SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – UC Irvine women's basketball was unable to recover from a seven-point third quarter in a 62-52 loss to UC Santa Barbara Thursday evening at The Thunderdome.
 
The Anteaters (16-7, 10-3 Big West) were up by three at the break and started the second half with a couple buckets from Hunter Hernandez. They then went scoreless over the next 6:25, allowing the Gauchos to build a 46-37 lead. Lauryn Madsen knocked down a three in the final 30 seconds of the period to close the gap to six.
 
UCSB (14-10, 8-6 Big West) opened the fourth quarter with eight unanswered points to increase its cushion to 54-40. The 'Eaters made it interesting by cutting the deficit to five with just over a minute to go but the home team pulled away down the stretch.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Senior Déja Lee led UC Irvine with 16 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Junior Hunter Hernandez also finished with 15 points, five boards and three steals.
 
Senior Nikki Tom added six points, four assists, two steals and a season-best two blocks, while junior Olivia Williams pulled down six rebounds.
 
UCI shot 31% (18-58) from the field and 32% (8-25) from beyond the arc.
 
UCSB closed out the game at a 43.8% clip (21-48) and was even better from distance at 44.4% (8-18).
 
Alyssa Marin paced three Gauchos in double figures with 18 points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: UC Santa Barbara started the scoring with back-to-back 3-pointers and proceeded to take an 11-5 lead at the 5:31 mark. UC Irvine then turned the tables, using a 13-2 spurt, capped by a layup from Daniela Falcón Hernández, to pull ahead, 18-13, with 1:34 remaining. The Gauchos scored the final five points of the first quarter to knot it up at 18-all.
 
The seesaw battle continued in the second period with four ties and six lead changes. The Anteaters made the final push of the half with a triple from Nevaeh Dean and a Williams layup giving the visitors a 33-30 edge heading into the locker room.
 
Hernandez scored the first four points of the third frame to put the 'Eaters up by seven. UCSB then reeled off 16-straight for a 46-37 advantage. Madsen ended UCI's six-minute scoring drought with a corner three to make it a six-point game heading into the fourth.
 
UC Santa Barbara kept the momentum, starting the final quarter with an 8-0 rally for its largest lead of the night at 54-40 with 8:28 remaining. The Anteaters chipped away, using a 12-1 run that was bookended by threes from Shirel Nahum and Lee, to cut the deficit to 56-51 with 1:18 left. That was the closest UC Irvine would get as the Gauchos doubled their lead over the final minute for the 62-52 win.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine returns home to host league-leading Hawai'i in a 2 p.m. Big West showdown at the Bren Events Center on Saturday, Feb. 15.
 
NOTES
• UC Irvine dropped to 1.5 games back of Big West leader Hawai'i.
• The Anteaters gave up more than 60 points for the first time since Jan. 16.
• The 'Eaters suffered their first loss to UCSB since Feb. 5, 2020, snapping an eight-game win streak in the series.
• Nikki Tom now ranks second among UCI's all-time leaders with 189 career steals.
• Hunter Hernandez has reached double figures in scoring in 17 of her 21 outings.