UC Irvine (9-1) at
No. 7 Oregon (9-1)
Date: Friday, Dec. 21
Time: 12 p.m. (PST)
Location: Matthew Knight Arena (12,369) - Eugene, Ore.
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UC Irvine Game Notes

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team heads to Eugene where it will wrap up a three-game road trip at No. 7 Oregon on Friday, Dec. 21. The Anteaters and Ducks are set to square off at 12 p.m. at Matthew Knight Arena.
 
STORYLINES
• UC Irvine was ranked in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll for the third-straight week, moving up three spots to No. 22.
• The Anteaters, who suffered their only loss on Dec. 7, are off to their best start at 9-1. Their previous best was 8-2 in 1984-85.
• UCI earned the program's first true road wins in the state of Oregon earlier this week, topping Portland and Portland State.
• On Tuesday, the 'Eaters handed PSU, which was ranked 25th in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll, its first loss of the season.
• Through Dec. 18, UC Irvine is fourth in the nation in turnover margin, 11th in steals and 12th in turnovers forced.
• The Anteaters have forced at least 22 turnovers in all but two games, and had a season-high 36 against Life Pacific on Nov. 7.
• Five of UCI's nine wins have been by 13 or more points. They are tops in the Big West with a 14.9 scoring margin.
• Jordan Sanders, who has scored 20+ points seven times, is second in the Big West and 11th in the nation with 22.4 ppg.
• She is coming off back-to-back career highs with 29 points (13-18 FG) at Portland and 34 (15-25 FG) at Portland State.
• Sanders was named the Big West Player of the Week on Dec. 17. It was the third time in four weeks she earned the honor.
• Over the last six contests, Lauren Saiki is averaging 13.8 points and 9.0 assists, with a 4.15 assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Saiki ranks first in the conference and eighth in all of NCAA Division I with 6.7 assists per outing.
• This week's three-game road trip is a homecoming for senior Andee Ritter, who hails from Medford, Ore.
• Ritter has not disappointed as she averaged 18.5 points, and was 11-of-19 from long distance in the two wins in Portland.
• Over the last three games she has made 15 threes and is shooting 75 percent from beyond the arc.
• Ritter has made 174 career 3-pointers, and is on pace to break the 26-year old school record of 198.
• She also ranks 36th in the country with 2.9 steals/game and is tied for seventh in program history with 158 career takeaways.
 
WITH A WIN...
• The Anteaters would earn their first ever victory over a top-10 team.
• UCI would secure its second consecutive 10+ win season for the first time since 2010-11 (15-15) and 2011-12 (13-17).
• UC Irvine would improve to 6-0 away from home, and 4-0 in true road games.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Behind a career-high 34 points from Jordan Sanders, UC Irvine erased a double-digit deficit to defeat Portland State, 73-68, Tuesday at Viking Pavilion. It was PSU's first loss of the season. For the first time in 2018-19, UCI had more turnovers than its opponent, but still held the advantage in points off miscues (27-21). The Anteaters shot 49.2 percent overall, 50 percent from 3-point range and 81.8 percent at the free throw line. They outrebounded the Vikings, 37-29, and dished out 22 assists. Sanders' 34 points are tied for the fifth-most in single-game program history, while her 15 made FGs rank third. She added a team-leading eight rebounds. Lauren Saiki recorded her second double-double with 13 points and 10 assists, while Andee Ritter went 5-of-6 from beyond the arc for 17 points. She also dished out a career-best six assists.
 
SCOUTING THE DUCKS
No. 7 Oregon (9-1) defeated fourth-ranked Mississippi State, 82-74, Tuesday evening in Eugene. The Ducks will continue their homestand against Air Force on Thursday before welcoming the Anteaters to Matthew Knight Arena on Friday. Junior All-American Sabrina Ionescu leads UO, which ranks first in the nation in scoring offense (92.4 ppg), with 21.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.9 assists per game. Ruthy Hebard is also averaging 15.8 points and a team-best 8.1 rebounds. Last year, Ionescu was named the National Point Guard of the Year, while Hebard was selected as the National Power Forward of the Year. Oregon advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2017 and 2018.
 
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with Oregon, 4-1. The two teams have not faced each other since 2011 when the Ducks came away with an 89-77 home victory. That was the only game in the series that was played in Eugene. The previous four outings took place in the 1980s with two in Irvine and two at neutral sites.
 
