CSUN Drops Heartbreaker to First Place UC Irvine, 60-57 in Road Contest

Thursday, February 26

Irvine, CA

6:00 p.m.

California State University at Northridge

9-17,5-12Big West

UC Irvine

24-4,15-2Big West

CSUN

UC Irvine

Photo by: Chuck Marvel

CSUN Drops Heartbreaker to First Place UC Irvine, 60-57 in Road Contest

2/26/2026 9:09:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

IRVINE, Calif. --- The CSUN women's basketball team (9-17, 5-12 Big West) nearly stunned the first place UC Irvine Anteaters, but would come up short, 60-57, on Thursday night at Bren Events Center. Summah Hanson of UCI hit a game winning three-point basket with six seconds left to take the win. Saray White led all scorers with 23 points. Jite Gbemuotor snatched her eighth career double-double, with 12 points and 15 rebounds.

HOW IT HAPPENED
CSUN came out of the gates hot early, going on a 6-2 run to start with Gbemuotor scoring the Matadors' first six points. After UCI responded with a three-pointer from Hunter Hernandez, CSUN went on an 8-3 run, going a perfect 3-3 from the field in the process. The scoreboard read 14-8 with 3:33 left to play in the first. CSUN and UCI then traded field goals, but the Matadors held their lead. It was 19-14 heading into the second quarter. White and Gbemuotor had 16 of the 19 points.

In the second quarter, defense was the name of the game. Both teams didn't shoot above 24 percent in the period. There was no scoring on either side for the quarter's first three minutes. CSUN broke the drought with a layup from White to make it 21-14 with 7:07 remaining in the half. UCI countered with a shot from downtown before CSUN responded with a three of its own from Alondra Lizama to make it 24-17 with 6:37 remaining. UCI went on a mini 4-0 run to cut the lead to three points. Both teams tallied five points to end the quarter, but CSUN carried a three-point lead at 29-26 heading into intermission. White and Gbemuotor continued to lead the Matadors as they had 23 of the 29 points.

SECOND HALF
UCI started the third quarter on a 14-4 run going 4-7 from the field and swishing four threes in the process. White had the four points for the Matadors. CSUN answered quickly, going on a 7-4 run of its own and cutting the lead to four at 44-40 with 1:10 remaining in the third quarter. After two made free throws by the Anteaters, White continued her great night with an and-one layup as the quarter came to a close. She would make the free throw to push her total to 20 points as the Matadors entered the game's final 10 minutes down by three at 46-43.

CSUN began the fourth quarter on an 8-4 run, sparked by a three pointer from Rita Nazario in the corner and a Lizama and-one free throw to take the lead at 51-50 with 6:02 remaining in the game. UCI then made two free throws and a jumpshot, but a Mariona Cos-Morales three-pointer evened the scoring at 54 apiece with 3:06 remaining.

The rest of the game was neck-and-neck. UCI would score three points, and then White swished a three-pointer to make it tied at 57-57 with 2:15 remaining. It would remain that way until the very end, with both teams coming up with huge defensive stops.

With the game tied at 57-57, UCI made a shot from the corner to give the Anteaters a three-point lead with six seconds left. Nazario missed a shot from nearly half-court to tie the game as the buzzer sounded. CSUN fell in a nailbiter.

NOTES OF THE GAME

Gbemuotor now has five double-doubles out of her last six games.
White has scored in double figures in 14 games so far this season.
CSUN held UCI to under 28% shooting in three out of the four quarters.
Gbemuotor set a career high in blocks with four.
CSUN had nine steals in the game.
CSUN went 9-11 from the free throw line.

UP NEXT
CSUN returns home to face UC Riverside, Saturday afternoon at Premier America Credit Union Arena. Jill Painter-Lopez will be on the call, as the game will be streamed live on ESPN+.