IRVINE, Calif. – It was a milestone-filled night as two school records were broken in UC Irvine women's basketball's 62-34 win over Cal State Fullerton Thursday evening at the Bren Events Center.
 
Senior Nikki Tom eclipsed the school record with her 197th career steal, while Tamara Inoue became the all-time winningest head coach in program history with her 159th career victory.
 
"I don't take it for granted that I have four-year players here," Inoue said. "It's really cool to see Nikki break one of my former player's (Andee Ritter) records. For Nikki to be here at UC Irvine for four years and be able to accomplish this really means something.
 
"I can run all the X's and O's but if you don't have the players and staff behind you, none of this is possible," Inoue added about breaking the all-time wins record at UCI. "It's a nice accolade. I love this community and went to high school in the area so to be able to give back in this type of way, it feels good."
 
The Anteaters (19-8, 13-4 Big West) didn't leave any doubt as they never trailed and led by as many as 29. Both teams got out to a slow start before UCI broke a 4-4 tie with an 11-2 run to pull ahead, 15-6, at the end of the first quarter. The Titans hung around with a 9-0 rally to end the second period, but the 'Eaters came out firing after the break as they outscored the visitors, 24-6, in the third frame.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Sophomore Summah Hanson led a balanced scoring effort with a game-high 13 points. She also had 10 rebounds and five blocks. It was her second double-double of the season.
 
Senior Déja Lee added nine points and four steals, while junior Hunter Hernandez finished with eight points. Senior Nevaeh Dean chipped in six points and seven boards. Senior Amelia Scharpf dished out a game and career-high five assists.
 
UCI shot 43.8% from the field, while holding CSF to 23.7%. Both teams went 4-for-16 from beyond the arc. The Anteaters won the battle in rebounding (45-35), assists (14-7), steals (10-5) and blocks (7-3).
 
Demonnie Lagway paced the Titans (7-20, 5-12 Big West) with eight points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: UC Irvine broke a 4-4 deadlock with a Hernandez layup followed by a triple from Lauryn Madsen. After Cal State Fullerton ended a nearly four-minute scoring drought, the Anteaters accounted for the final six points of the first quarter to take a 15-6 lead.
 
The 'Eaters opened the second frame on an 8-2 run, capped by a layup by Dean, for their largest advantage of the half at 25-10 with 5:07 remaining. UCI maintained a double-digit margin until CSF used a 9-0 rally over the final 3:19 to close the gap to 27-19.
 
UC Irvine came out firing after the break as its lead ballooned to 47-20 following a 20-1 run. Hernandez scored the first four points of the third quarter, while Lee (7) and Olivia Williams (5) combined for 12 points during the seven-and-a-half minute stretch. The Titans were unable to recover as the Anteaters led by 20+ the rest of the way.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine will make the short trip to Black & Blue rival Long Beach State on Saturday, March 1. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. on Spectrum SportsNet.
 
NOTES
• Ninth-year head coach Tamara Inoue broke Dean Andrea's (1978-91) record for the most wins in program history.
• Nikki Tom surpassed Andee Ritter (2015-19) on the all-time steals list with her first takeaway of the night and now has 198 in her career.
• Déja Lee isn't far behind with 193 career steals, which ranks third in school history.
• Lee also moved into a tie for 11th among UC Irvine's all-time scoring leaders with 1,065 career points.
• Cal State Fullerton's 34 points were the fewest the Anteaters have allowed this season.
• UCI has held its opponents to under 50 points in 10 of its 17 Big West games.
• Summah Hanson is the first 'Eater to record at least five blocks in a game since Nyagoa Gony on Feb. 11, 2023.
• Nevaeh Dean extended her streak of games played with at least one block to seven.
• The 'Eaters are now one game back of league-leading Hawai'i (14-3) in the Big West standings.
• They also increased their lead to two games over UC Davis and UC San Diego who are tied for third at 11-6.