Utah State (0-0) at
UC Irvine (0-0)
Date: Friday, Nov. 10
Time: 7 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
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UC Irvine Game Notes

For the third year in a row, the UC Irvine women's basketball team will open the season at home as it kicks off the 2017-18 campaign by welcoming Utah State to the Bren Events Center for a 7 p.m. showdown on Friday, Nov. 10.
 
TIP-INS
• The 'Eaters have a new look this year with 10 newcomers (five true freshmen and five redshirts).
• All five of the Anteaters' returning redshirts are NCAA Division I transfers.
• 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.
• She also tied a single-game school record with seven triples at UC Riverside, and ranks ninth with 101 career treys.
• Bayman tied for 10th among UC Irvine's single-season leaders with 125 assists as a true freshman.
 
SCOUTING UTAH STATE
Utah State returns seven letterwinners, and all five starters, from last year's team that went 17-15 overall. The Aggies welcome back their three leading scorers in junior Rachel Brewster (13.4 ppg), and sophomores Shannon Dufficy (8.2 ppg) and Eliza West (7.6 ppg). West was named the 2017 Mountain West Freshman of the Year, while Brewster earned All-MWC honorable mention recognition.
 
SERIES RECORD VS. USU
UC Irvine leads in its all-time series with Utah State, 7-4. The two teams met last year with the Aggies pulling out a 66-52 victory in Logan, Utah. Sabrina Engelstad paced the Anteaters with 13 points on a 5-for-11 shooting performance, while Andee Ritter made four 3-pointers to finish with 12 points. Rachel Brewster had a game-high 16 points for USU. 
 
BIG WEST PREDICTIONS
UCI was picked to finish eighth in the Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll. The 'Eaters collected 24 points to place ahead of Cal State Fullerton (9). UC Davis was selected to repeat as the league's regular-season champion as it received six first-place votes and 77 total points. CSUN, which earned two first-place nods, was second with 69 points, and was followed by UC Santa Barbara (63), Hawai'i (49), UC Riverside (46), Cal Poly (44) and defending Big West Tournament champion Long Beach State (25).
 
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, and currently ranks ninth all-time with 101 career triples.
 
STEALING THE SHOW
In addition to being UCI's top perimeter shooter, Ritter anchored the defensive effort with a Big West-leading 63 steals. That mark ranked sixth in single-season program history. Ritter had 15 games with multiple steals, including a career-high eight takeaways at Nevada. She was just one shy of the single-game school record of nine, which was established by Erin Higashi on March 4, 1983.
 
DISHING IT OUT
Sophomore Brooke Bayman was tops on the squad with 125 assists as a true freshman. That put her at No. 10 in the Anteaters' single-season record book, while her 4.3 assist average ranked third in the Big West.
 
FAMILY TRADITION
Senior Sabrina Engelstad is the daughter of former UC Irvine great Wayne Engelstad (1984-88), who still ranks fifth in program history with 1,530 career points and seventh with 698 career rebounds. Wayne was also a 1988 Associated Press honorable mention All-American.
 
NEW LOOK
Ten players will be suiting up in an 'Eater 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 in Ritter, Bayman, Engelstad and senior Sydney Hua.
 
LET'S GET IT STARTED
UCI will be looking for its first season-opening win since the 2013-14 campaign when it topped South Dakota at home, 68-64. That was also the last year the 'Eaters had a winning record at 17-15. 
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine will hit the road next week, traveling to UNLV for a 12 p.m. showdown on Tuesday, Nov. 14. The Anteaters then return to the Bren to host Portland (Nov. 17) and Idaho State (Nov. 19).