By Marvin Luu
The UC Irvine Women’s basketball (4-21, 1-10) finished off an uneventful week with a 62-48 loss to CSUN (6-18, 4-6) Saturday night.
Freshman forward Tayla Jackson recorded a career-high 17 points in her ninth start on the season to lead all ‘Eaters in the loss.
Junior guard Irene Chavez muscled through all 40 minutes of the game and trailed Jackson by five with 12 points on 4-12 shooting.
Freshman forward Arianna Knox and sophomore forward Brittnay Glassow combined for just five points in their first starting jobs in conference.
After barreling down a career high 33 points at the Bren back in January, Matador center Channon Fluker was held to just 10 points in 27 minutes of action.
CSUN came out on a dominant second quarter, outscoring UCI 17-7 behind reserve guard Serafina Maulupe’s six points. Maulupe, who had given the ‘Eaters trouble in their last meeting, finished the game with 18 points to lead all players in the game.
Coming out of the half, Glassow got the ‘Eaters going with a quick put back off a Jackson miss. Junior forward Shereen Sutherland scored five of her nine points in the third, but by the 2:26 minute mark, the Matadors had already owned a demanding 16-point advantage.
While UCI would go on to outscore CSUN with an even 30-point surge, the Matadors did not flinch and answered every ‘Eater basket with one of their own.
Jackson and Chavez, both increased their stats with a combined nine in the fourth before the buzzer rang up another loss for the ‘Eaters, their third straight on the road.
With just five games left in conference, UCI will look for a quick turnaround at 2:00 p.m. next Saturday against Cal State Fullerton in the Bren Events Center.
