IRVINE, Calif. – UC Irvine women's basketball completed the regular-season series sweep against Cal State Bakersfield with a 60-49 victory over the Roadrunners Saturday at the Bren Events Center.
 
The Anteaters (18-8, 12-4 Big West) remain in second place in the Big West standings, sitting 1.5 games back of league-leading Hawai'i, which hosts UC San Diego tonight.  
 
The 'Eaters did not trail after pulling ahead by two with 5:23 to go in the first quarter. They went up by as many as 15 in the third before a late 'Runner rally made it a six-point game with 5:52 to play. Hunter Hernandez answered with a pair of free throws and UCI proceeded to outscore the visitors 9-4 down the stretch for the 11-point victory.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Senior Déja Lee was a perfect 8-of-8 at the charity stripe and finished with a game-high 15 points. Junior Hunter Hernandez also reached double figures with 14 points, to go along with seven rebounds and two steals.
 
Senior Nevaeh Dean added nine points, six boards and three blocks, while senior Nikki Tom had three points, four rebounds, three assists and four steals. Tom now has 196 career steals, tying the school record that was set by Andee Ritter in 2019. Junior Olivia Williams also had three takeaways on the afternoon.
 
The 'Eaters forced 20 turnovers for the second-straight game, while committing only 10 of their own. They also outrebounded CSUB, 45-34, with a 17-to-8 advantage on the offensive glass.
 
UCI shot just 28% from the field and 18% from beyond the arc, but went 80% (24-30) at the foul line. The Anteaters took 20 more free throws than the Roadrunners.
 
Ary Dizon paced Cal State Bakersfield with 14 points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: The two teams went back-and-forth in the early going with three lead changes and three ties in the first three minutes. UC Irvine then used an 8-0 rally that included a couple layups from Dean to build a 13-7 advantage at the 4:13 mark. Cal State Bakersfield cut its deficit in half before 3-pointers from Lauryn Madsen and Summah Hanson started an 8-4 spurt that put the Anteaters on top, 21-15, at the end of the opening quarter.
 
The 'Eaters accounted for the first six points of the second period to increase their margin to 12. The Roadrunners answered with their only points of the frame on a three with 2:28 to go. Shirel Nahum and Madsen closed out the half with two free throws each to give UCI a 31-18 lead at the break.
 
CSUB (2-25, 2-15 Big West) outscored UC Irvine, 11-8, over the first seven minutes of the third period to make it a 10-point game, but the home team responded with five unanswered to go up, 44-29.
 
The 'Runners made a push in the fourth quarter with three triples over a one-minute stretch to close the gap to 51-45 with 5:50 remaining, but that was the closest they would get. Although the Anteaters did not make a field goal the rest of the way, they locked down defensively and went 7-of-8 at the free throw line to seal the win.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine will host Cal State Fullerton in a 6 p.m. game next Thursday, Feb. 27.
 
NOTES
• Ninth-year head coach Tamara Inoue earned her 158th career victory to tie Dean Andrea (1978-91) for the most wins in program history.
• With her next steal, Nikki Tom will become UC Irvine's all-time career leader.
• Tom made her 100th career start.
• Nevaeh Dean extended her streak of games played with at least one block to six.
• UC Irvine set a season high in free throw attempts (30).
• The Anteaters have allowed fewer than 50 points in nine of their 16 Big West games.
• CSUB's three points in the second period were the fewest UCI has allowed in a quarter this season.
• Today was UC Irvine's Breast Cancer Awareness Game.