UC Irvine (18-13, 10-6 Big West) at
Nevada (17-16, 7-11 Mountain West)
Date: Thursday, March 15
Time: 6:30 p.m. (PDT)
Location: Lawlor Events Center (11,536) - Reno, Nev.
Video // Audio // Live Stats

UC Irvine Game Notes



One of the best seasons in program history continues for UC Irvine as it heads to Nevada for the first round of the Women's Basketball Invitational on Thursday, March 15. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. at Lawlor Events Center. This is the Anteaters' second overall postseason bid, and will be their first appearance in the WBI.
 
TIP-INS
• The 'Eaters received their first postseason berth in 23 years as they previously advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1995.
• As of March 11, UC Irvine's 13-game improvement is tied for the best turnaround in all of NCAA Division I this year.
• The Anteaters' 18 wins rank fourth in school history and are the most by a UCI squad since going 19-11 in 1994-95.
• With two victories in the WBI, the 'Eaters would secure the third 20-win season in program history, and the first in 33 years.
• UCI was third in the Big West, marking its best regular-season conference finish since 2012 when it tied for third.
• UC Irvine matched a 39-year old single-game program-record with 107 points in a win over Cal Poly on Feb. 15. 
• The Anteaters rank second in the Big West and 20th in the nation with 10.9 steals per game.
• In league games, freshmen Tahlia Garza (2nd, 59.3) and Jordan Sanders (4th, 55.9) put up two of the BWC's top-four FG%.
• The 'Eaters are 13-3 when Sanders reaches double figures in scoring. She ranks second on the team with 10.6 ppg.
• Junior Morgan Green is tops on the squad with 23.3 points per outing, and tied a school record with four 30-point games.
 
STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
• Eleven of UC Irvine's 14 players are averaging at least 10 minutes per contest.
• Ten Anteaters have scored at least 100 points this year with eight averaging more than 5.0 per outing.
• All but two 'Eaters have led the team in scoring in a game this season.
 
WITH A WIN...
• UCI would earn its first-ever postseason victory, and advance to the WBI second round to face either Bakersfield or Fresno State.
• The Anteaters would match the third-best win total in school history at 19.
 
ALL-BIG WEST HONORS
• Jordan Sanders became the second 'Eater in program history, and first since 2010, to be named BWC Freshman of the Year.
• Sanders also garnered All-Freshman Team and honorable mention all-conference recognition.
• Junior Morgan Green was a first-team All-Big West selection.
 
BIG WEST TOURNAMENT RECAP
• UCI made its 29th Big West Tournament appearance last week, falling to UC Riverside, 86-74, in a quarterfinal game.
• The 'Eaters led after three periods, but went cold in the fourth where they made only two FG's and were 5-of-14 at the FT line.
• Morgan Green led UC Irvine with 17 points, four assists and two steals, while playing only 22 minutes due to foul trouble.
• Jordan Sanders added 16 points (8-8 FT) and a team-high eight rebounds.
• Andee Ritter also finished with 11 points on a 3-for-4 performance from beyond the arc.
• It was the Anteaters' first quarterfinal appearance since 2014, and their No. 3 seed was the team's highest in six years.

THE TURNAROUND
In just her second season at the helm, head coach Tamara Inoue has 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 18-13, the 'Eaters have more than doubled their win total from each of the last three seasons. As of March 11, the Anteaters' 13-game improvement from 2016-17, is tied with Nebraska and Rutgers for the best in NCAA Division I. They are also one of only seven DI programs to see a plus-10 difference in the win column this year. UCI's resurgence didn't come until about a month into the campaign as it started a tough non-conference slate at 2-5, but has gone 16-8 since Nov. 30.
 
SCOUTING THE WOLF PACK
Nevada (17-16, 7-11 MWC) made an impressive run through the Mountain West Tournament, defeating San Diego State, UNLV and Wyoming before falling to top-seeded Boise State, 62-60, on a buzzer beater in the championship game. Senior forward Teige Zeller leads the Wolf Pack with 14.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per outing, while senior guard T Moe is also averaging 11.1 points and 3.2 assists per contest.
 
COMMON OPPONENTS
UCI went 2-2 against Mountain West teams during the preseason, defeating Utah State and San Diego State, while dropping a pair of road contests at UNLV and New Mexico. Nevada was a combined 3-4 against those same four opponents in conference play as it came up short against UNM, and split with USU, SDSU and UNLV. The 'Eaters and Wolf Pack were also 2-1 against common non-conference foes Portland State, Pepperdine and Seattle U.
 
SERIES RECORD VS. NEVADA
This will be the 24th all-time meeting, and first-ever postseason battle, between UC Irvine and former Big West member Nevada. The Anteaters, who have won three in a row against the Wolf Pack, lead the series, 15-8. Last year, the 'Eaters took down the Pack, 72-59, at Lawlor Events Center for Tamara Inoue's first career win as a head coach. Andee Ritter led the way with 23 points on six triples. She also finished with a career-best eight steals. Sabrina Engelstad added 10 points (5-7 FG), while Brooke Bayman had five points and five steals. UCI is 7-5 when playing in Reno.
 
