Portland (3-0, 0-0 WCC) at
UC Irvine (1-1, 0-0 Big West)
Date: Friday, Nov. 17
Time: 7 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
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Idaho State (2-0, 0-0 Big Sky) at
UC Irvine (1-1, 0-0 Big West)
Date: Sunday, Nov. 19
Time: 2 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
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UC Irvine Game Notes

The UC Irvine women's basketball team returns to the friendly confines of the Bren Events Center this weekend to host Portland and Idaho State. The Anteaters will square off against the Pilots at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17, before entertaining the Bengals in a 2 p.m. tilt on Sunday, Nov. 19.

The game against Portland is part of UC Irvine's Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week. Fans can help fight hunger by donating non-perishable food items in the East Lobby of the Bren Events Center on Friday. All donations will go to the UCI Fresh Basic Needs Hub food pantry.
 
TIP-INS
• UCI has split a pair of games against two Mountain West opponents that were picked to finish in the top half of the conference.
• UC Irvine defeated Utah State, 87-84, on a buzzer-beating half-court shot from Deijah Blanks in the season opener.
• The game-winning play was featured at No. 1 on last Friday's SportsCenter Top-10.
• It was the Anteaters' first season-opening win since 2013-14, when they went 17-15 and advanced to the Big West semifinals.
• The 'Eaters have a new look this year with 10 newcomers (five true freshmen and five redshirts).
• UCI brings back only four letterwinners, but that group includes two of the team's top three scorers from the 2016-17 season.
• Among the returnees are All-Big West selections Andee Ritter (Honorable Mention) and Brooke Bayman (Freshman Team).
• Ritter made 87 3-pointers last year, obliterating the previous school record of 64, which was set by Kathy Lizarraga in 1988-89.
 
FOLLOW THE 'EATERS
Both of this weekend's games can be streamed online at BigWest.tv. Audio will also be available at KUCI.org with Brandon Marcus on the call.

SCOUTING THE PILOTS
Portland is off to its best start in seven years after improving to 3-0 with a 71-64 overtime win against Utah Valley on Tuesday. Junior Lisa-Marie Kaempf and freshman Maddie Muhlheim have both registered 11.3 points per game to lead the Pilots. Junior Julie Spencer is also averaging 11.0 points and a team-best 7.7 rebounds per outing. UP was picked to finish last in the West Coast Conference Preseason Poll.
 
SERIES RECORD VS. UP
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with Portland, 3-2, but both of the Anteaters' victories came on their home court. The two teams last met in 2011 with the Pilots pulling out a 64-56 win in Portland.
 
A GLANCE AT IDAHO STATE
Idaho State (2-0) defeated Seattle, 74-69, and No. 25 Washington, 79-59, on the road in its season-opening weekend. The Bengals will host The College of Idaho on Thursday, Nov. 16, before making their way to Irvine. Senior Brooke Blair has paced ISU with 23.0 points per game, while sophomore Sai Tapasa is averaging a double-double with 10.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per contest.
 
SERIES RECORD VS. ISU
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with Idaho State, 5-1, as the Bengals have won five in a row. The 'Eaters made their way to Pocatello last year and came up short in a 65-54 loss. Their only victory in the series came in a neutral-site game in Santa Clara on Jan. 3, 1986.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine trailed by only one at the half, but was unable to find its rhythm in the final 20 minutes as it dropped a 73-54 decision to UNLV Tuesday afternoon at Cox Pavilion. The 'Eaters started off the game by making their first four field goal attempts and taking a 10-0 lead, but they would cool off from there, finishing the day at 30 percent overall and 2-of-26 from 3-point range. Sophomore Lauren Saiki registered a team-high 12 points, five rebounds and three assists. She was 4-for-8 from the floor. Sophomore Yazzy Sa'Dullah added 11 points, five boards and two assists, while freshman Haleigh Talbert had six points.

LET'S GET IT STARTED
UC Irvine didn't disappoint in its season opener at the Bren Events Center on Friday, Nov. 10. The Anteaters erased a 13-point deficit in the final minutes, and junior Deijah Blanks capped the rally with a half-court shot that banked in at the buzzer for the 87-84 victory over Utah State.
 
Blanks went 4-for-5 from the field and was one of four 'Eaters to finish in double figures with 13 points. Her game-winning play, which started with a steal from sophomore Yazzy Sa'Dullah, was featured at No. 1 on SportsCenter's Top 10. Freshman Tahlia Garza scored a team-best 16 points (7-12 FG) to go along with eight rebounds, while classmate Jordan Sanders notched 15 points, six boards and three blocks in her collegiate debut. Sa'Dullah added 14 points and a team-high nine rebounds. UCI held a 45-35 advantage on the glass, including a lopsided 19-7 edge in offensive boards. The Anteaters also won the battle in points off turnovers (26-17), second-chance points (14-8) and bench points (33-18).
 
UC Irvine earned its first season-opening victory since the 2013-14 campaign when it topped South Dakota at home, 68-64. That was also the last year the Anteaters had a winning record at 17-15. In addition, UCI's 87 points were the most by an 'Eater squad in a season opener since 1979-80 when they put up 107 against UC Santa Cruz.

TEAM EFFORT
Over the first two games, three 'Eaters are averaging double figures in scoring, while five have at least 8.0 points per contest. In last week's 87-84 win over Utah State, four Anteaters reached double digits for the first time since a 74-71 overtime triumph at Cal Poly on Feb. 18, 2017. Ten of UCI's 13 available players also saw playing time against the Aggies with only Garza logging more than 30 minutes.
 
PATROLLING THE BOARDS
The Anteaters, who led their opponents in rebounding only six times last year, started off the 2017-18 campaign with a dominant performance on the boards. They outrebounded Utah State, 45-35, and held a lopsided advantage on the offensive glass (19-7). Tahlia Garza and Yazzy Sa'Dullah led the effort with eight and nine rebounds, respectively.
 
THREE'S COMPANY
Junior Andee Ritter broke a 28-year old single-season school record with 87 3-pointers made last year. She easily surpassed the previous standard of 64, which was set by Kathy Lizarraga in 1988-89. The Medford, Ore., native also drained a single-game school-record tying seven threes at UC Riverside on Jan. 7, 2017, and currently ranks ninth all-time with 103 career triples. Dating back to the 2016-17 campaign, she has connected from long distance in 12 consecutive contests.

NEW LOOK
Ten players are suiting up in an Anteater uniform for the first time this year. Second-year head coach Tamara Inoue and her staff have brought in five true freshmen and five redshirts who sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. UC Irvine returns only four letterwinners and two starters.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine travels to Albuquerque, N.M., for the UNM Thanksgiving Tournament next week. The 'Eaters will play three games in three days, starting with a 3:30 p.m. (PST) showdown against Big 10 member Illinois on Friday, Nov. 24.