In a showdown between two former Mira Costa teammates, Mikah Maly-Karros scored a season-high 29 points and grabbed eight rebounds to pace UC Irvine over the Megan Richardson-led Fullerton Titans 81-77 in a Big West women’s basketball contest played last Thursday.
Richardson turned in a strong performance against her ex-teammate, recording a team-high 21 points. The former Mustang leads Fullerton in scoring average (14.7 points per game) and assists (70) through 23 games.
The game marked the second time this season the juniors from Manhattan Beach faced each other. Irvine emerged victorious in the first encounter with a 70-65 win in January when Maly-Karros recorded 26 points and 10 rebounds.
The following game, Maly-Karros recorded her third consecutive double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds in a 77-59 win over Long Beach State. During that week, Maly-Karros averaged 25.5 points and 10 rebounds while shooting .576 from the floor, earning the 6-foot-1 forward Big West Women’s Basketball Player of the Week honors.
 Maly-Karros leads Irvine with 19.1 points and 10 rebounds per game and has 28 blocked shots. She is among the national leaders in double-doubles, recording 13 in 21 games. ER
