Pepperdine (3-2) at
UC Irvine (2-5)
Date: Thursday, Nov. 30
Time: 7 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
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UC Irvine Game Notes  |  Pepperdine Game Notes

The UC Irvine women's basketball team will play one game this week as it welcomes Pepperdine to the Bren Events Center for a 7 p.m. showdown on Thursday, Nov. 30.

TOY DRIVE
Fans are encouraged to bring new, unwrapped toys for the UC Irvine Police Department's annual toy drive at Thursday's women's basketball game. All toys collected will be donated to children receiving care at UC Irvine Health and other Orange County organizations.
 
TIP-INS
• Eight of UC Irvine's 13 active players have at least one double-figure scoring game.
• Through the first seven contests, the 'Eaters have also had six different scoring leaders.
• UCI has held the advantage in bench points five times, while the non-starters have combined for 30+ points on four occasions.
• Sophomore Yazzy Sa'Dullah had the Anteaters' first 20-point effort of the season against Big 10 member Illinois.
• The 'Eaters defeated Utah State, 87-84, on a buzzer-beating half-court shot from Deijah Blanks in the season opener.
• It was UC Irvine's first season-opening win since 2013-14, when they went 17-15 and advanced to the Big West semifinals.
• The Anteaters have a new look this year with 10 newcomers (five true freshmen and five returning 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).
 
WITH A WIN...
• The 'Eaters would move to 3-1 at the Bren, which would be their best start at home since 2013-14 when they were 4-0.
• UC Irvine would snap a two-game losing streak to Pepperdine, and earn their first win vs. the Waves since Dec. 1, 2010.
 
FOLLOW THE 'EATERS
Thursday's game can be streamed online at BigWest.tv. Audio will also be available on KUCI 88.9 FM and KUCI.org with Brandon Marcus on the call.

SCOUTING THE WAVES
Pepperdine (3-2) will be coming off an eight-day layoff as it was last in action on Tuesday, Nov. 21, when it defeated Idaho State, 80-74. Junior Yasmine Robinson-Bacote has been the Waves' go-to player with the 5-11 forward averaging 23.8 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Senior Peyton Langston has also registered 11.8 points per outing. Pepperdine has already played two Big West schools in non-conference action, defeating Long Beach State and falling to UC Davis.
 
SERIES RECORD VS. PEPP
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with Pepperdine, 21-13. The two teams haven't faced each other in a few years with the most recent meeting coming on Nov. 19, 2014, when the Waves topped the Anteaters, 76-53, in Irvine. Pepperdine has won two in a row and nine of the last 10 in the series.
 
BALANCED 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 six of their seven contests. In addition, nine 'Eaters are averaging over 10 minutes per outing, with Tahlia Garza logging a team-high 29.3 mpg.
 
YOUNG GUNS
UC Irvine's starting lineup, which has stayed the same over the first seven games, features two true freshmen, two redshirt sophomores and one junior. Overall, the Anteaters have nine underclassmen, and only two seniors, both of who are in their second year at UCI.
 
NEW LOOK
Ten players are donning the Blue & Gold for the first time this season as second-year head coach Tamara Inoue and her staff have brought in five true freshmen and five Division I transfers who redshirted the 2016-17 campaign due to NCAA rules. UC Irvine returns only four letterwinners and two starters.
 
OFF THE BENCH
UCI's bench has netted 30 or more points in four of its seven contests, and has outscored its opponents by an average of 6.6 ppg. Haleigh Talbert has been the top scorer among non-starters with 6.9 points per outing.
 
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, who has knocked down 11. 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 seventh all-time with 112 career 3-pointers.
 
THE BOARD GAME
The Anteaters, who led their opponents in rebounding only six times last year, have already won the battle on the boards twice in 2017-18. They opened the campaign with a dominant performance against Utah State, outrebounding the Aggies, 45-35, and holding a lopsided 19-7 advantage on the offensive glass. UCI also finished with a 43-41 edge vs. Big 10 member Illinois. In addition, the 'Eaters pulled down a season-high 21 offensive rebounds against a very physical Wichita State team.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine went 0-3 against a tough field at the UNM Thanksgiving Tournament at Dreamstyle Arena (The Pit) last weekend. The 'Eaters were matched up against Big 10 member Illinois in their first game on Friday, and despite a season-high 20 points from Yazzy Sa'Dullah, they fell 65-59 to the Fighting Illini.
 
On Saturday, the Anteaters dropped an 83-61 decision to host and undefeated New Mexico (7-0) in front of 4,425 hometown fans. Andee Ritter paced UCI with 14 points and five rebounds, while Lauren Saiki finished with 13 points and a season-best eight assists. Jordan Sanders added six points, three rebounds, three blocks and three steals.
 
In its third game in as many days, UC Irvine was unable to keep up with a hot-shooting Wichita State team as it suffered a 76-53 setback on Sunday. Ritter led the way for the second-straight outing with a team-high 10 points to go along with four rebounds. Brooke Bayman and Autumn Baumgartner chipped in nine points each, while Tahlia Garza pulled down six rebounds.
 
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.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
After playing three of its first four games in the friendly confines of the Bren Events Center, UC Irvine will hit the road for seven of its final 10 non-conference contests (including neutral-site). In December, the 'Eaters have only two home games, hosting Portland State (Dec. 16) and Chapman (Dec. 19). They will also travel to Southern Utah, San Diego State, Seattle and Bakersfield.
 
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 has two road games next week, starting with an 11 a.m. (PST) tussle at Southern Utah on Tuesday, Dec. 5. The Anteaters then make their way to San Diego State on Friday, Dec. 8, for another mid-day showdown at 12 p.m.