Women's Basketball Unveils 2014-15 Schedule
September 17, 2014 | Women's Basketball
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UC Irvine will play 15 games at the Bren Center while playing games in six different states as the 2014-15 schedule is unveiled.
The Anteaters face 11 teams that advanced to post-season play last season and head coach Doug Oliver feels the early season competition will give the young Anteaters a good test before Big West Conference play begins.
"The non-conference schedule will tell us who we are," Oliver said. "We play several good teams that return many starters. The tournaments will give us a chance to play some opponents we wouldn't normal see."
Once again, UCI will play a majority of its non-conference schedule on the road, playing 10 of its 15 non-league games away from Irvine.
Following home exhibitions against Cal Lutheran (Nov. 4) and Chapman (Nov. 8), UCI will open the season on the road at Northern Arizona (Nov. 14) and Grand Canyon (Nov. 16).
The Anteaters host Pepperdine in the home opener Nov. 19 then San Jose State on Nov. 22.
UCI visits South Dakota for the first time in school history for a showdown with the Coyotes on Nov. 24. For the second consecutive year, UCI will participate in the LMU Tournament Nov. 28-29. UCI will start the tournament against Bowling Green Friday then will meet either UAB or host Lions on Saturday.
A home and home series with CS Bakersfield begins in Bakersfield on Dec. 3 then heads to the Bren Center on Dec. 16. In between, UCI hosts San Diego on Dec. 14.
The Anteaters end the year with four games on the road. The team will participate in the round-robin Purdue World Vision Classic, playing Purdue (Dec. 19), Wright State (Dec. 20) and Denver (Dec.21) then travels to Texas Christian on Dec. 30. UCI rounds out the non-conference schedule hosting Concordia on Jan. 4.
"The environment at the Purdue Tournament will be fun and exciting and playing TCU, a Big 12 team, will test us," Oliver continued.
UC Irvine will open the Big West slate traveling to Long Beach State (Jan. 8) and UC Riverside (Jan. 10). The Anteaters will return home for three games, taking on Cal State Fullerton (Jan. 15), Cal State Northridge (Jan. 22) and Hawaii (Jan. 24). The Anteaters will then travel up the coast to face UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 29) and Cal Poly (Jan. 31).
UCI starts the second round of Big West play with a double-header. The women will battle Black & Blue rival Long Beach State at 4:00 p.m. and the men's team will entertain UC Davis at 7:00 p.m.
After traveling to UC Davis (Feb. 7), the Anteaters will have a Valentine's Day date with UC Riverside (Feb. 14) at the Bren Center and then travel to Hawaii (Feb. 19) and Cal State Northridge (Feb. 21).
UCI will finishes the regular season, playing three of the last four at home, hosting UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 26), Cal Poly (Feb. 28) and UC Davis (Mar. 7). The final road trip of the year is a quick trip to Cal State Fullerton on Mar. 5.
The Big West Tournament begins at Cal State Fullerton on Mar. 10-11 before ending at the Honda Center on Mar. 13-14.
"I like our basketball talent and athleticism, Oliver added. "Until we play and are able to mesh together, we won't know how good we can be."
UCI returns six players from the 2013-14 squad led by seniors Methlyn Onogomuho and Madison McKenney.
Onogomuho, a forward, was third on the team in scoring with a 7.7 average and was second on the team with a 6.7 rebound mark, while McKenney played in 32 games and averaged 4.5 points per game. The guard went 31-82 (.378) from three-point distance.
Junior Mokun Fajemisin and sophomore Brittany Glassow return after being lost last season with leg injuries. Fajemisin played in seven games and averaged 4.9 points and 4.0 rebounds, while Glassow saw action in four games, contributing four rebounds and one point before being sidelined.
Joining the team this season is transfer Shereen Sutherland, a 6-0 forward from the University of Arizona plus freshmen Paulina Santana, a 5-9 forward from Bishop Amat High School and Tierra Hicks, a 5-10 guard from Centennial High School in Las Vegas.
The Anteaters were 17-15 overall last year, recording the most wins since the 1994-95 team went 19-11 overall. They went 9-7 in the Big West, finishing in a tie for fourth place. UC Irvine advanced to the Big West Tournament semifinals, falling to eventual champion Cal State Northridge.
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2014-15 TICKET INFORMATION
Season tickets, single game and group tickets are on sale now! To view the home schedule and purchase tickets online, click here. The ticket office can be contacted by emailing athletics.tickets@uci.edu or calling 949-824-5000.
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