UC Irvine (3-0) vs.
LIU Brooklyn (0-4)
Date: Friday, Nov. 23
Time: 2 p.m. (MST) / 1 p.m. (PST)
Location: GCU Arena (7,200) - Phoenix, Ariz.
Live Stats

UC Irvine (3-0) vs.
Indiana State (2-0)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 24
Time: 12 p.m. (MST) / 11 a.m. (PST)
Location: GCU Arena (7,200) - Phoenix, Ariz.
Live Stats

UC Irvine Notes

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team embarks on its first road trip of the season as it heads to Phoenix, Ariz., for the GCU Thanksgiving Classic, Nov. 23-24. The Anteaters will play two neutral-site games, starting with a 1 p.m. (PST) tilt against LIU Brooklyn on Friday. They will then square off against Indiana State at 11 a.m. (PST) on Saturday.
 
STORYLINES
• UC Irvine improved to 3-0 with a 75-58 win over Southern Utah on Tuesday, marking its best start since 1995-96.
• As of Nov. 20, UCI ranks 3rd in the nation in turnover margin (15.3), 7th in TOs forced (28.3/gm) and 9th in steals (15.7/gm).
• They are also the only Big West school, and one of 64 teams in all of NCAA Division I, to remain undefeated on the year.
• UCI has forced more than 20 turnovers in every game with a season-high 36 against Life Pacific College on Nov. 7.
• The Anteaters' 74-point margin of victory (105-31) against LPC was tied for the second largest in school history.
• After going 39 years without a 100-point game, UC Irvine reached the century mark for the third time since February 2018.
• UCI defeated UNLV, 57-55, ending a seven-game losing streak in the series with its first win over the Lady Rebels in 24 years.
• Senior Andee Ritter, who has made 152 career 3-pointers, needs 47 more to break a 26-year old school record (198).
 
WITH A WIN...
• The Anteaters would snap a seven-game losing streak in neutral-site games. 
• If the 'Eaters can win on both Friday and Saturday, they would improve to 5-0 for the first time in program history.
 
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.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine led wire-to-wire in a 75-58 victory over Southern Utah Tuesday evening at the Bren Events Center. The Anteaters improved to 3-0 for their best start since 1995-96. Dating back to last year, it was also their fourth-straight home win. UCI, which shot 50 percent as a team, saw a balanced attack with nine players scoring, and three reaching double figures. Lauren Saiki led the way with a season-high 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting. Jordan Sanders and Andee Ritter (5-10 FG) finished with 13 points each. Ritter added a team-best eight rebounds, four assists and four steals, while Saiki contributed four steals as well. The 'Eaters scored 24 points off 26 Thunderbird turnovers.
 
SCOUTING THE BLACKBIRDS
LIU Brooklyn (0-4) is searching for its first win of the season after falling at Fairfield, 71-43, and Saint Peter's, 86-59, last week. Freshman guard Brandy Thomas is averaging a double-double as she leads the team with 13.5 points and 11.8 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Jeydah Johnson has also posted 9.8 points and 4.8 boards per contest.
 
A GLANCE AT ISU
Indiana State (2-0) kicked off its season with wins at Marshall, 62-53, and Saint Louis, 60-56. The Sycamores will play their third-straight true road game on Friday when they square off against tournament host Grand Canyon. Sophomore guard Ashli O'Neal and junior guard Alexis Delgado lead the squad with 15.0 and 13.5 points per game, respectively. Junior forward Regan Wentland is also averaging 8.5 points and a team-best 8.0 rebounds per outing.
 
SERIES RECORD
This is UC Irvine's first meeting with both LIU Brooklyn and Indiana State.
 
DEFENSIVE PRESENCE
The 'Eaters have been locked in on the defensive end, forcing more than 20 turnovers in each of their first three games. They pressured Life Pacific College into a season-high 36 miscues, thanks to a school-record 25 steals. The Anteaters have also held their opponents to three single-digit quarters with a program-best one point allowed in the third frame against LPC. Both of their 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. As of Nov. 20, UC Irvine ranks third in the nation in turnover margin (15.3), seventh in turnovers forced (28.3/gm) and ninth in steals (15.7/gm).
 
CENTURY MARK
After going without a 100-point game for 39 years, UC Irvine has 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 accomplished the feat again in the 2018-19 opener where it dropped 105 points vs. Life Pacific College on Nov. 7.
 
HOME COOKING
Since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, the 'Eaters are 13-4 (.765) at the Bren Events Center. Their 13 victories in less than two full seasons are more than the previous three years combined (10). In addition, they have won four-straight home games dating back to last year.
 
DEPTH PERCEPTION
One of UC Irvine's biggest strengths this year is its depth. With a regular sub rotation, the Anteaters are able to press for a majority of the game, while not seeing much drop off on the offensive end. In fact, UCI's reserves have netted more than 30 points twice in three games, while the bench has outscored its opponents by 20.7 points per outing. In the season opener, all 10 active 'Eaters saw the court with nine logging 17-plus minutes, and six scoring in double figures.
 
CHART CLIMBER
Senior Andee Ritter sits alone in second on UC Irvine's career charts with 152 3-pointers made. She is chasing 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. She is also nine steals away from entering the school's all-time top-10.
 
JORDAN EFFECT
The 'Eaters are now 16-3 when sophomore Jordan Sanders scores at least 10 points as she has reached double figures in all three outings this year. She scored a season-high 21 points, to go along with 12 rebounds and four blocks, in a 57-55 win over UNLV. It was Sanders' second career double-double. The 2018 Big West Freshman of the Year was just two points shy of her collegiate career high of 23 points, which she established on 10-of-13 shooting against Cal Poly (Feb. 15, 2018). Through three games, Sanders ranks third in the conference with 17.7 ppg, and is tops on the team with 7.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per outing.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine returns to the friendly confines of the Bren Events Center next week when it plays host to Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday, Nov. 29. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.