UC Irvine (10-7, 2-1 Big West) at
Cal Poly (8-7, 2-1 Big West)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 18
Time: 7 p.m. (PST)
Location: Mott Athletics Center (3,032) - San Luis Obispo, Calif.
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Hawai'i (8-9, 1-3 Big West) at
UC Irvine (10-7, 2-1 Big West)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 20
Time: 4 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
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UC Irvine Game Notes

UC Irvine women's basketball is back on the road this week, traveling to San Luis Obispo for a 7 p.m. Big West showdown at Cal Poly on Thursday, Jan. 18. The 'Eaters then return home to host Hawai'i in the two teams' second and final regular-season meeting on Saturday, Jan. 20. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. in the Bren Events Center.
 
TIP-INS
• Morgan Green was named the Big West Player of the Week (Jan. 15) after averaging 28 ppg in wins over Hawai'i and UCSB.
• UC Irvine (10-7) has already surpassed its win total from each of the last three years.
• The Anteaters have reached double digits in the win column for the first time since 2013-14.
• It is also the fastest they have made it to the 10-win mark since they were 10-4 in 2010-11.
• The 'Eaters have been on a roll since the end of November as they are 8-2 in their last 10 games.
• UCI has owned the advantage in bench points 14 times with the non-starters combining for 25+ points on 13 occasions.
• The Anteaters have held their opponents to a single-digit quarter six times, including in five of the last seven outings.
• UC Irvine is first in the Big West in turnover margin, second in free throw percentage and third in steals.
• The 'Eaters have a new look this year with 10 newcomers (five true freshmen and five returning redshirts).
 
BALANCED ATTACK
• Twelve of UC Irvine's 14 players are averaging at least 10 minutes per contest.
• Ten Anteaters have also registered at least 5.0 points per outing.
• Through 17 games, the 'Eaters have had 12 different individuals lead the team in scoring.
 
WITH A WIN AT CAL POLY...
• UC Irvine would extend its road win streak to six games, matching its longest in program history (1984-85).
• The 'Eaters would be off to their best Big West start since 2010-11, when they also opened conference play with a 3-1 record.
• UCI would improve to 9-2 since Nov. 30, marking the best current 11-game stretch in the Big West.

SEEING GREEN
Morgan Green made her long-awaited Anteater debut vs. UC Davis (Jan. 4), finishing with 12 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals. That was her first collegiate game in nearly two years and proved to be just a warm-up for the junior transfer from Michigan State as she poured in a career-high 31 points on 9-of-15 shooting (5-9 3FG) in her next outing at Hawai'i. She was also 8-for-9 at the free throw line, while adding five rebounds and five steals against the 'Bows. Less than 24 hours after arriving back on the mainland, the San Jose native dropped 25 points and grabbed a season-best six boards in a 77-74 win over UC Santa Barbara. Green was named the Big West Player of the Week for her efforts. It was UC Irvine's first weekly award since Feb. 16, 2015.

A GLANCE AT CAL POLY
Cal Poly (8-7, 2-1 Big West) has won three of its last four games, including an 84-71 decision over CSUN last Saturday. Senior Dynn Leaupepe has led the Mustangs with 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.8 steals per outing.
 
SERIES RECORD VS. CP
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with Cal Poly, 35-19, but 11 of those 19 wins have come on the road. Last year, the teams split during the regular season as the Anteaters fell, 78-60, at home before topping the Mustangs, 74-71, in OT at Mott Athletics Center. Brooke Bayman led the 'Eaters with 17 points and six assists.
 
SCOUTING THE 'BOWS
Hawai'i (8-9, 1-3 Big West) is coming off its first conference win as it defeated Long Beach State, 74-66, last weekend. Senior Sarah Toeaina and sophomore Julissa Tago have paced the Rainbow Wahine with 14.1 and 10.8 points per game, respectively.
 
SERIES RECORD VS. UH
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with Hawai'i, 30-9. The Anteaters recently snapped an eight-game skid against the Rainbow Wahine with a 74-67 victory in Honolulu on Jan. 11. Morgan Green led UCI with 31 points, five rebounds and five steals. The Anteaters will be looking for their fourth season sweep of UH in program history and first since the 'Bows rejoined the conference in 2012-13.
 
THE CLOSER
Junior Deijah Blanks has been UCI's 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 the 'Eaters 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. Although her late heroics weren't needed in an 84-79 victory at Seattle, Blanks finished with a season-best 22 points, while making some key plays down the stretch to stymie a late Redhawk rally.
 
CHART CLIMBER
Junior Andee Ritter has made a team-best 24 3-pointers in 14 games played (1.7/gm). She has moved up four spots on UC Irvine's all-time charts this year, most recently passing Megan Stafford for fifth with 125 career triples. Ritter is 13 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 UCR on Jan. 7, 2017.
 
JORDAN EFFECT
The 'Eaters are 6-0 when freshman Jordan Sanders scores at least 10 points. In the team's 10 wins, she is averaging 10.2 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.2 steals, while shooting 43.5 percent from the field.
 
OFF THE BENCH
UCI has netted 25+ bench points in 13 of its 17 contests, and has outscored its opponents by an average of 11.6 ppg in that category. The 'Eaters posted their largest margin at Seattle where they held a lopsided 57-to-8 advantage in bench points. Deijah Blanks leads the non-starters with 7.4 points per outing.
 
DEFENSIVE MENTALITY
The Anteaters' press has been hard to break recently as they have forced at least 20 turnovers in six of the last eight games. They have also held their opponents to a single digit quarter in five of the last seven outings, including a program-low three points in the second period at CSUB, and four in the third vs. UC Davis.
 
THREE'S COMPANY
UC Irvine is averaging six 3-pointers per game, and connected for a season-high 10 in a win over Portland. Five 'Eaters have reached double digits in threes made, led by Andee Ritter's 24. Yazzy Sa'Dullah ranks second with 18, while Autumn Baumgartner (15), Lauren Saiki (13) and Dani Guglielmo (10) round out the group.
 
BOARDS & BLOCKS
The 'Eaters have won the battle on the boards six times this year, already matching their total from last season. They opened the campaign with a dominant performance against Utah State, outrebounding the Aggies, 45-35, and holding a commanding 19-7 edge on the offensive glass. UC Irvine also controlled the boards vs. Illinois, Southern Utah, Chapman, Seattle and UC Davis. In addition, UCI has been one of the top shot blocking teams in the Big West at 3.8 bpg. Tahlia Garza has paced the effort as she is tied for sixth in the conference (1.4 bpg).
 
LET'S GET IT STARTED
UC Irvine didn't disappoint in its season opener 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 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.
 
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 will head to UC Riverside (Jan. 25) and host CSUN (Jan. 27) next week.