IRVINE — Above the screams and squeals of the largest crowd to ever watch a women’s basketball game at the Bren Events Center, it was UC Irvine that eventually got its message across on Thursday.
The Anteaters buckled down in the latter half of the third quarter and pulled away for a 74-59 victory over rival Long Beach State in a Big West Conference game in front of 2,294, most of whom were energetic elementary school students thrilled to be out of class for the late-morning tip-off.
“The biggest thing is we want butts in the seats. That’s all I care about is wanting more people in the stands to watch our players, just like everybody else in this country,” UCI coach Tamara Inoue said. “These are college Division I athletes at UCI, and to have these young kids see these players and what they can do, it’s good for them.”
UCI (12-6 overall, 6-2 Big West) made its move in the final five minutes of the third quarter, unleashing a 19-0 run that put the Anteaters ahead 56-37 entering the fourth.
LBSU never got closer than 15 the rest of the way.
Nevaeh Parkinson led the Anteaters with 13 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Diaba Konate contributed 12 points, six assists and six steals and Shirel Nahum was the other player in double figures for UCI, finishing with 10 points in a reserve role.
Long Beach (6-12, 1-7) was led by Casey Valenti-Paea, who scored 11 of her 16 points in the first quarter. Jada Crawshaw contributed 11 points off the bench for LBSU, which was slowed by 26 turnovers, twice as many as Irvine.
It didn’t help that Long Beach was also without junior guard Sydney Woodley, the team’s second-leading scorer (9.9 ppg) and the Big West steals leader (3.3) who sat out for disciplinary reasons, LBSU coach Amy Wright said.
The 19-0 run that dropped Long Beach into the 19-point hole was similar to what unfolded against UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 13.
LBSU kept that game tight until an 18-0 run in the second quarter put the Gauchos ahead 34-17. Long Beach managed to briefly retake the lead in the fourth quarter, but UCSB inched away for a 69-56 victory.
“We’ve got to continue to do what we do and not get discouraged when we get down five. It’s not 40,” Wright said. “I think mentally, sometimes, that’s where the mind goes as soon as we’re down. ‘Well, I’ve got to hit a 40-point shot.’”
Paea got off to a hot start, scoring seven of the first 13 points for Long Beach, helping it to a five-point lead midway through the first quarter.
UCI didn’t lead by more than three until Nikki Tom made a jumper on the first possession of the second half to move the Anteaters ahead 31-26.
Long Beach tied the score once more, at 37-37, on two free throws by Cheyenne Givens with 5:16 left in the third quarter, but the visitors didn’t score again until the fourth.
UCI was whistled for five fouls in the first five minutes of the third quarter, so Inoue switched to a 1-3-1 zone that disrupted Long Beach, which hadn’t faced that type of defense this season.
The Anteaters forced nine turnovers during the ensuing 19-0 run, converting most into baskets.
“When something’s new, it’s still basketball, so I think sometimes we forget that,” Wright said. “If it’s new, ‘Oh, I need direction. I need to know exactly where to go.’”
Patricia Chung ended the run with a jumper on the opening possession of the fourth quarter to cut the lead to 56-39, but UCI expanded the lead to as much as 26 points before Long Beach cut into the deficit against the UCI reserves.
