Women’s Basketball: Aggies throttle ‘Eaters

UC Irvine women’s basketball coach Tamara Inoue’s New Year’s resolution may simply be to have enough resolve to make it to the new year — as in the 2017-18 season.

Coming off a record-setting victory that snapped a 15-game losing streak at the Bren Events Center, the Anteaters opened Big West Conference play on Thursday with a 89-48 drubbing from visiting UC Davis.

Inoue’s first season suddenly includes a 2-13 record and 15 remaining games to endure before the transfers Inoue and her staff have lured figure to change the losing fortunes that have befallen the program since then-coach Molly Goodenbour was fired following the 2010-11 campaign.

UCI was 51-104 in five seasons under Doug Oliver, who retired following last season, allowing Inoue to man the defibrillator.

A new heartbeat would appear to be pending next season, in the form of some talented transfers to which former Michigan State Spartan Morgan Green, a 5-foot-7 guard, recently added her name.

“[Green] was a top-100 player coming out of high school [in the Bay Area],” Inoue said. Green started 17 of 32 games last season at Michigan State, where she averaged four points, 3.4 assists and 3.3 rebounds, following a strong freshman season at Chabot Community College.

Green will be bolstered by Division-I transfers Autumn Baumgartner (Georgetown), Deijah Blanks (Utah Valley), as well as Yazzy Sa’Dullah and Lauren Saiki (both from West Virginia), as well as a handful of prep recruits.

“We will have 10 new players next season,” Inoue said.

Yet another transfer brought on board by the former New Mexico State assistant who starred at Laguna Hills High and played collegiately at Cal and Long Beach State, is 6-foot-4 junior Sabrina Engelstad, a transfer from Saint Mary’s who is emerging as a strong post player.

Engelstad, whose father Wayne Engelstad was a star for the Anteaters men’s team in the 1980s, had 10 of her team-best 14 points in the first quarter on Thursday, before missing the final 8:26 of the first half after picking up two fouls.

“It’s always tough taking Sabrina out, but we’ve been battling [foul trouble] the whole season and she needs to learn,” Inoue said.

Engelstad’s final first-quarter bucket brought UCI within 20-15, but the Aggies (10-4) rolled to a 46-25 halftime lead and the ‘Eaters rolled over in the second half.

UC Davis’ supremacy increased in the fourth quarter, when it made 11 of 18 field-goal attempts – mostly layups – to lift its shooting to 47.9% for the game.

UCI shot 32.1%, was outrebounded, 52-29, and suffered a 37-8 shortfall in bench scoring.

“I get sent to the beach a lot, and told to go take a breath,” Inoue said of dealing with the frustration of losing this season. “But I sleep well, because these kids work extremely hard and they are good kids.”

Inoue acknowledged she was reading the book she brought into the postgame interview room. The title: “Grit: The Power and Passion of Perseverance.”

Big West Conference

UC Davis 89, UC Irvine 48

UCD – Bertsch 15, Gianotti 2, Nagel 17, Nafekh 15, Ko. Eaton 3, Anderson 11, Bessolo 10, Song 9, Beyer 4, Ka. Eaton 3.

3-pt. goals – Nagel 5, Song 3, Nafekh 2, Ko. Eaton 1, Ka. Eaton 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.

UCI – Engelstad 14, Sutherland 7, Bayman 9, Ritter 5, Hicks 5, Chavez 6, Andrada 2.

3-pt. goals – Chavez 2, Ritter 1, Hicks 1, Engelstad 1.

Fouled out – None.

Technicals – None.