UC Irvine (6-6) at
Seattle U (6-7)
Date: Friday, Dec. 22
Time: 2 p.m. (PST)
Location: Connolly Complex (999) - Seattle, Wash.
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UC Irvine Game Notes

The UC Irvine women's basketball team will make a quick trip to the Pacific Northwest for its final game before the holiday break. The 'Eaters are set to face Seattle U in a 2 p.m. showdown on Friday, Dec. 22, at the Connolly Complex.
 
TIP-INS
• The 'Eaters are 6-6 overall, surpassing their win total from each of the last two years.
• UC Irvine picked up its fourth victory in its last five games with a 92-57 rout of Chapman on Tuesday.
• Tahlia Garza recorded UCI's first double-double with 16 points and a season-best 12 rebounds against the Panthers.
• Lauren Saiki leads the Anteaters and ranks third in the Big West with 53 assists (4.5/game).
• Yazzy Sa'Dullah owns the team's only 20-point effort of the season as she accomplished the feat vs. Illinois on Nov. 24.
• Deijah Blanks scored the final points in UC Irvine's late comeback wins vs. Utah State, Pepperdine and SDSU.
• In the season opener, Blanks made a buzzer-beating half-court shot for an 87-84 triumph over the Aggies.
• The 'Eaters have held the advantage in bench points in 10 games with the non-starters combining for 25+ points nine times.
• UCI is the only school to rank among the top three in the Big West in turnovers forced (19.0), steals (9.0) and blocks (4.4).
• The Anteaters have a new look this year with 10 newcomers (five true freshmen and five returning redshirts).
 
BALANCED ATTACK
• Eleven of UC Irvine's 13 active players are averaging at least 13 minutes per contest.
• Nine Anteaters have also registered at least 5.0 points per outing.
• The 'Eaters have seen nine different players lead the team in scoring through their first 12 games.
 
WITH A WIN...
• UC Irvine would improve to 5-1 in its last six games and 4-1 in the month of December.
• UCI would be over .500 on the road for the first time since the start of the 2013-14 campaign.
• The 'Eaters would remain undefeated at the Connolly Complex at 3-0, and increase its series lead vs. Seattle to 4-1.
 
LAST TIME OUT
After suffering a tough overtime loss just three days earlier, UC Irvine bounced back in a big way with a 92-57 rout of Chapman Tuesday at the Bren Events Center. The 'Eaters established season highs in points, rebounds (50), field goals made (36), FG percentage (52.9), free throws made (18) and turnovers forced (29). They were also dominant in the paint where they outscored the Panthers, 58-to-8, and held the visitors to a 27.1 field goal percentage.

Freshman Tahlia Garza notched the Anteaters' first double-double of the year with 16 points (6-7 FG) and 12 rebounds. The 6-foot-2 forward added a season-best five blocks. Freshman Jordan Sanders poured in a team-high 18 points to go along with eight boards, while sophomore Lauren Saiki finished with 14 points, four assists and three steals. In addition, freshman Haleigh Talbert had eight points and five assists, and classmate Alexus Seaton tallied a season-best four points, seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Overall, UCI saw 11 of its 12 players make their way into the scoring column.

A GLANCE AT THE REDHAWKS
Seattle U dropped to 6-7 on the year with an 84-76 overtime loss at Washington on Wednesday. Senior Alexis Montgomery leads the Redhawks with 21.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. Her scoring average ranks 16th in the nation. Sophomore Kamira Sanders has also registered 13.1 points, 6.2 boards and a team-best 3.6 assists per outing.
 
SERIES RECORD VS. SU
The 'Eaters lead in their all-time series with the Redhawks, 3-1, and are 2-0 when playing at the Connolly Complex. The two teams' most recent meeting came in Seattle on Dec. 1, 2012, with UCI pulling out a 61-60 overtime win.
 
THE CLOSER
Junior Deijah Blanks has been the Anteaters' go-to player in clutch situations. It started in the season opener when she banked in a half-court shot at the final buzzer to give UCI an 87-84 victory over Utah State. Blanks also made the game-winning free throw with two seconds remaining to secure a 75-74 triumph against Pepperdine. The San Diego native then hit a game-tying jumper in the final 10 seconds before getting to the charity stripe with 0.2 ticks on the clock to seal a 67-65 win at SDSU. Most recently vs. Portland State, Blanks' layup put the 'Eaters on top, 64-62, with 6.4 seconds left in regulation, but the Vikings were able to answer and pull out an 82-72 overtime victory.
 
JORDAN EFFECT
The 'Eaters are 5-0 when freshman Jordan Sanders scores at least 10 points. In the team's six wins, she is averaging 12.3 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.2 blocks, while shooting 46.3 percent from the field.
 
CHART CLIMBER
Junior Andee Ritter has made a team-best 22 3-pointers through 12 games (1.8/gm). She has already moved up four spots on UCI's all-time charts, most recently passing Megan Stafford for fifth with 123 career triples. Ritter is 15 away from cracking the top-three and is ultimately chasing Kathy Lizarraga (1988-92), who owns the school record at 198. Ritter already broke Lizarraga's 28-year old single-season program record with 87 3-pointers last year, and tied the Anteaters' single-game high with a career-best seven treys at UC Riverside on Jan. 7, 2017.
 
OFF THE BENCH
UCI has netted 25+ bench points in nine of its 12 contests, and has outscored its opponents by an average of 8.9 ppg. Freshman Haleigh Talbert leads the non-starters with 6.4 points per outing.
 
THREE'S COMPANY
UC Irvine is averaging six 3-pointers per game, and connected for a season-high 10 in a win over Portland. Seven 'Eaters have made at least four threes, led by Andee Ritter's 22. Sophomore Yazzy Sa'Dullah ranks second on the team with 13, while redshirt freshman Autumn Baumgartner has 11.
 
BOARDS & BLOCKS
The Anteaters, who led their opponents in rebounding only six times in 2016-17, have already won the battle on the boards on four occasions this year. 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. UC Irvine also had the edge vs. Big 10 member Illinois (43-41), Southern Utah (43-38) and Chapman (50-42). In addition, UCI has been one of the top shot blocking teams in the Big West as it ranks third in the conference with 4.4 bpg. The 'Eaters are averaging 6.0 blocks over the last five outings, and set a season high with eight at San Diego State.
 
LET'S GET IT STARTED
UC Irvine didn't disappoint in its season opener at the Bren Events Center on Nov. 10. The Anteaters erased a 13-point deficit in the final minutes, and 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' game-winning play, which started with a steal from Yazzy Sa'Dullah, was featured at No. 1 on SportsCenter's Top 10. It was UCI's first season-opening victory since 2013-14 when it topped South Dakota at home, 68-64. That was also the last year the 'Eaters had a winning record at 17-15.
 
YOUNG GUNS
UC Irvine's starting lineup, which has stayed the same over the first 12 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.

DEFEND THE BREN
The 'Eaters are 4-2 at the Bren Events Center with wins over Utah State, Portland, Pepperdine and Chapman. It is their best start at home since the 2013-14 squad was 5-1.
 
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
After a short break for the holidays, UC Irvine will return to action on Sunday, Dec. 31, when it heads to Cal State Bakersfield for its final non-conference game. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.