CLAREMONT, Calif. – Eleven Anteaters found the back of the net in No. 7/7 UC Irvine's 20-7 victory over No. 25/23 San Diego State to close out the Convergence Invitational.
 
Graduate student Brooke Hourigan powered the UCI attack with four goals on six total shots.
 
The Anteaters won four straight games in the tournament to improve to 10-8 in 2024.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• Kili Skibby, Kennedy East, Libby Alexander, Gracie Helberg, Lauren Hett, and Sara Naulty each tallied two goals in the game
• Charley Birdsall, Marilynn Hassett, Vivian Bailey, and Madeline Kasper rounded out the scoring effort
• Faith Tedesco earned the win in the cage, blocking 12 shots, assisting on three goals, and had two takeaways
• Libby Alexander, Jensine Bugelli, Airian Grisham, and Gracie Helberg had multi-assist games, dishing out two apiece
• Bugelli stole the ball from her opponents a game best four times
• No. 25/23 was led by Claudia Valdes who recorded three goals and one steal  

 
SCORING BREAKDOWN

• First period: No. 7/7 UC Irvine saw themselves down two goals early to No. 25/23 San Diego State just a minute and a half into the game. The Anteaters rattled off five straight from Kili Skibby (4:58), Gracie Helberg (3:38), Kennedy East (3:07, 1:30), and Lauren Hett (2:08) to take the three-point lead. The Aztecs converted a five-meter shot (0:40), but Jensine Bugelli stole the ball to find Brooke Hourigan on the counterattack with nine seconds left in the period, 6-3.
  • East (2), Helberg (1), Hett (1), Hourigan (1), and Skibby (1)
• Second period: SDSU brought the game back within two points, 7-5, at 4:43 with two consecutive scores. The UCI offense roared with six unanswered goals including two straight from Hourigan, her last on a five-meter penalty shot, to send the Anteaters with the 13-5 lead into the halftime break.
  • Alexander (2), Hourigan (2), Hassett (1), Hett (1), and Naulty (1)
• Third period: The Anteaters added two more at the start of the third period to continue their offensive dominance. No. 25/23 San Diego State found the back of the cage with 4:22 on the clock to halt the fiery UCI attack. Freshman Vivian Bailey had the last goal of the stanza when she received the pass and took it the length of the pool for the score, 17-6.
  • Bailey (1), Hassett (1), Hourigan (1), and Skibby (1)
• Fourth period: No. 7/7 UC Irvine continued to pile on the goals going for three in a row with the last at 3:50 from Madeline Kasper. The Aztecs were able to deposit two into the back of the cage before the end of the contest, dropping to UCI 20-8.
  • Birdsall (1), Kasper (1), and Naulty (1)

 
UP NEXT
No. 7/7 UC Irvine opens up Big West action at home this upcoming Friday (Mar. 8) against UC San Diego at 6 p.m.