alexus-seaton-2018-wbb-lifepacific

'Eaters Entertain UNLV on Tuesday

UNLV (0-1) at
UC Irvine (1-0)
Date:
Tuesday, Nov. 13
Time: 5 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center - Irvine, Calif.
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UC Irvine Notes

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team continues its season-opening homestand on Tuesday, Nov. 13, when it welcomes UNLV to the Bren Events Center for a 5 p.m. showdown. The Anteaters will be holding a canned food drive as part of UCI's Hunger & Homelessness Awareness Week. Fans are encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to the game for donation to the FRESH Basic Needs Hub on campus.
 
STORYLINES
• The Anteaters kicked off the 2018-19 campaign with a 105-31 victory over Life Pacific College (NAIA) last Wednesday.
• The 74-point margin of victory was tied for the second largest in program history.
• After going 39 years without a 100-point game, the 'Eaters reached the century mark for the third time since February 2018.
• The 31 points allowed were the fewest UC Irvine has given up since an 86-28 victory over Prairie View A&M on Nov. 30, 1991.
• UCI is 1-0 for the second-straight year, winning back-to-back season openers for the first time since 2001-02 and 2002-03.
• All 10 active members on the roster saw the court last week with nine playing 17+ minutes, and six scoring in double digits.
• Senior Andee Ritter, who has made 150 career 3-pointers, needs 49 more to break a 26-year old school record (198).
 
PRESEASON POLLS
• UC Irvine was picked to finish third in both the media and coaches' Big West Preseason Polls.
• It was their highest ranking since 1998-99, when they were predicted to place second in the Western Division of the Big West.
• Jordan Sanders was also selected to the six-member preseason all-conference team.
 
WITH A WIN...
• The Anteaters would be 2-0 for the fifth time in program history, and first since 1995-96.
• UCI would snap a seven-game losing streak in its all-time series with UNLV.
 
SCOUTING THE LADY REBELS
• UNLV returns 10 letterwinners and four starters from a 2017-18 team that went 19-12 and earned a WNIT berth.
• The Lady Rebels (0-1) dropped their season opener, 68-52, against Wright State last Friday.
• Senior Katie Powell led UNLV with 14 points, while classmate Paris Strawther added nine points and nine rebounds.
 
SERIES RECORD
• UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with former Big West member UNLV, 32-4.
• The Lady Rebels, who have won the last seven meetings, topped UCI, 73-54, in Las Vegas last year.
• Lauren Saiki and Yazzy Sa'Dullah paced the Anteaters with 12 and 11 points, respectively.
• UCI's last win against UNLV was an 81-76 overtime victory at the Bren Events Center on Jan. 10, 1995.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine was dominant in its season opener as it cruised to a 105-31 victory over Life Pacific College last Wednesday at the Bren Events Center. UCI shot 51.2 percent from the field with six players reaching double figures in scoring. Senior Sabrina Engelstad notched her second career double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. She was 7-of-9 from the field and 4-for-5 at the free throw line. Sophomore Jordan Sanders added a game-high 19 points on 9-of-18 shooting. Sophomore Alexus Seaton tallied a career-high 14 points (6-8 FG) to go along with six boards and three steals. Sophomore Tahlia Garza also had 13 points and nine rebounds, while classmate Haleigh Talbert had 12 points. Senior Andee Ritter chipped in 11 points, six rebounds and six steals. The 'Eaters held a 52-26 advantage on the glass, and forced the Warriors into 36 turnovers with a single-game program-record 25 steals.
 
CENTURY MARK
After going without a 100-point game for 39 years, the Anteaters have now reached the century mark three times since February, 2018. It all started with a convincing 100-81 road victory at Long Beach State on Feb. 3. Just two games later, the 'Eaters posted their highest scoring total in the NCAA Division I Championship era, and tied an overall program record that was set back in 1979, with 107 points against Cal Poly (Feb. 15, 2018). UCI hasn't slowed down in 2018-19, as it dropped 105 points in its season opener vs. Life Pacific College.
 
DEFENSIVE PRESENCE
The 'Eaters have continued to be extremely active on the defensive end as they forced Life Pacific College into 36 turnovers with a single-game school-record 25 steals. They also held the Warriors to a pair of single-digit quarters, including a program-best one point allowed in the third frame. Both of those records bettered the previous standards from last year when UCI had 24 steals vs. Long Beach State and gave up just three points in the second quarter of a 72-59 victory at Bakersfield. The Anteaters finished the 2017-18 season ranked first in the Big West and 13th in the nation with 11.1 steals per game.
 
DEPTH PERCEPTION
One of UC Irvine's strengths is its depth, which was put on display last week. All 10 active players saw the court with nine logging 17-plus minutes, and six scoring in double figures. The bench didn't see much drop off as the five reserves combined for 48 points. Last year, UCI netted 25+ bench points in 19 of its 32 contests, and outscored its opponents by an average of 8.2 ppg in that category.
 
HOME COOKING
Since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, the 'Eaters are 11-4 at the Bren Events Center. Their 11 home wins in less than two full seasons are more than the previous three years combined (10).
 
CHART CLIMBER
Senior Andee Ritter sits alone in second on UC Irvine's all-time charts with 150 career 3-pointers made. She is on pace to break the school record of 198, which was set by Kathy Lizarraga (1988-92). The Medford, Ore., native already shattered Lizarraga's 28-year old single-season program record with 87 3-pointers two years ago, and tied UCI's single-game high with a career-best seven treys at UC Riverside on Jan. 7, 2017.
 
JORDAN EFFECT
The 'Eaters improved to 14-3 all-time when Jordan Sanders scores at least 10 points as she dropped a game-high 19 in a 105-31 win over Life Pacific College on Wednesday, Nov. 7. The 2018 Big West Freshman of the Year owns a collegiate career-best 23 points, which she established on 10-of-13 shooting in a 107-66 victory vs. Cal Poly (Feb. 15, 2018). She also had the best all-around game of her young career against CSUN on Jan. 27, finishing with 22 points, 11 rebounds, four blocks and three steals.
 
UP NEXT
With the Pepperdine campus being closed through the Thanksgiving holiday due to the impact of the Woolsey Fire on the Malibu area, the Waves and 'Eaters will be rescheduling their game that was originally slated for Friday, Nov. 16, at Firestone Fieldhouse. UC Irvine is back at the Bren Events Center next Tuesday, Nov. 20, when it hosts Southern Utah at 7 p.m.
 

 
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