IRVINE, Calif. - The 2017-18 UC Irvine women's basketball team will feature 10 newcomers with five true freshmen and five redshirts suiting up in an Anteater uniform for the first time. Fans can get to know each of these student-athletes through our Meet the Newcomers series, starting with Lauren Saiki. Lauren is gearing up for her sophomore season as she is one of UCI's five NCAA Division I transfers who sat out last year.




#3 LAUREN SAIKI
Year: Redshirt Sophomore
Position: Guard
Height: 5-3
Hometown (Previous School): Monterey Park, Calif. (West Virginia/Mark Keppel HS)
Major: International Studies


1. Breaking the Mold
Lauren, who followed in her father's and older brother's footsteps with Taekwondo, didn't have any family ties to basketball, but when she was five years old, her parents put her on the Tigers Youth Club team in a local Asian league. She did both sports until eighth grade when she started focusing on basketball year-round.

"I started Taekwondo when I was about seven and I feel like that helped me early on with my footwork and being aggressive," Saiki said. "When I got to eighth grade, basketball became too much so I had to stop. I think my dad would have liked me to continue Taekwondo though; that was his thing."

Lauren played for SGV, an AAU team, before joining Cal Storm Team Taurasi in high school. Basketball was always fun for her but it wasn't until her sophomore year that she knew she could pursue the sport at the next level.

"I liked basketball from the beginning - it had always been fun and I just loved it, but I didn't really know I could do something with it until I started playing with Cal Storm," Saiki said. "I realized I could actually play in college."

 
2. The Road Home
Lauren committed to West Virginia out of Mark Keppel High School and spent her first year of college at the Big 12 school. She only played in six games as a true freshman for the Mountaineers, but showed glimpses of her abilities on the court with a season-best four assists in eight minutes of a 68-50 win over Grand Canyon. Although she became close with her teammates, Lauren grew homesick and was ready to move back to California after the school year ended. She knew what she was looking for in the next phase of her career and found that at UC Irvine.

"When I was looking to transfer, I wanted a great academic school and a good fit for me," Saiki said. "I really like the (UCI) coaching staff and I grew up about an hour away from Irvine so it's nice to be home. I'm happy where I'm at now."

It didn't hurt that one of her West Virginia teammates, Yazzy Sa'Dullah (Burbank, Calif.), was making the move back west to UCI as well. The two bonded at WVU with both being nearly 2,500 miles away from home, and Yazzy's decision definitely had an impact on Lauren.

"Yazzy helped me make my decision because she also really liked it here and it made me feel comfortable," Saiki added. "We had a pretty big freshman class at West Virginia but I hung out with my roommates and we hung out with Yazzy and her roommate too, so we became close. Your freshman year in college is when you really bond with those people because you go through the struggles together."

 
3. Back on the Court
Not being able to suit up with your teammates and play the sport you love for a year would be tough on anyone. It was no different for Lauren, but she also wasn't alone this past season as she was one of five Anteaters who had to sit out due to NCAA transfer rules.

"Sitting out is not fun but I had four other girls to do it with," Saiki said. "It was like we had our own little team and we had fun getting our team better for the games last year. Now we're excited for this season."

After a year of getting acclimated to her new surroundings, and bonding with her teammates and coaches, Lauren is ready to make an impact on the court. She wants to help the Anteaters get back to a winning record for the first time in four years, while she also has her sights set on a postseason run.

"Honestly, I just can't wait to play," Saiki said. "I want to see how we can make a run with this new and young team - with the five new freshmen and the five transfers. I also want to get Coach T back to .500. It will be tough but I think we can do it. Last year's record doesn't reflect the type of coach she is, the coaching staff we have and how hard they work. Winning is the most important thing but I also want to have fun, play hard and just get better every day."

 
MORE ABOUT LAUREN…
Favorite UCI athlete to watch
We watched the men's basketball team a lot last year. I liked watching Jaron (Martin) because he's small and because of his story. I didn't find out until after the season that he walked on earlier in his career and I thought that was pretty awesome.
 
Favorite movies
Pursuit of Happyness and Love & Basketball
 
Hobbies off the court
I like to hang out with my teammates, go to the beach, watch Netflix and go shopping.
 
Describe your team in one word.
Dedicated. More than half of our team stayed for the first summer session without needing to - we were able to get some classes out of the way and work out together. It means a lot and it's important for our team.
 
Why did you choose #3?
When I was little my dad picked that number for me because his birthday is on March 3rd.