SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - UC Irvine women's basketball completed the season sweep of UC Santa Barbara with a 54-46 win Thursday evening at The Thunderdome.
 
The Anteaters (17-7, 12-3 Big West) led wire-to-wire as they opened the game on a 14-0 run. They went up by as many as 20 before the Gauchos made a late push, trimming UCI's lead to single digits with just under three minutes to play. Nevaeh Parkinson then hit a couple big buckets to halt UCSB's comeback effort.
 
"Overall, I thought our players did a phenomenal job," said head coach Tamara Inoue. "Coming into The Thunderdome you have to be prepared and ready to go. In the fourth quarter they started coming back on us and we were just trying to manage the clock but they can score at any point."
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Junior Déja Lee led the 'Eaters with 14 points on a 5-of-10 shooting performance. Graduate student Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba also reached double figures with 11 points to go along with a team-best six rebounds.
 
Senior Nevaeh Parkinson registered eight points and five boards, while senior Nevaeh Dean had seven points and four rebounds. Junior Amelia Scharpf added six points and senior Diaba Konate chipped in four points, four assists and three steals.
 
The Anteaters forced 23 turnovers and committed just nine miscues of their own. They held a 17-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
 
UCSB (16-10, 10-6 Big West) shot 39.5% from the field and won the battle on the boards, 40-36. Flora Goed paced the Gauchos with 10 points and Alexis Whitfield pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: UC Irvine came out of the gates firing as it raced out to a 14-0 lead with just under five minutes to go. UC Santa Barbara finally got on the board with a free throw at the 3:59 mark, but the Anteaters stayed out front by double digits with a 16-5 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
 
After trading buckets to start the second period, Sidi Baba scored four-straight points to put the 'Eaters on top, 24-9, with 3:11 remaining. The Gauchos answered with a 7-0 run to close the gap to eight. Scharpf then drained a jumper and made a layup with 12 seconds on the clock to give UCI a 28-18 cushion at the break.
 
UC Irvine opened the third frame with a 7-0 spurt, capped by a Dean layup, to pull ahead, 35-18, at the 6:48 mark. It went back-and-forth the rest of the way with the Anteaters taking a 45-28 lead heading into the fourth.
 
Sidi Baba opened the final quarter with an and-1 to make it 48-28. UC Santa Barbara then rallied, using a 14-2 run to cut the deficit to 50-42 with 2:52 left. Parkinson responded with a layup and a jumper to put the 'Eaters back on top by 12 with just under two minutes to play. UCI then ran out the clock for the 54-46 victory.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine returns home to host UC San Diego in its Breast Cancer Awareness Game on Saturday, Feb. 24. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m.
 
NOTES
• The Anteaters moved back into a tie for first with Hawai'i in the Big West standings.
• UCI tied its longest win streak of the season at four.
• UC Irvine completed the season sweep of UC Santa Barbara and has now won eight in a row in the all-time series.
• In their two games this year, the 'Eaters held UCSB to 42.0 points per contest.
• UCI has allowed 60 points or less in 18 of its 24 games.
• Déja Lee has scored 9+ points in every Big West game this year and is averaging 13.7 ppg in conference play.