Life Pacific College (1-2) at
UC Irvine (0-0)
Date: Wednesday, Nov. 7
Time: 7 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
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UC Irvine Game Notes

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team will kick off the 2018-19 campaign on Wednesday, Nov. 7, when it welcomes Life Pacific College to the Bren Events Center for a 7 p.m. showdown.
 
STORYLINES
• This is the fourth year in a row UC Irvine will start the season at home.
• Last year, UCI defeated Utah State, 87-84, on a half-court buzzer beater in the team's first season-opening win since 2013-14.
• The 'Eaters closed out the 2017-18 campaign with an 18-14 overall record, marking their best win percentage in 15 years.
• The 18 wins rank fourth in school history, while last year's team also made UCI's first postseason appearance since 1995.
• UC Irvine saw a 12.5-game improvement from 2016-17, which was the second-best turnaround in all of NCAA DI last year.
• Senior Andee Ritter, who has made 147 career 3-pointers, needs 52 more to break a 26-year old school record (198).
 
2017-18 HIGHLIGHTS
• The 2017-18 Anteaters are responsible for two of the three 100-point games in program history.
• They hit the century mark for the first time since 1979 in a 100-81 victory at Long Beach State on Feb. 3, 2018.
• Just over a week later, the 'Eaters matched a 39-year old single-game school-record with 107 points in a win over Cal Poly.
• UC Irvine set the single-game (24) and single-season (356) program record in steals.
• Jordan Sanders was named the Big West Freshman of the Year and garnered all-conference honorable mention recognition.
 
PRESEASON POLLS
• The Anteaters were 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.
 
ABOUT LIFE PACIFIC COLLEGE
• Life Pacific women's basketball is in its first year as a collegiate program. It's nine-woman roster features eight freshmen.
• The Warriors, who are members of the NAIA's Golden State Athletic Conference, have opened the season with a 1-2 record.
• LPC is located in San Dimas, Calif., and has an enrollment of about 700 students.
 
WITH A WIN...
• The Anteaters would be victorious in their season opener at the Bren Events Center for the second year in a row.
• It would mark the first time since 2001-02 and 2002-03 that UCI recorded a season-opening win in consecutive campaigns.
 
SEASON OPENERS
Overall, UC Irvine is 12-32 in season openers and 5-15 when playing the first game of the year at home. It will be hard for the 'Eaters to top their 2017-18 opener when they erased a 13-point deficit in the final few minutes against Utah State, and went on to win in regulation with Deijah Blanks banking in a half-court shot at the buzzer for the 87-84 victory. The Anteaters made ESPN's highlight reel as they were featured at No. 1 on SportsCenter's top-10 plays of the day.
 
THE TURNAROUND
In just her second season at the helm, head coach Tamara Inoue engineered a remarkable turnaround, leading UC Irvine to a winning record for just the second time in 15 years, and first since 2013-14. At 18-14, the 'Eaters more than doubled their win total from each of the previous three seasons. The Anteaters saw a 12.5-game improvement from 2016-17, which tied Nebraska for the second-best turnaround in NCAA Division I. They were also one of only seven DI programs to see a plus-10 difference in the win column.
 
CENTURY MARK
UC Irvine reached the century mark for the first time in 39 years with a 100-81 victory at Long Beach State on Feb. 3, 2018. 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 was the only Big West member to hit the century mark last year, and was one of 28 NCAA Division I teams to have multiple 100-point games against fellow DI opponents.
 
DEFENSIVE PRESENCE
Last year, the 'Eaters held their adversaries to a single-digit quarter on 10 occasions, including a program-record three points allowed in the second period of a 72-59 win at CSU Bakersfield. They also finished the year ranked first in the Big West and 13th in the nation with 11.1 steals per game.
 
THREE'S COMPANY
In 2017-18, UCI established a single-season school record in 3-pointers made (213) and 3-pointers attempted (691). Four Anteaters knocked down at least 20 treys on the year. Despite missing six games with an injury, Andee Ritter ranked second on the squad with 46 triples, and Yazzy Sa'Dullah added 22.
 
CHART CLIMBER
Senior Andee Ritter moved up six spots on UC Irvine's all-time charts in 2017-18, as she is now tied for second with 147 career 3-pointers made. She is chasing the school record of 198, which was set by Kathy Lizarraga (1988-92). The Medford, Ore., native already broke 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 went 13-3 when 2018 Big West Freshman of the Year Jordan Sanders scored at least 10 points last season. She sparked UC Irvine's seven-game win streak by reaching double figures in each of those contests. The Springfield, Mo., native recorded a season-best 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting in a 107-66 victory vs. Cal Poly. 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. It was Sanders' first career double-double, and she made the feat even more impressive by not committing a turnover in 29 minutes played. In the team's 18 wins, Sanders averaged 12.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks, while shooting 53.4 percent from the field.                                 
                                                                                                                                             
 UP NEXT
• UC Irvine will be back in the Bren on Tuesday, Nov. 13, when it hosts UNLV at 5 p.m.