ANCHORAGE, Alaska – UC Irvine women's basketball raced out to a 24-6 lead in the first quarter and held off a couple big runs from St. Thomas for a 63-55 victory in the championship game of the ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout Saturday evening at Alaska Airlines Center.
 
The Anteaters (4-2) got out to a strong start, going up 20-2 with two minutes left in the first quarter. They increased their lead to as many as 21 in the second period before St. Thomas closed the half on a 15-4 spurt to make it a 10-point game. The Tommies pulled within five in the fourth quarter, but clutch threes from sophomore Daniela Falcon Hernandez and senior Jada Wynn kept the game out of reach.
 
Wynn was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, while senior Hunter Hernandez made the All-Tournament Team.
 
"I'm really proud of the team for sticking with it and handling the (St. Thomas) run, which they went on for quite a long time," head coach Tamara Inoue said. "I thought Daniela's three in the fourth quarter was a big one to really seal it, so it was a big team effort. Obviously, Jada and Hunter do what they do, but I thought collectively the whole team did a good job. I'm really proud of everyone."
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Jada Wynn led the 'Eaters with 20 points and nine rebounds. She was one board shy of her third-straight double-double. Wynn knocked down three 3-pointers and went 5-of-5 at the free throw line.
 
Hunter Hernandez had 15 points, six boards, and three assists. Freshman Nohe'alani Stores also finished with 10 points, going 3-for-5 from the field and a perfect 4-of-4 at the charity stripe. Junior Shirel Nahum added four points, four assists, and four steals.
 
UCI and St. Thomas shot an identical 40.4% overall and 33.3% from beyond the arc. The Anteaters got to the free throw line 10 more times than the Tommies, shooting 94.1% (16-17). They also won the battle in rebounding (31-29), turnovers forced (15-8), points off turnovers (22-6), and points in the paint (32-24).
 
Alyssa Sand paced St. Thomas with a game-high 22 points (9-11 FG).
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: Wynn scored the first five points of the game before St. Thomas got on the board at the 7:24 mark. UC Irvine then went on a 15-0 run, capped by back-to-back layups from Stores, to pull ahead 20-2 with 1:33 left. The two teams traded points over the final minute as the Anteaters took a 24-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.
 
The Tommies (1-5) started to chip away in the second period, closing the gap to 13 at the 7:44 mark. The 'Eaters responded with a 10-2 spurt to increase their margin to 36-15 with just under five minutes to go. St. Thomas then outscored UCI, 15-4, and banked in a three at the buzzer to make it 40-30 at the half.
 
The Tommies started the third frame with a pair of free throws, but Hernandez made a pair of layups to put UC Irvine on top, 44-32, with 7:16 remaining. It continued to go back-and-forth until St. Thomas converted an and-1 with 22 seconds on the clock to cut the deficit to 52-45.
 
St. Thomas quickly made it a five-point game in the fourth before Falcon Hernandez drilled a big three to put the Anteaters up, 57-49, with just under six minutes to play. Wynn followed with a jumper, pushing the margin back to double digits. After the Tommies connected from beyond the arc, Wynn answered again with a clutch triple to put the game out of reach at 62-52 with 1:09 left. St. Thomas knocked down one more trey, but it wasn't enough as the 'Eaters came away with the 63-55 win.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine returns home to host the ZotGiving Classic, Nov. 28-29, at the Bren Events Center. The Anteaters will face Wichita State Friday at 2 p.m., before squaring off against Colgate Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
 
NOTES
• UC Irvine has not trailed in its four wins this season.
• This is the Anteaters' first game that was decided by fewer than 12 points.
• The 'Eaters have held their last two opponents to under 60 points.
• UCI is shooting 84.5% (109-129) at the free throw line this season.
• Jada Wynn recorded her second 20-point game.
• Wynn and Hunter Hernandez have scored 10+ points in five of the team's six games.
• Lauryn Madsen extended her streak of games played with a 3-pointer made to eight.