SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – UC Irvine women's basketball nearly made an improbable comeback, trimming a 20-point deficit down to three late in the fourth quarter, but UC Santa Barbara held on to escape with a 70-62 win Saturday at The Thunderdome.
 
The Anteaters (24-5, 15-3 Big West) saw their seven-game win streak come to an end. They are now tied for first with UC San Diego in the Big West standings.
 
UCSB (20-8, 12-7 Big West), which held its senior ceremony before the game, came out firing, shooting 69.2% (9-13) from the field and 66.7% (4-6) from beyond the arc to take a 24-9 first-quarter lead. The Gauchos stayed out front by 17 at the half.
 
UC Santa Barbara cooled off over the final 20 minutes but still held a 14-point advantage after the third. Hunter Hernandez started the fourth period with five-straight points to bring the 'Eaters within nine at 52-43. UCSB went back on top by double digits and took a 63-52 lead with 2:18 remaining before UCI used a furious rally to make it a one-possession game (65-62) at the 1:03 mark. That was the closest the visitors would get as the Gauchos scored the last five points at the free throw line.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Senior Hunter Hernandez powered the comeback effort with 24 of her game-high 26 points in the second half. She also scored 16 of UC Irvine's 24 fourth-quarter points. Hernandez added six rebounds and a team-best four assists.
 
Junior Shirel Nahum made a career-high four threes and finished with 18 points. Senior Jada Wynn had 10 points, nine rebounds, and three assists.
 
The Anteaters, who were 2-of-15 in the first quarter, closed out the game shooting 34.5% (19-55) overall and 40% (8-20) from distance. They held a slight 32-31 edge in rebounding, and won the battle in points off turnovers, 22-15.
 
UCSB went 23-for-46 (50%) from the floor and 9-for-24 (37.5%) from beyond the arc. Zoe Borter led five Gauchos in double figures with 18 points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: Nahum gave UC Irvine a 3-2 lead with a triple at the 8:49 mark. That was the Anteaters' only lead of the afternoon as UC Santa Barbara scored the next 10 points to go up, 12-3. After calling a timeout, the 'Eaters closed the gap to five, but the Gauchos stayed hot, ending the first quarter on a 12-2 run for a 24-9 advantage. UCSB shot 69% (9-13) from the field, while UCI was held to 13% (2-15).
 
Ameerah Grant knocked down a three to start the second period. UC Santa Barbara then used an 8-0 spurt to increase its margin to 20 with 7:08 to play. UC Irvine started to chip away, making it a 14-point game on a Summah Hanson trey at the 1:03 mark, but the Gauchos buried their seventh 3-pointer of the half for a 39-22 cushion at the break.
 
UCSB held a comfortable lead for most of the third frame. The Anteaters started to gain some momentum as a Hernandez jumper made it 49-36 with 1:16 remaining, but the home team answered with a 3-pointer on the other end. Hernandez then tacked on a couple free throws in the final 30 seconds (52-38).
 
Hernandez scored the first five points of the fourth to cut UCI's deficit to single digits at the 7:58 mark. The two sides proceeded to trade blows before the Gauchos reclaimed a 13-point lead with 3:03 to go. The 'Eaters then put together a furious rally with a 14-3 run over the next two minutes to make it a one-possession game at 65-62. UC Irvine was unable to score again while UCSB got to the foul line to come away with the 70-62 win.
 
UP NEXT: UCI stays on the road next week, closing out the regular season at Cal Poly (March 5) and at UC Davis (March 7).
 
NOTES
• Hunter Hernandez has reached double figures in scoring in 26 of 29 games.
• This was also Hernandez's 12th 20-point effort of the season.
• Hernandez now has 538 points on the year, putting her nine away from moving up to No. 3 in single-season school history.
• She also now has 359 career free throws made, which is nine shy of tying the school record.
• Jada Wynn took over sole possession of second among UCI's single-season 3-point leaders (69).
• Shirel Nahum has reached double figures in scoring in five of her last eight outings.
• UCI faced its largest deficit (20) of the conference season.
• It was the Anteaters' first loss when three or more players scored 10+ points (18-1).