CENTURY NOTES
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. 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). UCI is the only Big West member to hit the century mark this year, and is one of 28 NCAA Division I teams to have multiple 100-point games against fellow DI opponents.
 
THE STREAK
UCI strung together a seven-game win streak from Jan. 20-Feb. 15, marking the third-longest in program history. Everything was clicking for the Anteaters during that stretch as they had a pair of 100-point performances and outscored their opponents by an average of 16.0 ppg. It was also the third-best win streak in the Big West this year, coming in behind only UC Davis, which opened the season with nine-straight victories, before winning eight-straight at the start of conference play.
 
DEFENSIVE MENTALITY
The Anteaters have forced their opponents into 20 or more turnovers 16 times, including in seven of the last 10 outings. They established UC Irvine's top-two single-game totals in steals this year with a school-record 24 vs. Long Beach State and 21 against Cal State Fullerton. UC Irvine ranks second in the Big West and 20th in the nation with 10.9 takeaways per contest. The 'Eaters have also held their adversaries to a single-digit quarter on 10 occasions, with two of those coming in a 56-47 win over eventual Big West Tournament champion CSUN. It was their only victory of the year when scoring fewer than 60 points as the 47 allowed were a season low. In addition, the Anteaters set a program record by giving up just three points in the second quarter of a 72-59 triumph at CSU Bakersfield.
 
POY CANDIDATE
Junior transfer Morgan Green, who earned first-team all-conference honors, threw her name into the Big West Player of the Year discussion with an impressive Anteater debut season. In league games, Green ranked second in scoring (23.7 ppg), first in 3-pointers made (3.3/game), first in free throw percentage (85.1), second in steals (3.0 spg) and third in assists (4.0 apg). The 5-foot-7 guard lit up the competition for 10 20-plus point games, including four 30-point performances.
 
30 ROCK
In just her second appearance of the season, Morgan Green broke onto the scene with 31 points at Hawai'i (Jan. 11). She connected on nine of her 15 attempts (5-9 3FG, 8-9 FT), while adding five rebounds and four steals against the Rainbow Wahine. It was UCI's first 30-point performance since Camille Buckley in 2014. Three weeks later, the San Jose native dropped 30 in 27 minutes played at Cal State Fullerton. Green was extremely efficient from the field, shooting 71.4 percent overall (10-14), and 60 percent from beyond the arc (3-5). She went on to tally 31 points and a season-best nine rebounds in a 76-63 win over UC Riverside on Feb. 10, before putting up a season-high 32 in the finale against the Titans.
 
SEEING GREEN
Morgan Green, who made her long-awaited UC Irvine debut on Jan. 4, has reached double figures in scoring in all 16 games she has played, and leads the squad at 23.3 ppg. She owns two streaks of four-straight 20+ performances, which is the longest by an Anteater since Mikah Maly-Karros surpassed the 20-point mark in six consecutive outings in 2010. Green is also a two-time Big West Player of the Week as she became the first 'Eater to win the award in three years and the first to do it twice in one season since Camille Buckley in 2014.
 
JORDAN EFFECT
The 'Eaters are 13-3 when Big West Freshman of the Year Jordan Sanders scores at least 10 points. 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 is averaging 12.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.5 steals, and 1.0 blocks, while shooting 53.4 percent from the field.                 

CHART CLIMBER
Junior Andee Ritter has moved up six spots on UC Irvine's all-time charts this year, most recently passing Kelly Meggs for sole possession of third with 146 career triples. Ritter is one away from taking over the No. 2 position, and is ultimately chasing Kathy Lizarraga (1988-92), who owns the school record at 198. The Medford, Ore., native 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.
 
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.
 
LIGHTS OUT
UC Irvine has shot over 40 percent from the floor 17 times this season and is 15-2 in those games. The Anteaters recorded a season-best 58.3 field goal percentage (42-72) in an impressive 107-66 victory over Cal Poly on Feb. 15. They also finished above 50 percent vs. Chapman on Dec. 19 (52.9). Freshman Tahlia Garza has been the most efficient 'Eater with a Big West-leading 58.6 FG percentage.
 
OFF THE BENCH
UC Irvine has netted 25+ bench points in 19 of its 31 contests, and has outscored its opponents by an average of 8.2 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 5.7 points per outing.
 
HOME & AWAY
The 'Eaters finished the regular season with a 10-4 home record, including a 6-2 mark against Big West opponents. They didn't see much drop off away from the Bren Events Center, compiling a school-record eight true road victories. The previous best was seven, which was set in 1984-85, and later matched in 1986-87, 1994-95 and 2000-01.
 
LET'S GET IT STARTED
UCI didn't disappoint in its season opener on Nov. 10. The 'Eaters 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 UC Irvine's first season-opening victory since 2013-14 when it topped South Dakota at home, 68-64.
 
YOUTH MOVEMENT
UC Irvine's roster features nine underclassmen, and only one graduating senior (Sydney Hua). Ten players are also donning the Blue & Gold for the first time this season with five true freshmen and five Division I transfers who redshirted the 2016-17 campaign.
 
UP NEXT
If the Anteaters defeat Nevada, they will face the winner of the Bakersfield/Fresno State match-up in the second round of the WBI.