Hawai'i (8-17, 4-9 Big West) at
UC Irvine (4-22, 2-10 Big West)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 23
Time: 7 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Video | Audio | Live Stats
UC Irvine (4-22, 2-10 Big West) at
Long Beach State (18-9, 9-3 Big West)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 25
Time: 4 p.m. (PST)
Location: Walter Pyramid (4,200) - Long Beach, Calif.
Video | Audio | Live Stats
UC Irvine Game Notes
The UC Irvine women's basketball team enters the final stretch of the regular season as it has only four games remaining before the Big West Tournament. The 'Eaters start the week by welcoming Hawai'i to the Bren Events Center for a 7 p.m. showdown on Thursday, Feb. 23. They will then make the short trip to Long Beach State for a 4 p.m. Black & Blue Rivalry contest on Saturday, Feb. 25.
THINK PINK: In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness, UC Irvine will host its annual Think Pink Game on Thursday. Fans are encouraged to wear pink, while Think Pink wristbands will be available for a minimum donation of $2. All proceeds will be donated to the UC Irvine Breast Health Center.
TIP-INS
• The 'Eaters are coming off their first Big West road win as they upended Cal Poly, 74-71, in OT last Saturday.
• Andee Ritter leads the Big West in 3-pointers (72) and steals (59).
• Ritter broke a 28-year old single-season school record in threes made against Cal Poly on Feb. 9.
• She is the only Anteater in program history to knock down at least 70 triples in one season.
• Ritter also tied an individual single-game school record with seven treys at UCR on Jan. 7.
• Shereen Sutherland, who has four double-doubles, leads UCI with 12.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest.
• Brooke Bayman is tops on the team with 106 assists and had a career-best 10 dimes vs. UC Riverside (Jan. 19).
• Irene Chavez is tied for 10th in school history with 89 career 3-pointers made.
FOLLOW THE 'EATERS: Fans can listen to every UC Irvine women's basketball home game, along with select road games, on KUCI 88.9 FM or KUCI.org. Darren Preston is the Anteaters' play-by-play announcer.
LAST TIME OUT: UC Irvine used a total team effort to upend Cal Poly, 74-71, in overtime last Saturday at Mott Athletics Center. Five 'Eaters scored in double figures, led by the senior trio of Irene Chavez, Shereen Sutherland and Brittany Glassow. Chavez finished with a season-high 17 points as she went 8-for-8 from the free throw line, while adding six rebounds including a crucial offensive board late in overtime. Sutherland registered her fourth double-double of the year with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Glassow, who was coming off a career-high 18 points at CSUN, chipped in 10 points and seven boards. Freshman Brooke Bayman also had a season-high 17 points to go along with five rebounds and six assists. Sophomore Andee Ritter rounded out the group with 11 points. The win was UCI's first on the road in Big West play, while it was also the 'Eaters first OT game in two years.
BIG WEST BREAKDOWN: Eight teams will advance to the Big West Tournament, with the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds receiving a bye into the semifinals at the Honda Center. The third and fourth place squads also get a first-round bye. Entering this weekend, UC Davis (10-2) and Long Beach State (9-3) have a hold on the top two spots, while UC Riverside (9-4) and CSUN (8-4) aren't far behind. UC Irvine is currently in eighth place where it is 1.5 games back of Hawai'i (7th) and one game ahead of Cal State Fullerton (9th).
A GLANCE AT HAWAI'I: Hawai'i (8-17, 4-9 Big West) is on a season-long six-game losing streak after falling to UC Davis, 69-50, and CSUN, 60-49, last week. Junior guard Sarah Toeaina is the leading scorer for the Rainbow Wahine with 13.5 points per outing, while freshman forward Makenna Woodfolk has pulled down a team-best 6.0 rebounds per contest.
SERIES RECORD VS. UH: UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with Hawai'i, 29-8. The Rainbow Wahine have won eight of the nine meetings between the two teams since rejoining the Big West Conference in 2012-13. UH picked up a 79-62 victory earlier this year in Honolulu (Jan. 26). Andee Ritter paced the 'Eaters with a game-high 19 points on five triples, while Mckenzie Piper added a season-best 15 points (3-6 3FG). Lahni Salanoa anchored the 'Bows effort with 18 points.
