THIS WEEK
Big West Conference Games
Cal State Northridge vs UC Irvine · Thursday, Feb. 7 · 7:00 p.m. PT · Bren Events Center
Radio Live Stats Video
Hawaii at UC Irvine · Saturday, Feb. 9 · 4:00 p.m. · Bren Events Center
Radio Live Stats Video
UCI will host Cal State Northridge Thursday (Feb. 7) at 7:00 p.m. then entertain Hawaii Saturday (Jan. 9) at 4:00 p.m. Both games will be played at the Bren Events Center.
Saturday's game is "Think Pink" in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness as well as National Girls and Women in Sports Day which celebrates past and present achievements of women in sports with a clinic led by UCI coaches and student-athletes prior to the game. The game also welcomes back all women's basketball alumnae.
The Anteaters will play six of the final nine games at home, including six of the next seven.
The Matadors hold a 21-20 series advantage over the Anteaters after a 59-48 win in Northridge earlier this year.
UCI guards Kelly Meggs, Jennifer Tsurumoto and Vanessa Aguilar led the Anteaters with nine points in that game. Camille Buckley had a game-high 12 rebounds off the bench. The duo of Ashley Guay (24) and Marta Masoni (20) led the Matadors, scoring most of their points from long range. The pair combined to hit 10-20 from beyond the arc. Violet Alama had a team-best seven rebounds.
UCI out-rebounded Northridge, 45-28, but it was the Matadors who converted on opportunities scoring 24 points on 28 Anteater turnovers.
Northridge is 11-10 overall and 5-4 in conference play. The Matadors have dropped two straight and five of the last six games.
Northridge head coach Jason Flowers played for the UC Irvine men's basketball team for two seasons (1998, 1999) before transferring to UCLA.
Hawaii returned to the Big West Conference in 2012-13 after being a women's member from 1984-96.
Hawaii holds a 22-7 series record advantage over the Anteaters.
The Rainbow Wahine have won the last six contests versus the Anteaters, including taking the first meeting of the year, 56-46 in Honolulu, HI.
UCI forward Jasmine Bernard led the Anteaters with 16 points in 21 minutes of action. Tsurumoto topped the squad in rebounding with a career-high nine rebounds to go with eight points. UCI's leading scorer and rebounder Camille Buckley did not play in the first contest. Hawaii was led by Ashleigh Karaitiana with 16 points. Kamilah Martin recorded eight points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Hawaii had at least one point from 11 different players.
Hawaii is 10-10 overall and tied for second in the Big West with a 6-3 mark.
UCI is 5-16 overall and 1-8 in the Big West.
After falling to Pacific (68-47), UCI picked up its first Big West win with a 70-57 victory over UC Davis on Saturday.
Camille Buckley pulled down a career-high 22 rebounds versus UC Davis. The 22 boards was one shy of the UCI school record set in 1994 and is the most by an Anteater player since Ashley Biggins had 21 in 2005.
Her 22 rebounds is tied for the most in the Big West this year and is currently tied for sixth nationally.
She also recorded 15 points in the win for her eighth double-double of the year which ranks second most in the conference. Buckley began the week leading UCI against Pacific with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Guard Jennifer Tsurumoto led the team in scoring versus the Aggies with a career-high 19 points. She went 8-8 from the free throw line, including 4-4 in the last 2:38 of the game.
The win is only the fourth all-time against the Aggies (4-19).
Camille Buckley leads the team with an 11.0 point and 9.0 rebound average. She ranks third in the Big West in rebounding and 15th in scoring.
Buckley is averaging 11.5 points and 11.3 rebounds against Big West opponents, which ranks 10th and second, respectively.
UCI ranks 27th nationally in fouls per game, committing just 13.6 per outing.
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