'Eaters Close Out Regular Season at UCSB, vs. Fullerton
February 28, 2017 | Women's Basketball
UC Irvine (4-24, 2-12 Big West) at
UC Santa Barbara (12-15, 7-7 Big West)
Date: Thursday, March 2
Time: 7 p.m. (PST)
Location: The Thunderdome (6,000) - Santa Barbara, Calif.
Video | Audio | Live Stats
Cal State Fullerton (4-23, 1-13 Big West) at
UC Irvine (4-24, 2-12 Big West)
Date: Saturday, March 4
Time: 6 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Video | Audio | Live Stats
The UC Irvine women's basketball team concludes the regular season with a road game at UC Santa Barbara and a home game against Cal State Fullerton this week.
The 'Eaters will head north for a 7 p.m. tilt with the Gauchos on Thursday, March 2, before returning home for their Big West finale on Saturday, March 4, when they clash with the Titans at 6 p.m. UCI will honor its five seniors - Irene Chavez, Brittany Glassow, Chloe Kellum, Mckenzie Piper and Shereen Sutherland - prior to their final game at the Bren Events Center.
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 teams also get a first-round bye. Entering the final week of the regular season, UC Davis (12-2) and Long Beach State (11-3) have a hold on the top two spots, while CSUN (10-4) has also put itself in the mix with a nine-game winning streak. UC Riverside and UC Santa Barbara are locked in a battle for the fourth seed, and are followed by Cal Poly and Hawai'i in sixth and seventh, respectively. UC Irvine and Cal State Fullerton are fighting for the final spot with the 'Eaters currently holding a one-game advantage on the Titans.
TIP-INS
• Irene Chavez is coming off back-to-back 20-point games where she combined to make 10-of-17 threes (58.8%).
• Chavez now ranks ninth in school history with 99 career 3-pointers made.
• Andee Ritter leads the Big West in both 3-pointers made (79) and steals (62).
• Ritter's 65th three of the year, which came vs. Cal Poly on Feb. 9, broke a 28-year old single-season UCI record.
• 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 the team with 12.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest.
• Brooke Bayman is tops on the squad with 115 assists and had a career-best 10 dimes vs. UC Riverside (Jan. 19).
LAST TIME OUT: Senior Irene Chavez and sophomore Andee Ritter combined for 41 points, and 12 of UC Irvine's single-game school-record 15 threes, in an 87-74 loss at Long Beach State on Saturday, Feb. 25. Chavez made five of her career-high six treys in the fourth quarter and finished with 20 points. Ritter was also 6-of-12 from long distance for a game-high 21 points. Freshman Brooke Bayman contributed 13 points, while she tied with Chavez for the team lead with five assists. The 'Eaters made 14 3-pointers in the second half where they outscored the 49ers, 54-37.
SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS: UC Santa Barbara (12-15, 7-7 Big West) dropped a 70-61 decision at UC Davis last Saturday, marking the Gauchos' third-straight loss. Junior forward Drew Edelman leads UCSB with 11.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Junior guard Drea Toler is also averaging 9.4 points and a team-best 4.4 assists per outing.
SERIES RECORD VS. UCSB: UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with UC Santa Barbara, 61-29. The Gauchos earned their fourth consecutive win against the 'Eaters with an 85-60 victory at the Bren Events Center on Jan. 28. Shereen Sutherland paced UCI in that game with 20 points, five rebounds and four steals, while Aliceah Hernandez had a game and career-high 21 points (7-10 3FG) for UCSB.
SCOUTING THE TITANS: Cal State Fullerton (4-23, 1-13 Big West) enters the final week of the regular season on a 10-game losing streak. Junior guard Iman Lathan is the Titans' top scorer at 15.3 points per game, while sophomore center Daeja Smith is averaging 10.6 points and a team-best 7.0 rebounds per contest.
SERIES RECORD VS. CSF: UCI trails in its all-time series with Cal State Fullerton, 38-36. The Titans have claimed the last two meetings, including a 64-53 decision in Fullerton on Jan. 14. Andee Ritter paced the 'Eaters with a team-high 13 points, while CSF got a 24-point/10-rebound effort from Iman Lathan in the victory.
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 79, making her the first 'Eater to knock down at least 70 triples in a season. She has connected from long distance in 26 of 28 outings, and has hit multiple treys 18 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 11.9 points per contest. She has 16 double-figure scoring games and five 20-point performances. The 6-foot guard had 23 points at Nevada (Dec. 1), 21 vs. Concordia (Dec. 29), 23 at UC Riverside (Jan. 7), a career-high 25 vs. CSUN (Jan. 11) and 21 at Long Beach State (Feb. 25). In Big West play, she is averaging 13.1 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.0 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 29-of-30 from the free throw line this season. She made 28 in a row before her first miss of the year at LBSU.
STEALING THE SHOW: In addition to being UCI's top perimeter shooter, Ritter has anchored the defensive effort with a Big West-leading 62 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 12.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest. The 6-foot-2 senior forward has reached double digits in scoring 16 times, and has six outings with 10-plus rebounds. In addition, Sutherland owns four games with 20 or more points, including two that came in back-to-back performances vs. UCSB (20) and Long Beach State (23). 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 18 of 28 games played with a career-high 15 at Utah State.
DISHING IT OUT: Freshman Brooke Bayman is tied for first in the Big West with 4.4 assists per game. Those numbers have increased in conference play where she is averaging a league-best 5.6 helpers per contest. Bayman has at least five dimes in eight of 12 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 five-straight double-digit outings. During that stretch, the Los Angeles, Calif., native tallied a season-high 17 points in a win at Cal Poly (Feb. 18).
CHAVEZ ON FIRE: Senior Irene Chavez came up big for the 'Eaters in each of the last two games where she averaged 21.0 points and 5.0 threes, while shooting 53.8 percent from the floor and 58.8 percent from long distance. The San Jose, Calif., native poured in a season-high 22 points (4-6 3FG) against Hawai'i, before knocking down a career-best six triples en route to 20 points at Long Beach State.
UP NEXT: The Big West Tournament begins with the first round at Long Beach State's Walter Pyramid on Tuesday, March 7.
