IRVINE, Calif. – The UC Irvine women's basketball team closed out the regular season with an emphatic 62-49 win over UC Santa Barbara Saturday afternoon at the Bren Events Center.
 
It was the final regular-season home game for seniors Nevaeh Dean, Déja Lee, Amelia Scharpf and Nikki Tom, who have led the Anteaters to unprecedented success with four-straight 20-win seasons, the first Big West regular season championship in program history (2022-23) and a Big West tournament title (2023-24) during their careers.
 
UCI caught fire in the third quarter where it went 7-of-9 from beyond the arc. Five of those 3-pointers came in the final three minutes as the 'Eaters quickly saw a two-point lead balloon to 14 by the end of the period. The home team led by double digits the rest of the way.
 
For the second year in a row, UC Irvine (21-9, 15-5 Big West) will be the No. 2 seed in the Hercules Tires Big West Championships and is set to open the tournament in the semifinals next Friday, March 14.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Senior Déja Lee was the only Anteater to reach double figures in a balanced scoring effort as she had a game-high 13 points. Lee also recorded seven rebounds and five assists, while committing only one turnover.
 
Freshman Lauryn Madsen went 3-for-6 from distance for nine points. Junior Hunter Hernandez added seven points, eight rebounds and a career-high tying five assists.
 
Seniors Nikki Tom and Nevaeh Dean contributed eight and seven points, respectively. Senior Amelia Scharpf made her first start of the season, finishing with two points, two rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.
 
The 'Eaters closed out the game with 16 assists on 21 made baskets. They also scored 29 points off 15 Gaucho turnovers. In addition, UCI held a 42-37 edge on the boards.
 
Skylar Burke and Cayla Williams paced UCSB with 11 points each.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: UC Irvine went up 4-0 with early buckets from Dean and Scharpf. UC Santa Barbara (18-12, 12-8 Big West) then got on the board at the 6:37 mark and proceeded to take its only lead of the game at 5-4 less than a minute later. Summah Hanson answered with a three to start a 7-2 spurt that put the Anteaters on top, 11-7. The Gauchos then ended the quarter with a layup to cut their deficit in half.
 
The second period was a game of runs. UCI started with six unanswered points to pull ahead, 17-9, with 6:59 to go. UCSB punched back with an 8-0 rally to tie it up, but the 'Eaters made the final push with another Hanson triple bookended by baskets from Shirel Nahum and Lee to give them a 24-17 cushion at the half.
 
It went back-and-forth early in the third frame before a 3-pointer from Tom and an Olivia Williams jumper put UC Irvine out front by eight with 5:59 remaining. UC Santa Barbara reeled off six-straight points over the next two minutes to make it 32-30. The Anteaters then buried five threes in the last three minutes of a 19-7 run that broke the game open at 51-37.
 
The 'Eaters cooled off from beyond the arc in the fourth, but the damage had been done. With both teams in the bonus midway through the quarter it became a free throw contest with UCI going 7-of-10 and the Gauchos 4-of-5 over the final five minutes. The Anteaters went up by as many as 19 before closing out the 62-47 victory.
 
UP NEXT: UC Irvine is the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Hercules Tires Big West Championships presented by Credit Union 1 and will open the tournament in the second semifinal at 2:30 p.m. next Friday, March 14.
 
NOTES
• UCI held its opponent to under 50 points for the 11th time in 20 Big West games.
• The 'Eaters tied a school record with their 12th home win.
• UC Irvine's 21 victories on the year are also tied for third in program history.
• The Anteaters have placed among the top-two in the Big West for the sixth-straight year.
• Déja Lee moved up to No. 10 among UCI's all-time leading scorers with 1,095 career points.
• Nevaeh Dean surpassed 400 career rebounds (402).