IRVINE, Calif. – The UC Irvine women's basketball team earned a hard-fought 73-66 victory over UC San Diego Saturday afternoon at the Bren Events Center.
 
The Anteaters (10-5, 4-1 Big West) withstood a hot-shooting Triton team that went 13-for-24 from beyond the arc with a well-rounded offense of its own. For the first time since Nov. 8, 2022, five 'Eaters reached double figures in scoring. Senior Nikki Tom was one of them, finishing with a season-high 11 points, which included a trio of clutch threes in the second half.
 
In a game that saw 13 lead changes and nine ties, UCI was able to create some separation over the final 20 minutes where it outscored UCSD, 46-39.
 
"I don't think we made any huge adjustments at the half," senior Amelia Scharpf said in a postgame interview. "(UC San Diego) was shooting very well from three so we had to keep that in mind, but it was just sticking to what we know and what we do."
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Sophomore Summah Hanson was perfect from the field (5-5) and at the free throw line (5-5) for a team-high 15 points. Senior Nevaeh Dean was also extremely efficient with 10 points on a 5-for-7 shooting performance. Dean added a team-best seven rebounds.
 
Senior Déja Lee totaled 14 points, six boards and four assists, while junior Hunter Hernandez tallied 13 points, three rebounds and three assists. Senior Nikki Tom rounded out UC Irvine's five double-figure scorers with a season-high 11 points (3-6 3FG). Tom also dished out four assists.
 
The Anteaters shot 43.9% overall and were 6-of-21 from beyond the arc. They forced 16 turnovers, while committing only nine of their own. UCI won the battle in points off turnovers (19-13), points in the paint (32-16), second chance points (22-10) and bench points (20-8).
 
The Tritons closed out the game shooting 43.4% from the floor and 54.2% from distance. Sabrina Ma knocked down five triples for a game-high 17 points. Kayanna Spriggs led all players with 12 rebounds and five assists.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: UC San Diego (6-11, 2-3 Big West) started the scoring before back-to-back layups from Dean sparked a 6-0 rally that gave UC Irvine the slight advantage at the 7:24 mark. The Tritons responded with six unanswered to pull ahead, 9-6. It proceeded to go back-and-forth over the next three minutes. A personal 5-0 run by Hanson then put the Anteaters up, 15-11, with 31.7 seconds on the clock, but UCSD knocked down a three right before the first-quarter buzzer to cut its deficit to one.
 
The seesaw battle continued in the second period with four more lead changes. After a 3-pointer from Olivia Williams gave UCI a 20-19 edge, UC San Diego punched back with a 6-0 spurt for its largest margin of the afternoon at 25-20 with 3:17 remaining. Lee countered with a triple to end a four-plus minute scoring drought for the 'Eaters and the two teams closed the half in a 27-27 deadlock.
 
UC Irvine scored six-straight points to start the third frame for a 33-27 cushion at the 7:55 mark. Following a timeout, UCSD resumed its timely 3-point shooting, but the Anteaters answered. In a two-minute stretch where the Tritons connected three times from distance, Tom came up big with five points, while Hanson added two to give UCI its largest advantage at 40-33.  After UC San Diego came back within two, Amelia Scharpf buried a trey from the corner to make it 43-38 with 4:40 to go. UCSD reclaimed the lead on a 10-2 run, but a couple free throws from Lee and a jumper from Lauryn Madsen with four seconds remaining put the 'Eaters back on top, 51-50.
 
UC Irvine never trailed in the fourth quarter. Tom came up clutch again, negating a couple early 3-pointers from UC San Diego with two of her own. The sides continued to trade blows, but the Anteaters held strong down the stretch, going 6-for-8 at the free throw line over the final minute to seal the 73-66 victory.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine is back on the road next week, starting with a short trip to Cal State Fullerton on Thursday, Jan. 16. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Titan Gym.
 
NOTES
• Head coach Tamara Inoue secured career win No. 150.
• UC Irvine gave up more than 60 points in a game for only the fifth time this season, and first in Big West play.
• The Anteaters saw their first lead change against a conference opponent.
• UCI extended its home win streak to six games.
• Hunter Hernandez recorded her fourth-straight double-figure scoring game.
• Déja Lee has dished out four assists in four consecutive games, and is averaging 3.6 apg in Big West action.
• Nevaeh Dean had her ninth outing with 5+ rebounds.
• Summah Hanson, who entered today's game ranked 20th in the nation in free throw percentage, increased her Big West leading mark to 96% (46-50).