POW TIMES THREE
Sophomore Jordan Sanders has received half of the six possible Big West Player of the Week awards this year as she took home her third honor of the young season on Monday. She was recognized following a then career-best 29 points (13-18 FG) and six steals in an 84-69 win at Portland. The 'Eaters led by one at the half, but Sanders scored 19 over the final 20 minutes to lift them to the 15-point victory. She added five rebounds and three blocks.
 
Just a couple weeks earlier, the 5-foot-11 forward became the first Anteater in program history to earn back-to-back Big West POW accolades as she received the nod on Nov. 26 and Dec. 3. During that stretch, she recorded four-straight 20-point outings against LIU Brooklyn (21), Indiana State (25), Bakersfield (22) and San Jose State (24). On Nov. 28, she was also named to the NCAA's Starting Five, which recognizes players with standout performances from around the country.
 
THE BIG THREE
Senior Andee Ritter, junior Lauren Saiki and sophomore Jordan Sanders have accounted for nearly 60 percent of UC Irvine's scoring. The trio has combined for 468 points (46.8 ppg) on 47.4 percent shooting. Among the three, they have 22 double-figure scoring performances and nine 20-point outings.
 
DEFENSIVE PRESENCE
The 'Eaters have been locked in on the defensive end, forcing more than 20 turnovers in eight of their 10 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 five 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 at Bakersfield. Through Dec. 18, UC Irvine ranks fourth in the nation in turnover margin (9.0), 11th in steals (13.1/gm) and 12th in turnovers forced (23.5/gm).
 
DEPTH PERCEPTION
One of UC Irvine's biggest strengths this year is its depth. Nine of the Anteaters' 10 active roster members have logged at least 10 minutes per outing, while they have had multiple players reach double figures in scoring in every game. With their regular sub rotations, the Anteaters are able to press a majority of the time while not seeing much drop off on the offensive end. In fact, UCI's reserves have netted more than 25 points three times, and the bench has outperformed its opponents by 8.4 ppg.
 
JORDAN EFFECT
UC Irvine is in good shape when sophomore Jordan Sanders scores 10+ points. In her young career, the Anteaters are 22-4 when she reaches double figures, and 9-0 when she hits the 20-point mark. The Springfield, Mo., native has played a key role in UCI's hot start as she has put up double digits in all 10 games. Seven of those have been 20+ performances, including a career-high 34 points on 15-of-25 shooting at Portland State. Just two days earlier, she had a then career-best 29 points and six steals at Portland. Sanders also finished with 25 points vs. Indiana State, 24 at San Jose State, 22 vs. Bakersfield, 21 vs. LIU Brooklyn and 21 vs. UNLV. She recorded 11 rebounds and four steals against the Sycamores, while notching 12 boards and four blocks in a 57-55 win over the Lady Rebels. Through 10 games, the 2018 Big West Freshman of the Year ranks second in the league, and 11th in the nation, with 22.4 ppg.
 
CHART CLIMBER
Senior Andee Ritter ranks second on UC Irvine's career charts with 174 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. She is also tied for seventh in school history with 158 career steals.
 
Over the last three games, Ritter is averaging 19.3 points, has made 15 threes and is shooting 75 percent from behind the arc. If she keeps up her current pace, she will become the first 'Eater to surpass 1,000 career points in 10 years.
 
THE LO-DOWN
Over the last six games, junior Lauren Saiki (Monterey Park, Calif.) is averaging 13.8 points and 9.0 assists, with a 4.15 assist-to-turnover ratio. On Nov. 24, the 5-foot-3 point guard recorded her first double-double as an Anteater with 10 points and a career-high 13 assists against Indiana State. She committed just one turnover in the 77-61 victory over the Sycamores. Saiki's 13 dimes rank third in single-game program history and were the most by an 'Eater since Raelyn Cheung-Sutton dished out 12 vs. UC Davis on March 5, 2016. Saiki followed that performance with a career-best 19 points and eight assists vs. CSU Bakersfield. She also finished with 19 points and eight helpers at Portland, and notched her second double-double with 13 points and 10 assists at Portland State.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine will have a week off before it returns to the Bren Events Center for its non-conference finale against Seattle on Saturday, Dec. 29. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m.