UC Irvine (11-8, 3-2 Big West) at
UC Riverside (6-14, 3-3 Big West)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 25
Time: 7 p.m. (PST)
Location: SRC Arena (2,750) - Riverside, Calif.
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CSUN (10-9, 3-2 Big West) at
UC Irvine (11-8, 3-2 Big West)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 27
Time: 2 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
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UC Irvine Game Notes

The UC Irvine women's basketball team is set to start another two-game week with a trip to the Inland Empire for a 7 p.m. tilt at UC Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 25. The Anteaters then return to the Bren Events Center on Saturday, Jan. 27, to square off against CSUN at 2 p.m.
 
TIP-INS
• Morgan Green is the first 'Eater with four-straight 20-point performances since Mikah Maly-Karros in 2010.
• Green picked up Big West Player of the Week honors (Jan. 15) following just her second and third games of the season.
• UC Irvine (11-8) 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.
• Since Nov. 30, UCI is 9-3, tying UC Davis and CSUN for the best current 12-game stretch in the Big West.
• UC Irvine has owned the advantage in bench points 15 times with the non-starters combining for 25+ points on 14 occasions.
• The 'Eaters have held their opponents to a single-digit quarter six times.
• The Anteaters 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.
• All but two 'Eaters have led the team in scoring in a game this season.
 
WITH A WIN VS. UCR
• UC Irvine would improve to 4-2 in Big West play, marking its best conference start since 2011-12 when it was also 4-2.
• UCI would snap a five-game skid against the Highlanders with its first win in the all-time series in three years.
• It would be the Anteaters' first victory in Riverside since a 58-56 triumph on Feb. 14, 2013.

A GLANCE AT UC RIVERSIDE
UC Riverside (6-14, 3-3 Big West) is coming off a split as it defeated Hawai'i, 79-57, before falling at CSUN, 60-55, last week. Senior Michelle Curry leads the Highlanders with 15.1 points, 5.6 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Senior Lauren Holt is also averaging 13.7 points per outing and has made a team-best 34 3-pointers.
 
SERIES RECORD VS. UCR
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with UC Riverside, 37-18. The Highlanders, who have won five in a row, have swept the regular-season series in each of the last two years. The Anteaters are looking for their first victory since Feb. 14, 2015.
 
SCOUTING THE MATADORS
CSUN (10-9, 3-2 Big West) is on a modest two-game win streak after toppling Cal State Fullerton, 65-41, and UC Riverside, 60-55, last week. Reigning Big West Player of the Year Channon Fluker has anchored the Matador effort with 19.9 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. Senior Tessa Boagni has also registered 12.7 points and 6.7 boards per contest.
 
SERIES RECORD VS. CSUN
The Anteaters trail in their all-time series with CSUN, 28-23. The two teams split the regular-season series last year with UCI winning big at home (77-52), before falling on the road, 85-77. Andee Ritter led the 'Eaters with a career-high 25 points on 8-of-10 shooting in the victory.
 
WEEKLY HONORS
Junior Morgan Green was named the Big West Women's Basketball Player of the Week on Jan. 15, making her the first 'Eater to win the award since Mokun Fajemisin in February of 2015. Green was recognized after averaging 28.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 1.5 assists in wins over Hawai'i and UC Santa Barbara. The San Jose native was also tabbed the College Sports Madness Big West Player of the Week for her effort, an honor teammate Andee Ritter earned last year (Jan. 2, 2017).
 
SEEING GREEN
Morgan Green, who made her long-awaited Anteater debut on Jan. 4, has reached double figures in all five games she has played, and now has four-straight 20-plus point performances. That is the longest streak by an Anteater since Mikah Maly-Karros reached the 20-point mark in six consecutive outings from Jan. 23-Feb. 13, 2010.
 
The junior transfer from Michigan State started the run by pouring in a career-high 31 points on 9-of-15 shooting (5-9 3FG, 8-9 FT) at Hawai'i. She added five rebounds and five steals against the Rainbow Wahine. Less than 24 hours after arriving back on the mainland, Green dropped 25 points and grabbed a season-best six boards in a 77-74 win over UC Santa Barbara. She kept rolling the following week with 24 points on a career-best six threes made at Cal Poly, and 27 points in the second meeting with the 'Bows.
 
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. She went on to notch her second 20-point game at Hawai'i (Jan. 11).
 
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 7-0 when freshman Jordan Sanders scores at least 10 points. In the team's 11 wins, she is averaging 10.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals, while shooting 45.5 percent from the field.
 
OFF THE BENCH
UCI has netted 25+ bench points in 14 of its 19 contests, and has outscored its opponents by an average of 9.9 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 7.1 points per outing.

LIGHTS OUT
UC Irvine has shot over 40 percent from the field 12 times this season, including in each of the last four games. The 'Eaters registered a season-best 52.9 field goal percentage (36-68) against Chapman on Dec. 19. Their best mark against a Division I program was their 48.3 clip at Bakersfield.
 
DEFENSIVE MENTALITY
The Anteaters, who rank third in the Big West in steals, have forced their opponents into at least 20 turnovers nine times. They have also held their adversaries to a single-digit quarter on six occasions, 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 nearly seven 3-pointers per game, and connected for a season-high 11 at Cal Poly. On the year, seven 'Eaters have reached double digits in threes made, led by Andee Ritter's 24. Autumn Baumgartner ranks second with 19, while Yazzy Sa'Dullah (18), Morgan Green (17), Lauren Saiki (13), Haleigh Talbert (10) 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 3.7 bpg. Tahlia Garza, who has recorded at least one block in 14 games, has paced the effort as she is tied for sixth in the conference (1.4 bpg).

YOUTH MOVEMENT
UCI's roster features nine underclassmen, and only two seniors. Ten players are also donning the Blue & Gold for the first time this season as second-year head coach Tamara Inoue and her staff brought in five true freshmen and five Division I transfers who redshirted the 2016-17 campaign.
 
STARTING FIVE
The 'Eaters have used four different starting lineups this year. Their most frequently used contingent consists of two true freshmen, two sophomores and one junior. Freshman Tahlia Garza and sophomore Lauren Saiki are the only Anteaters who have started every game.

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.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine has pair of local Big West road games on tap for next week as it heads to Cal State Fullerton (Feb. 1) and Long Beach State (Feb. 3). Both contests will be broadcast live on ESPN3.