UC Irvine (2-2) vs.
Illinois (3-2)
Date: Friday, Nov. 24
Time: 3:30 p.m. (PST)
Location: Dreamstyle Arena (15,411) - Albuquerque, N.M.
Live Stats // Audio (via Illinois)

UC Irvine (2-2) at
New Mexico (4-0)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 25
Time: 1:30 p.m. (PST)
Location: Dreamstyle Arena (15,411) - Albuquerque, N.M.
Video // Live Stats

UC Irvine (2-2) vs.
Wichita State (0-4)
Date: Sunday, Nov. 26
Time: 11:00 a.m. (PST)
Location: Dreamstyle Arena (15,411) - Albuquerque, N.M.
Live Stats // Audio (via Wichita State)

UC Irvine Game Notes

The UC Irvine women's basketball team is on the road this weekend as it heads to Albuquerque, N.M., for the UNM Thanksgiving Tournament, Nov. 24-26. The 'Eaters are set to play three games in three days, starting with a 3:30 p.m. (PST) match-up against Big Ten member Illinois on Friday. They will then square off against host New Mexico Saturday at 1:30 p.m. (PST), and Wichita State Sunday at 11 a.m. (PST).
 
TIP-INS
• Eight of UCI's 13 active players have at least one double-figure scoring game.
• The 'Eaters have also had a different player lead the team in scoring in each of the first four contests.
• UC Irvine defeated Utah State, 87-84, on a buzzer-beating half-court shot from Deijah Blanks in the season opener.
• It was the Anteaters' first season-opening win since 2013-14, when they went 17-15 and advanced to the Big West semifinals.
• UC Irvine has 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).

SCOUTING THE ILLINI
Illinois (3-2) saw a modest two-game win streak come to an end with a 77-67 setback to Western Illinois on Tuesday, Nov. 21. Junior Alex Wittinger leads the Fighting Illini as she is averaging a double-double at 14.8 points and 10.2 rebounds per outing. Sophomore Brandi Beasley has also been one of the team's top scoring threats with 11.6 points per contest. First-year head coach Nancy Fahey has nine returning letterwinners, including all five starters.
 
SERIES RECORD VS. ILLINOIS
This will be the first meeting between the Anteaters and Fighting Illini.
 
A GLANCE AT NEW MEXICO
New Mexico improved to 4-0 on the young season with an 86-75 victory over New Mexico State last weekend. Senior Cherise Beynon leads five Lobos in double figures with 18.8 points per game. Junior Jaisa Nunn is also averaging 17.8 points and a team-best 9.5 rebounds per contest. UNM, which was picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West Conference, has put up 92.2 ppg and is shooting 43.1 percent from the field. Mike Bradbury is in his second year as the Lobos' head coach.
 
SERIES RECORD VS. UNM
Saturday will mark UC Irvine's second meeting with UNM in its 44-year history. The Lobos came away with a 71-59 victory the first time the teams squared off in Albuquerque on Nov. 15, 2010.
 
MORE ABOUT WICHITA STATE
Wichita State (0-4) is still searching for its first win of the year after falling at Tennessee, 68-56, on Monday, Nov. 20. Senior Rangie Bessard leads the team with 15.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, while classmate Angiee Tompkins has contributed 10.8 points per outing. Head coach Keitha Adams is in her first year at the helm of the WSU program.
 
SERIES RECORD VS. WSU
This is the first meeting between UCI and Wichita State.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine led by as many as 11 in the third quarter, but was unable to hold off a late Idaho State rally as the 'Eaters ended up falling, 78-72, Sunday afternoon at the Bren Events Center. Freshman Haleigh Talbert led UCI with a season-high 14 points on a 5-for-10 shooting performance. Sophomore Lauren Saiki was also in double figures with 13 points, while freshman Tahlia Garza had seven points and a season-best 10 rebounds. Idaho State, which improved to 4-0, was paced by Saylair Grandon's game-high 19 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.
 
It was UC Irvine's first season-opening victory since the 2013-14 campaign when it topped South Dakota at home, 68-64. That was also the last year UCI had a winning record at 17-15. In addition, the 87 points were the most by an 'Eater squad in a season opener since 1979-80 when they dropped 107 against UC Santa Cruz.
 
TEAM EFFORT
Eight of the Anteaters' 13 active players have at least one double-figure scoring game. They have also had a different scoring leader in each of their first four contests. In addition, nine 'Eaters are averaging over 10 minutes per outing, with only Tahlia Garza logging more than 30 (31.5 mpg).
 
OFF THE BENCH
UCI's bench has netted 30 or more points in three of its four contests, and has outscored its opponents by an average of 8.5 ppg. Haleigh Talbert has been the top scorer among non-starters with 8.0 ppg.
 
THREE'S COMPANY
UC Irvine is averaging nearly seven 3-pointers per game, and made a season-high 10 in a win over Portland. Seven 'Eaters have at least two threes, and are led by junior Andee Ritter's six. Last year, Ritter broke a 28-year old single-season school record with 87 triples. 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 treys at UC Riverside on Jan. 7, 2017, and currently ranks ninth all-time with 107 career 3-pointers.

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.
 
NEW LOOK 'EATERS
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.
 
MITTY CONNECTION
Freshmen Tahlia Garza and Dani Guglielmo were teammates for four years at Archbishop Mitty High School. Assistant coach Cecilia Russell-Nava is also a Monarch alum, playing at Mitty from 1999-2003.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine will be back in the Bren Events Center next Thursday, Nov. 30, when it hosts Pepperdine at 7 p.m.