SCOUTING THE 49ERS: Long Beach State (18-9, 9-3 Big West) split its two games last week, falling at Cal Poly, 69-67, before bouncing back with a 59-45 win over UC Santa Barbara. Seniors Raven Benton and Madison Montgomery lead the 49ers with 10.3 and 10.2 points per game, respectively. Senior Anna Kim is also averaging 9.7 points and 3.6 assists per outing.
SERIES RECORD VS. LBSU: UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with Long Beach State, 56-13. The 49ers will be looking for their third-straight season sweep as they held off the 'Eaters, 68-63, at the Bren on Feb. 4. In that meeting, Shereen Sutherland paced UCI with a game-high 23 points and 10 rebounds.
THREE'S COMPANY: With her third 3-pointer of the night - and 65th of the year - against Cal Poly on Feb. 9, sophomore Andee Ritter broke a 28-year old single-season school record in threes made. She surpassed the previous mark of 64, which was set by Kathy Lizarraga in 1988-89. The Medford, Ore., native has increased her program-record total to 72, making her the first 'Eater to knock down at least 70 triples in a season. She has connected from long distance in 24 of 26 outings, and has hit multiple treys 17 times. Ritter also drained a single-game school-record tying seven 3-pointers at UC Riverside on Jan. 7.
MORE ON RITTER: Ritter ranks second on the squad with 11.8 points per contest. She has 15 double-figure scoring games and four 20-point performances. The 6-foot guard had 23 points at Nevada (Dec. 1), before finishing with 21 vs. Concordia (Dec. 29), 23 at UC Riverside (Jan. 7) and a career-high 25 against CSUN (Jan. 11). In Big West play, she is averaging 13.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals per outing, while shooting 38.7 percent from 3-point range. Ritter, who was named the College Sports Madness Big West Player of the Week on Jan. 2, is also a perfect 28-of-28 from the free throw line this season.
STEALING THE SHOW: In addition to being UCI's top perimeter shooter, Ritter has anchored the defensive effort with a Big West-leading 59 steals. That mark ranks sixth in single-season program history. Ritter has 15 games with multiple steals, including a career-high eight takeaways at Nevada on Dec. 1. She was just one shy of the single-game school record of nine, which was established by Erin Higashi on March 4, 1983.
SENIOR LEADER: Shereen Sutherland leads UC Irvine with 12.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per contest. Sutherland has reached double digits in scoring 16 times, with four of those being 20-point outings, while she also has five games with 10-plus rebounds. The 6-foot-2 senior forward recently had her first career back-to-back 20-point games with 20 vs. UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 28) and 23 vs. Long Beach State (Feb. 4). On Jan. 11, she netted a career-high 24 points against CSUN. Sutherland also has four of the Anteaters' five double-doubles this season - 14 pts/11 rebs at Cal Poly, 23 pts/10 rebs vs. LBSU, 15 pts/10 rebs vs. UC Riverside and 20 pts/12 rebs at Portland State. She has pulled down at least seven boards in 17 of 26 games played with a career-high 15 at Utah State.
DISHING IT OUT: Freshman Brooke Bayman is second in the Big West with 4.4 assists per game. Those numbers have increased in conference play where she is averaging a league-best 5.8 helpers per contest. Bayman has at least six dimes in seven of 10 Big West games played, including a career-high 10 vs. UC Riverside on Jan. 19. She has also been one of the Anteaters' top scoring threats recently with three-straight double-digit outings. Most recently, the Los Angeles, Calif., native registered a season-high 17 points at Cal Poly.
FAMILY TRADITION: Junior Sabrina Engelstad, who is the daughter of former UC Irvine great Wayne Engelstad (1984-88), ranks third on the team with 9.1 points per contest. She has 14 double-figure scoring games, including seven-straight from Nov. 17-Dec. 10. The 6-foot-4 forward recorded UCI's first double-double of the year with 11 points and a career-best 14 rebounds at Loyola Marymount. She later poured in a season-best 18 points vs. Sac State, and went on to match that total against Pac-12 member USC on Dec. 21.
RECORD WATCH: Several Anteaters have already, or are on the verge of etching their names in the UC Irvine record books. Sophomore Andee Ritter owns a single-season school record in 3-pointers made with 72, while she also ranks sixth with 59 steals. Senior Irene Chavez is tied for 10th in program history with 89 career threes, and freshman Brooke Bayman needs 19 more assists to enter the UCI single-season top-10.
UP NEXT: UC Irvine closes out the regular season next week with a trip to UC Santa Barbara (March 2), before hosting Cal State Fullerton at 6 p.m. on Senior Night (March 4).
