points and a team-best 12 rebounds. Graduate student Nyagoa Gony also pulled down 10 boards.
 
Sophomores Amelia Scharpf and Nikki Tom had eight and seven points, respectively. Junior Diaba Konate tallied six points, a season-best eight rebounds, five assists and three steals, while junior Nevaeh Dean registered six points and five boards.
 
UCI matched its season high with 56 rebounds and won the battle in turnovers forced (17-13).
 
Taylor Caldwell led the Roadrunners with 19 points and six blocks. Kayla Morris added 18 points and Hennie van Schaik notched a game-high 14 rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: CSU Bakersfield (8-22) rode a hot start from Morris to an early five-point lead. Gony responded with a bucket and the two teams went back-and-forth over the next few minutes. The Roadrunners then scored five unanswered to pull ahead 18-9 with 2:32 to play, but UC Irvine picked up the intensity, closing out the first quarter on a 7-0 run, capped by a Parkinson layup, to close the gap to 18-16.
 
The Anteaters quickly tied it up on a Konate jumper to start the second period. Morris struck again to put the 'Runners back on top, but the 'Eaters knocked down three free throws for their first lead of the day at 21-20 with 6:42 to play. CSUB pulled ahead by five before another late UCI run made it a two-point game (27-25) at the break.
 
Bakersfield shot 50% from the field and 67% (4-6) from beyond the arc, while UC Irvine was 24% with two 3-pointers made in the first half.
 
In the third frame, UCI held CSU Bakersfield to just six points on a 2-of-13 performance from the field. The 'Eaters took advantage of a six-minute CSUB scoring drought as a Scharpf 3-pointer started a 13-0 run that put them on top, 38-31, with 44 seconds left. The Roadrunners were able to get back on the board with a couple free throws to cut the deficit to five.
 
The Anteaters stayed out front and went up 45-40 at the 4:45 mark of the fourth quarter. The 'Runners came right back with five-straight points to knot the score before three free throws from Lee put UC Irvine up, 48-45. After Bakersfield tied it up once again at 48-all, Dean drained a jumper for the two-point lead with 30 seconds remaining. Morris then came through with the game-tying layup on Bakersfield's next possession.
 
Despite falling behind by three in the first extra period, the 'Eaters kept battling with a Gony jumper at the buzzer tying it up at 55-55 to force a second overtime. UCI held a three-point cushion at 59-56 with just under four minutes to play, but was held scoreless down the stretch, allowing the Roadrunners to pull out the 61-59 upset.
 
 
NOTES
• UC Irvine lost just its third game against Big West opponents this year, and all three defeats came by two points.
• This was the team's sixth overtime game and second time going to double OT this season.
• With a seven-person rotation, three 'Eaters played more than 40 minutes.
• UCI had a seven-game win streak snapped with its first loss to Bakersfield since Feb. 5, 2021.
• The Anteaters set a season-high against Division I opponents with 56 rebounds.
• Their 56 boards are also a program record in Big West tournament games.
• Nyagoa Gony's four blocks are tied for the second most by an 'Eater in a Big West tournament game.
• Gony now has 46 rejections on the year, which ranks ninth in single-season school history.
• Déja Lee reached double figures in scoring for the 13th time this season and fourth in the last five games.
• Nikki Tom extended her streak of games played with a 3-pointer made to 12.