IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's basketball dominated all facets of the game in a 60-38 victory over UC Santa Barbara Thursday evening at the Bren Events Center.
 
The Anteaters held the Gauchos, who entered tonight's contest leading The Big West in scoring offense (67.7 ppg), to a season-low 38 points. They limited UCSB to under 30% shooting from the field and from beyond the arc. The 'Eaters also won the battle on the boards (43-25) and in turnovers forced (19-12).
 
"We were pretty locked in tonight," said head coach Tamara Inoue. "I think (UCSB) leads the conference in 3-point shooting, so for us, we had to make sure we defended well. I thought we did a really good job knowing the scout and getting after people."
 
UCI (14-7, 9-3 Big West) took over sole possession of second place in The Big West standings, sitting one game back of Hawai'i. UCSB (14-8, 8-4 Big West) dropped into a tie for third with Cal Poly and UC Davis.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Freshman Shirel Nahum, senior Nevaeh Parkinson and graduate student Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba all tied for the team lead with 10 points each. Sidi Baba and Parkinson added seven and five rebounds, respectively, while Nahum registered four boards, three assists and two steals.
 
Junior Déja Lee finished with nine points and three steals. Senior Nevaeh Dean also had eight points, three assists and two steals.
 
Junior Nikki Tom pulled down a season-best eight rebounds to go along with three steals and two assists. Junior Amelia Scharpf contributed five points and five boards. Senior Diaba Konate dished out a game-high four assists.
 
The Anteaters shot 38.7% (24-62) from the floor, 33.3% (4-12) from deep and were 8-of-9 at the free throw line.
 
Jessica Grant paced UCSB with 10 points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: UC Irvine raced out to a 6-0 lead before UC Santa Barbara got on the board with a jumper at the 4:29 mark. The Gauchos started to chip away, eventually using a 4-0 spurt to cut their deficit to one, but Nahum closed out the first quarter with a traditional three-point play to put the Anteaters on top, 13-9.
 
It was a low-scoring start to the second period with the 'Eaters holding a 17-11 advantage through the first five minutes. Sidi Baba then had a couple quick buckets after the media timeout to increase UCI's margin to 19-11 with 4:34 remaining. The two sides went back-and-forth until a Parkinson putback and a Konate jumper right before the buzzer gave the home team their largest lead of the half at 28-19.
 
UC Irvine opened the third frame on a 6-0 run, capped by a Dean layup, to pull ahead 34-19. The Anteaters stayed out front and went up by as many as 20 before UCSB knocked down a triple with 11 seconds on the clock to make it 44-27.
 
The 'Eaters kept their foot on the gas in the fourth as they outscored UC Santa Barbara, 14-4, over the first five minutes to open up a 58-32 lead. They only allowed six more points the rest of the way for the convincing 60-38 victory.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine returns to the Bren Events Center on Saturday, Feb. 10, when it hosts UC Riverside at 2 p.m.
 
NOTES
• UC Irvine held its opponent to fewer than 40 points for the first time since a 57-39 win at Cal State Fullerton on Jan. 11, 2023.
• This year, UCI has allowed 60 points or less 15 times, including nine in Big West play.
• The Anteaters have now won seven in a row in their all-time series with UC Santa Barbara.
• The 'Eaters improved to 7-1 at home with a +14.1 scoring margin in those eight contests.
• UC Irvine improved to 12-1 when scoring 60 or more points this season.
• Shirel Nahum started the game a perfect 4-of-4 from the field.
• Nahum registered her fifth double-figure scoring performance of the year.
• Since Jan. 6, Déja Lee is averaging 4.0 steals per outing.