HENDERSON, Nev. - The second-seeded UC Irvine women's basketball team is headed back to the Hercules Tires Big West Championship final for the third time in the last four years after a 69-57 semifinal victory over No. 7 seed Long Beach State Friday afternoon at The Dollar Loan Center.
 
The Anteaters (22-8) were able to tame a hot LBSU team that had averaged 86.5 points in its first two tournament games against No. 7 UC Santa Barbara and No. 3 UC Riverside.
 
The 'Eaters started strong, racing out to a 20-9 lead after the opening quarter. They slowly saw that advantage slip away as the Beach came all the way back to go up, 28-27, with just over four minutes remaining in the second quarter. It proceeded to go back-and-forth before UCI closed the half on an 8-0 run.
 
UC Irvine stayed out front for the entire second half. Long Beach State kept it close until a 12-2 Anteater rally made it a 14-point game through 30 minutes. The 'Eaters led by double digits the rest of the way and went up by as many as 20 in the semifinal victory.
 
"Long Beach State has been hot and had been throwing up some high numbers in the tournament," said head coach Tamara Inoue. "They were coming on at the right time so I knew for us, we definitely had to buckle down on defense. I really wanted to wear them down as much as possible. I thought in the second quarter we loosened up a little bit, letting them drive by us for some easy layups, so I think going back to that zone really helped contain and slow it down a little more."
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Graduate student Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba led the way with a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds. It was her fourth 20-point performance and fifth double-double of the season. The Big West Newcomer of the Year went 9-for-15 from the field.
 
Junior Déja Lee, the 2024 Big West Player of the Year, added 12 points and three steals. Her first steal of the game was her 75th of the year, setting a new single-season school record.
 
Seniors Nevaeh Dean and Nevaeh Parkinson were a force down low. Parkinson finished with eight points and eight rebounds, while Dean had eight points, five boards and two blocks.
 
Senior Diaba Konate chipped in eight points, and tied junior Amelia Scharpf for the team lead in assists at four apiece. Konate and Scharpf combined for eight dimes and zero turnovers. Junior Nikki Tom contributed six rebounds.
 
UCI shot 45% from the field and held LBSU to 36%. The 'Eaters also won the battle in rebounding (40-30), turnovers forced (15-11), steals (8-1), points off turnovers (18-14) and points in the paint (38-22).
 
Casey Valenti-Paea paced the Beach with 13 points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: Dean broke an early tie with back-to-back layups giving UC Irvine an 8-4 lead at the 5:45 mark. The Anteaters stayed out front by one at the media timeout before closing out the first quarter on a 12-2 run to go up, 20-9. Lee scored seven-straight points during that stretch while Scharpf capped the rally with a three.
 
Long Beach State (15-18) took the momentum in the second period, outscoring the 'Eaters, 19-7, to go up by one with 4:01 left. Freshman Shirel Nahum answered with a jumper and a seesaw battle ensued with four more lead changes over the next couple minutes. Tom then drilled a 3-pointer to start an 8-0 spurt that put UCI on top, 39-33, at the break. Sidi Baba scored the final five points and finished with 11 in the half.
 
The Beach remained within striking distance to start the third frame, but UC Irvine would not relinquish the lead. After LBSU closed the gap to three, Dean's putback followed by a Sidi Baba layup increased the margin to seven at 44-37. Long Beach State responded with a triple before the Anteaters took control, using another 12-2 run to pull ahead, 58-44.
 
The 'Eaters kept their foot on the gas in the fourth with a 10-0 rally, which ended with a Parkinson layup, giving them their largest lead at 68-48 with 4:23 to play. The Beach made a late push, but UCI was never threatened in the 69-57 win.
                                          
UP NEXT: The second-seeded Anteaters will face No. 5 seed UC Davis in the Hercules Tires Big West Championship final on Saturday, March 16. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at The Dollar Loan Center.
 
NOTES
• Today was head coach Tamara Inoue's birthday.
• The Anteaters extended their win streak to a season-long five games.
• All five of those victories have come by 10 or more points.
• UC Irvine will be making its third appearance in The Big West championship game in the last four seasons.
• The 'Eaters went 3-0 against Long Beach State this year.
• Déja Lee had her 14th game with 3+ steals and now ranks first in single-season school history with 77 takeaways.
• Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba has reached double figures in scoring in eight consecutive games.
• Sidi Baba registered her second 20-point double-double, both of which came against LBSU.