THIS WEEK
Big West Conference Games
UC Riverside at UC Irvine · Thursday, Mar. 3 · 5:30 p.m. · Bren Events Center
Audio Live Stats Video
UC Davis at UC Irvine · Saturday, Mar. 5 · 2:00 p.m. · Bren Events Center
Audio Live Stats Video
QUICK HITS
UCI will host UC Riverside Thursday (Mar. 3) at 5:30 p.m. and UC Davis Saturday (Mar. 5) at 2:00 p.m. to close out the regular season. Both games are at the Bren Events Center.
Thursday's game is the first part of a double-header with the men's team playing Cal Poly at 8:30 p.m.
Saturday's game will include a recognition for Raelyn Cheung-Sutton and Mokun Fajemisin who will be playing in their final regular season game. Cheung-Sutton will graduate with a degree in public health policy, while Fajemisin, will forgo her final season of eligibility, and graduate with a degree in biological sciences.
Entering the final week of the regular season, UCI remains tied with Cal State Fullerton for the final spot in the Big West Tournament with a 1-13 record. If the teams remain tied at the end of Saturday's games with one win, the eighth seed will be determined by a coin flip. The Titans will entertain CSUN Thursday and travel to UC Riverside on Saturday.
UC Riverside has clinched the No. 1 seed in the Big West Tournament with a 14-0 league record. The Highlanders are 21-7 overall. The last time a Big West team went undefeated in league play was UC Santa Barbara in 2001-02 with a 16-0 mark.
UCI trails UC Riverside 33-17 in the series records.
The two teams opened the conference schedule on Jan. 7 with the Highlanders beating UCI 93-69 in Riverside.
UCI led by Mckenzie Piper's career-high 17 points, going 8-13 from the floor in 26 minutes. Mokun Fajemisin had 12 points, while Raelyn Cheung-Sutton and Shereen Sutherland added nine points each.
The Highlanders shot 51.4 percent from the floor (37-72), 90% from the line (9-10) and 47.6% (10-21) from three-point distance, while UCI shot 40.9 from the field (27-66), 50% from the line (11-22) and 28.6% from three (4-14). UCI out-rebounded UCR 40-39.
Brittany Crain drained 4-8 from long-range and had a game-high 28 points. Annelise Ito, who is now out for the season with a leg injury, recorded a double-double with 18 points and game-high 13 rebounds. Clemence Lefebvre went 7-14 for 17 points and Simone DeCoud had 12 points. The Big West leading scorer Rejane Verin was held to 10 points, all scored in the second half.
Crain leads the conference and is 12th in the country in scoring at 21.7 per game, while Verin is the league leader in double-doubles with 11.
For the third consecutive year, UCI ends the regular season with UC Davis.
The Aggies hold a 22-8 series lead over the Anteaters and beat UCI 74-61 in the first meeting of the year.
In just her second collegiate game, Andee Ritter led UCI with 18 points, going 6-11 from the floor, including three three-pointers in 26 minutes off the bench. Fajemisin totaled 15 points, a team-high eight rebounds and two blocks, while Piper had 10 points.
Four UC Davis players scored in double-figures led by Morgan Bertsch with 20 points and seven rebounds. Pele Gianotti had 14 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Alyson Doherty tallied 13 points and Celia Marfone added 11 points.
UCI enters the week 4-24 overall and looking to snap a eight-game losing streak.
Raelyn Cheung-Sutton and Mokun Fajemisin will be ending their Anteater careers in the UCI record book.
Cheung-Sutton enters the week fifth all-time in assists (303). Her 160 assists this season ranks third, one shy of second and 29 shy of Lisa Faulkner's mark of 189 set in 2002-03.
Fajemisin is fifth in career blocks with 125. She holds the fifth spot on the single season blocks list with 54 in 2014-15 and is currently seventh with 50 this season.
Fajemisin leads the squad with an 8.9 scoring mark followed by Cheung-Sutton at 8.0 points oer game. Fajemisin also leads the team in rebounding (7.5).
Cheung-Sutton leads the Big West in assists average (5.3) and Fajemisin tops the Big West in blocks per game at 2.1.
