IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's basketball dug deep for a thrilling 64-61 victory over Saint Mary's Saturday afternoon at the Bren Events Center.
 
The Anteaters (3-1) trailed for most of the game but remained within striking distance and used a big fourth quarter where they went 6-of-11 from the field and outscored the Gaels, 24-16, to secure their third-straight win.
 
UCI was down by five heading into the final 10 minutes. Nevaeh Dean quickly got the home team on the board with a jumper in the paint. The 'Eaters then got hot from beyond the arc with a triple from Shirel Nahum tying it up and another corner three from Olivia Williams giving UC Irvine its first lead since the opening quarter.
 
SMC (2-2) reclaimed the advantage on its next possession and the lead would change hands three more times over the final two minutes. The Gaels went up 61-60 on a 3-pointer from Emily Foy, but Déja Lee got to the free throw line where she made both for a 62-61 edge with 32 seconds remaining. The 'Eaters then locked down defensively, eventually forcing a missed shot and getting a huge rebound from Dean with 0.6 ticks on the clock.
 
"We weren't playing very well offensively, but then to come into the second half and do what we did, it's just nice to see the confidence in our players," head coach Tamara Inoue said. "Getting Olivia and Hunter more involved really helps us."
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Junior Hunter Hernandez led four Anteaters in double figures with 15 points. Hernandez also had five rebounds, four assists and three steals.
 
Junior Olivia Williams drained a career-high four threes to finish with 14 points. Senior Nevaeh Dean added a season-best 10 points (5-11 FG) and six boards, while senior Déja Lee had 10 points, five rebounds and three assists.
 
UCI closed out the game shooting 34% (21-61) from the field and 37% (10-27) from distance. SMC shot 49% (24-49) overall but was just 7-of-22 from 3-point range and also committed 17 turnovers.
 
Kennedy Johnson paced the Gaels with a game-high 17 points and eight rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: Lee opened the game with a 3-pointer but Saint Mary's answered with a three of its own. It proceeded to go back-and-forth until the Gaels used a 10-2 run to pull ahead, 20-10, at the 1:39 mark. Sophomore Jaida Brooks then scored five-straight points to end the first quarter and cut UC Irvine's deficit in half.
 
The Anteaters outscored SMC, 7-3, over the first four minutes of the second period to make it a one-point game (23-22). Hernandez and sophomore Summah Hanson both knocked down a three during that stretch. After trading buckets, the visitors closed on a 5-2 spurt to take a 30-26 lead into the locker room.
 
Saint Mary's increased its cushion to eight at the 6:27 mark of the third frame. UCI started to chip away with an Amelia Scharpf three sandwiched in between a couple free throws to close the gap to 39-36. The Gaels responded with back-to-back buckets, but Dean's layup to end the quarter brought the 'Eaters within five (45-40).
 
UC Irvine came out firing in the fourth. Dean got it started with a jumper in the paint, while a 3-pointer from Nahum capped the 10-5 rally that tied it up at 50-all. After SMC converted a couple free throws, Williams buried her fourth triple of the game to give the Anteaters' their first lead (53-52) since the 7:49 mark of the first quarter.
 
That lead was short-lived as Saint Mary's hit a jumper 15 seconds later. The Gaels stayed out front over the next two minutes before a layup from Dean followed by free throws from Lee gave UCI a 60-58 edge. SMC retook the advantage one more time, hitting a 3-pointer with 38.7 seconds on the clock, but the 'Eaters were able to get to the charity stripe where they were 4-for-4 down the stretch to seal the 64-61 win.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine opens a seven-game road stretch with a cross-country trip to Philadelphia where it will face Drexel (Dec. 20) and Penn (Dec. 21).
 
NOTES
• UCI snapped a three-game losing streak against Saint Mary's with its first win in the series since 1996.
• The Anteaters have made 10+ threes in each of their last two outings.
• Hunter Hernandez has reached double figures in scoring in all four games.
• Olivia Williams also registered her second-straight 10+ point performance.
• After sitting the entire third quarter, Shirel Nahum came off the bench early in the fourth and knocked down a game-tying triple just over three minutes later.