Monday, November 11
Irvine, Calif.
2:00 PM
UC Irvine
2-1,0-0Big West
72
vs
55
William & Mary
0-3,0-0CAA
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William & Mary | 8 | 18 | 13 | 16 | 55 |
| UC Irvine | 17 | 17 | 14 | 24 | 72 |
Photo by: Jacob Thompson
Hernandez Leads 'Eaters to 72-55 Win over William & Mary
November 11, 2024 | Women's Basketball
IRVINE, Calif. - Junior Hunter Hernandez scored a career-high 29 points to lead the UC Irvine women's basketball team to a 72-55 victory over William & Mary Monday afternoon at the Bren Events Center.
Half of Hernandez's eight made field goals were from beyond the arc, while she also went 9-of-10 at the free throw line. Hernandez, who is in her third game back after an injury sidelined her for the entire 2023-24 season, recorded her fourth career 20-point game.
"Hunter has been out for almost two years; she missed the second half of conference in 2023 and sat out all last year, battling her second ACL," Inoue said. "I knew she was going to come back strong. Today she was great, but there's still more work to do; she's capable of more."
UCI improved to 2-1, while William & Mary dropped to 0-3 on the young season.
BY THE NUMBERS: Junior Olivia Williams, who has also been out since January 2023 with a knee injury, added 15 points on a 5-for-10 (3-5 3FG) performance from the field. Williams corralled a team and season-high seven rebounds.
Senior Nikki Tom filled the stat sheet with eight points, five boards, five assists and two steals, while senior Nevaeh Dean did the same with six points, six rebounds, four blocks and two steals. Senior Déja Lee dished out a game-high six assists.
As a team, the Anteaters shot 44% (24-54) from the floor and 52% (11-21) from deep. They held the Tribe to 35% overall. UCI also won the battle in rebounding (38-32), assists (17-12), steals (7-4) and turnovers forced (14-13).
Cassidy Geddes paced William & Mary with 18 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED: William & Mary took an early 6-4 lead before UC Irvine scored 13 unanswered to pull ahead 17-6 with 1:58 remaining. Williams capped the rally with a pair of 3-pointers. The Tribe then ended a nearly six-minute scoring drought with a driving layup to make it 17-8 at the end of the first quarter.
William & Mary got hot from beyond the arc to start the second period with four triples in a 12-4 spurt that closed the gap to one (21-20). The Anteaters refused to relinquish the lead and went back on top by double digits after an 11-2 run increased their cushion to 34-24 at the 1:33 mark. Tom, Hernandez and Dean all knocked down a three during that stretch. The Tribe once again got the last bucket of the quarter as the 'Eaters held a 34-26 advantage at the half.
UCI stepped on the gas out of the break, opening the third frame with a 10-1 rally to take its largest lead of the afternoon (44-27). The Anteaters stayed out front by double digits until William & Mary closed the period with an and-1 to cut the home team's lead to nine.
Hernandez started the fourth with a 3-pointer, but it proceeded to go back-and-forth over the next few minutes. The Tribe then scored five-straight to pull within five, but Lee responded with a clutch three, followed by a driving layup to push UC Irvine's cushion back to 10. The 'Eaters extended that into a 14-2 run to pull away with the 72-55 victory.
UP NEXT: UC Irvine closes out a four-game homestand on Saturday, Nov. 16, when it welcomes Saint Mary's to the Bren Events Center for a 2 p.m. tip-off.
NOTES
• UC Irvine has held each of its first three opponents to under 60 points.
• The Anteaters' 11 threes were their most in a game since also knocking down 11 against Dartmouth on Dec. 17, 2023.
• Hunter Hernandez has reached double figures in scoring in all three games.
• Olivia Williams scored 10 of her 15 points in the first quarter.
• Nevaeh Dean's four blocks were a career high.
• Nikki Tom has dished out 5+ assists in two of her first three outings.
• Tom played in her 100th career game as an Anteater.
• Redshirt freshman Daniela Falcón Hernández scored her first collegiate points on a jumper with nine seconds left in the game.
Half of Hernandez's eight made field goals were from beyond the arc, while she also went 9-of-10 at the free throw line. Hernandez, who is in her third game back after an injury sidelined her for the entire 2023-24 season, recorded her fourth career 20-point game.
"Hunter has been out for almost two years; she missed the second half of conference in 2023 and sat out all last year, battling her second ACL," Inoue said. "I knew she was going to come back strong. Today she was great, but there's still more work to do; she's capable of more."
UCI improved to 2-1, while William & Mary dropped to 0-3 on the young season.
BY THE NUMBERS: Junior Olivia Williams, who has also been out since January 2023 with a knee injury, added 15 points on a 5-for-10 (3-5 3FG) performance from the field. Williams corralled a team and season-high seven rebounds.
Senior Nikki Tom filled the stat sheet with eight points, five boards, five assists and two steals, while senior Nevaeh Dean did the same with six points, six rebounds, four blocks and two steals. Senior Déja Lee dished out a game-high six assists.
As a team, the Anteaters shot 44% (24-54) from the floor and 52% (11-21) from deep. They held the Tribe to 35% overall. UCI also won the battle in rebounding (38-32), assists (17-12), steals (7-4) and turnovers forced (14-13).
Cassidy Geddes paced William & Mary with 18 points.
HOW IT HAPPENED: William & Mary took an early 6-4 lead before UC Irvine scored 13 unanswered to pull ahead 17-6 with 1:58 remaining. Williams capped the rally with a pair of 3-pointers. The Tribe then ended a nearly six-minute scoring drought with a driving layup to make it 17-8 at the end of the first quarter.
William & Mary got hot from beyond the arc to start the second period with four triples in a 12-4 spurt that closed the gap to one (21-20). The Anteaters refused to relinquish the lead and went back on top by double digits after an 11-2 run increased their cushion to 34-24 at the 1:33 mark. Tom, Hernandez and Dean all knocked down a three during that stretch. The Tribe once again got the last bucket of the quarter as the 'Eaters held a 34-26 advantage at the half.
UCI stepped on the gas out of the break, opening the third frame with a 10-1 rally to take its largest lead of the afternoon (44-27). The Anteaters stayed out front by double digits until William & Mary closed the period with an and-1 to cut the home team's lead to nine.
Hernandez started the fourth with a 3-pointer, but it proceeded to go back-and-forth over the next few minutes. The Tribe then scored five-straight to pull within five, but Lee responded with a clutch three, followed by a driving layup to push UC Irvine's cushion back to 10. The 'Eaters extended that into a 14-2 run to pull away with the 72-55 victory.
UP NEXT: UC Irvine closes out a four-game homestand on Saturday, Nov. 16, when it welcomes Saint Mary's to the Bren Events Center for a 2 p.m. tip-off.
NOTES
• UC Irvine has held each of its first three opponents to under 60 points.
• The Anteaters' 11 threes were their most in a game since also knocking down 11 against Dartmouth on Dec. 17, 2023.
• Hunter Hernandez has reached double figures in scoring in all three games.
• Olivia Williams scored 10 of her 15 points in the first quarter.
• Nevaeh Dean's four blocks were a career high.
• Nikki Tom has dished out 5+ assists in two of her first three outings.
• Tom played in her 100th career game as an Anteater.
• Redshirt freshman Daniela Falcón Hernández scored her first collegiate points on a jumper with nine seconds left in the game.
Team Stats
W&M
Irvine
FG%
.350
.444
3FG%
.500
.524
FT%
.667
.765
RB
32
38
TO
14
13
STL
4
7
Game Leaders
Pts
29
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
9
Pts
15
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's BasketballPoint Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
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