Saint Louis (0-0) at
UC Irvine (0-0)
Date: Friday, Nov. 11
Time: 2 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Watch | Listen on KUCI | Live Stats | Twitter
UC Irvine (0-0) at
Gonzaga (0-0)
Date: Sunday, Nov. 13
Time: 2 p.m. (PST)
Location: McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) - Spokane, Wash.
Watch | Live Stats | Twitter
UC Irvine Game Notes
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UC Irvine women's basketball officially opens the 2016-17 campaign on Veteran's Day as it welcomes Saint Louis to the Bren Events Center for both teams' season opener this Friday (Nov. 11). Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. The Anteaters will then have a quick turnaround, traveling to Spokane, Wash., for a 2 p.m. showdown with Gonzaga on Sunday, Nov. 13.
TIP-INS
• Head coach Tamara Inoue begins her first season at the helm of the UC Irvine women's basketball program.
• To preview Coach Inoue's first year, UCI is offering complimentary admission to all regular-season home games.
• Inoue inherits eight letterwinners, including five seniors, while bringing in four newcomers for 2016-17.
• Seniors
Mckenzie Piper,
Shereen Sutherland and
Irene Chavez are the Anteaters' top-three returning scorers.
• Sophomore
Andee Ritter is also back after earning 2016 Big West All-Freshman Team honors.
• This marks the second year in a row the 'Eaters will open the campaign at home.
• Their last season-opening win came against South Dakota in 2013-14.
FOLLOWING THE 'EATERS: Fans can listen to every UC Irvine women's basketball home game on KUCI 88.9 FM or KUCI.org. Darren Preston is the Anteaters' play-by-play announcer. All home games will also be streamed live on BigWest.tv.
CHALK TALK: Chalk Talk with the coaches will make its debut 30 minutes prior to Friday's home opener in the Stewart Room of the Bren Events Center. In the first Chalk Talk of the season, Coach Cece will discuss the 'Eaters 2:00 p.m. season opener against Saint Louis.
AT FIRST GLANCE: UCI returns eight letterwinners and three starters from last year. Seniors Mckenzie Piper (7.5 ppg), Shereen Sutherland (7.4 ppg, 4.9 rpg), Irene Chavez (7.3 ppg), Brittany Glassow (2.1 ppg) and Chloe Kellum (2.2 ppg) will lead an experienced group in 2016-17 as the 'Eaters also welcome back junior Teirra Hicks (3.3 ppg), sophomore Andee Ritter (6.0 ppg) and sophomore Arianna Knox (1.7 ppg). UC Irvine has four new faces with junior transfers Sydney Hua and Sabrina Engelstad, and true freshmen Mylah Andrada and Brooke Bayman, entering the mix.
In addition, four Anteaters have to sit out the season due to NCAA transfer rules (Autumn Baumgartner - Georgetown, Deijah Blanks - Utah Valley, Yazzy Sa'Dullah - West Virginia, and Lauren Saiki - West Virginia).
SCOUTING THE BILLIKENS: Saint Louis (0-0) was picked to finish first in the 2016-17 Atlantic 10 Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Billikens return 10 letterwinners and three starters from last year's squad that claimed a share of the A-10 regular season title, reached the third round of the WNIT and posted a school-record 26 victories. Junior guard Jackie Kemph and senior center Sadie Stipanovich were both selected to the preseason all-conference team. Kemph is the reigning A-10 co-Player of the Year.
SERIES RECORD: This will mark the first meeting between UC Irvine and Saint Louis.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS: For the fourth-straight season, Gonzaga (0-0) was picked as the West Coast Conference preseason favorite. The 'Zags were also receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches' Poll and came in at No. 5 in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll. GU returns eight letterwinners and three starters from last year's squad that went 19-14 and advanced to the WNIT Second Round. Sophomore forward Jill Barta is the Bulldogs' top returnee as she garnered 2016 first-team All-WCC honors after averaging 14.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Senior guard Elle Tinkle also registered 10.5 points per outing, while junior guard Emma Stach made a team-best 45 3-pointers.
SERIES RECORD: UC Irvine and Gonzaga are tied in the all-time series, 1-1, but the two teams haven't faced each other in seven years. The Anteaters won the first meeting at home back in 1983 (84-65), before the Bulldogs ran away with a 96-57 victory in Spokane, Wash., on Dec. 27, 2009.
UCI PICKED EIGHTH IN PRESEASON POLLS: UC Irvine was picked to finish eighth in both the Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll and Media Poll the conference office announced in late October. In the coaches' poll, the Anteaters collected 17 points to finish ahead of Cal State Fullerton (10). Long Beach State was tabbed the preseason favorite as it received five first-place votes and 73 total points. UC Davis was second with 61 points, and was followed by UC Riverside (56), UC Santa Barbara (52), Hawai'i (48) and CSUN (46), all of which nabbed one first-place nod. Cal Poly wasn't far behind the Matadors with 42 points.
NEW ERA BEGINS: After two-straight losing seasons, the Anteaters are ready to begin a new era under first-year head coach Tamara Inoue. Inoue is no stranger to success as she spent the last five years on the coaching staff at New Mexico State where she helped the Aggies make back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. Over her last two seasons as an associate head coach, NM State went 48-13 and won a pair of Western Athletic Conference championships. Inoue also brings in first-year assistants Cecilia Russell-Nava, Krystle Evans and Ebony Haliburton, along with director of operations Amanda Delgado, to round out the 2016-17 'Eater staff.
FREQUENT FLYERS: UC Irvine opens the 2016-17 campaign at home, but then embarks on a season-long seven-game road trip. During that stretch, the Anteaters will visit five different states with Gonzaga (Nov. 13), Utah State (Nov. 17), Idaho State (Nov. 19), Nevada (Dec. 1) and Portland State (Dec. 3) on the schedule. UCI also makes its fourth consecutive appearance in the LMU Thanksgiving Classic where it will square off against host Loyola Marymount (Nov. 25) and Fresno State (Nov. 26).
DEFEND THE BREN: The 'Eaters, who close out their non-conference slate with six-straight home games, will play 15 contests in the friendly confines of the Bren Events Center. In addition to Saint Louis, UCI hosts Sacramento State (Dec. 10), UNLV (Dec. 12), Bakersfield (Dec. 17), Southern Utah (Dec. 19), Pac-12 member USC (Dec. 21) and Concordia (Dec. 29).
COME ONE, COME ALL: To preview head coach Tamara Inoue's first season, the UC Irvine Athletics Department is pleased to offer complimentary admission to all women's basketball games for the 2016-17 regular season. For information about group experiences, please contact Nick Bristol at nbristol@uci.edu.
UP NEXT: The Anteaters continue their seven-game road swing next weekend when they head to Utah State (Nov. 17) and Idaho State (Nov. 19).
