2019-20 Women's Basketball Season Preview
10/22/2019
UC Irvine women’s basketball has been on the rise since head coach Tamara Inoue first took the reins in 2016. In each of Inoue’s three years at the helm, the Anteaters have increased their win total, upping their number of victories by one in 2016-17, 12 in 2017-18 and two in 2018-19. The 12-game improvement marked the second-best turnaround in all of NCAA Division I two seasons ago. That same year the ‘Eaters made their first postseason appearance since 1994-95.
UC Irvine continued to make strides in 2018-19, recording only the third 20-win season in program history as they joined the 1983-84 (20) and 1984-85 (21) teams in elite company. Along the way, several team and individual records were also broken, but one milestone that has eluded the Anteaters has been their ultimate goal of winning a Big West championship.
With their talent and experience, that goal has as good of a chance as any to come to fruition in 2019-20. UC Irvine’s 10 returners have meshed well early with the four incoming freshmen as the group had a great opportunity to bond over the summer with their foreign tour to Japan in August. And, for the first time since she inherited five seniors in her first year on campus, Inoue has more upperclassmen than underclassmen on her roster.
“The experience we have returning has been a breath of fresh air,” Inoue said. “We still have somewhat of a new team, but the returners have been great with the leadership they are showing. They have been mentoring our newcomers and helping to make sure the culture is strong.”
Others have also noticed the culture that Inoue and the Anteaters have been building as they were selected as a No. 14 seed in Charlie Creme's preseason NCAA bracket.
The returners have been great with the leadership they are showing. They have been mentoring our newcomers and helping to make sure the culture is strong.
Leading the way will be junior Jordan Sanders, who is the top returning scorer in the Big West. In 2018-19, Sanders ranked second in the conference and 23rd in the nation with 20.3 points per game, while her 547 total points were the third-most in single-season school history. In addition, Sanders was UC Irvine’s leading rebounder at 7.1 boards per outing. She earned first-team All-Big West honors last year.
Senior Lauren Saiki was also a 2019 All-Big West honorable mention selection after averaging 11.9 points and a team-best 4.3 assists per contest. The Anteaters’ team captain and floor general, Saiki has started every game in her UCI career.
Senior Yazzy Sa’Dullah battled through injuries last year, starting 18 of 21 games played. She averaged 3.4 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals.
Senior Brooke Bayman will redshirt in 2019-20 after suffering a knee injury over the summer, but will provide leadership from the sidelines as a team captain.
"Lauren is really coming into her own and has been that leader I always felt she could be,” Inoue said. “Brooke and Yazzy have also been a great asset in teaching the young ones because they both understand our system and what I expect from them.”
Junior Haleigh Talbert started 11 of 31 games last year and ranked among the top-four on the team in scoring (6.2 ppg) and assists (1.7 apg).
Junior Tahlia Garza averaged 4.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game in 2018-19. In her two years with the ‘Eaters, Garza is shooting 55 percent from the floor (152-278) and ranks ninth in school history with 66 career blocks.
Junior Alexus Seaton (3.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg) will be looking to step into a bigger role with two years of experience under her belt. She started to come into her own last season, highlighted by a career-best 15 points on a perfect 6-for-6 performance from the field against LIU Brooklyn.
Junior Dani Guglielmo will continue to be a threat from the outside. Last year, 12 of her 20 made field goals were from beyond the arc.
UC Irvine’s inside game is going to be bolstered this year by the addition of two returning redshirts. Junior Joy Akaegbu-Cleveland, a 6-foot-2 forward, sat out last season after playing at Saint Mary’s from 2016-18. Freshman Melodie Kapinga, a 6-foot-3 center, also missed the 2018-19 campaign with an ACL injury.
"Sitting on the sidelines last year, both Joy and Mel saw our lack of rebounding,” Inoue said. “They came to me at the end of the season and said I will rebound for you. That’s big and they have definitely held their word.”
The ‘Eaters bring in four highly-touted incoming freshmen. Guards Kayla Williams (Los Angeles) and Chloe Webb (San Diego) were both 2019 McDonald’s All-American Game nominees. They also garnered multiple all-state and All-CIF honors during their prep careers.
Jayde Cadee and Sophia Locandro come to Irvine from Melbourne, Australia. They were teammates on the 2018 Victoria Metro State Team that won the U-18 Australian National Championship. Cadee is a knockdown 3-point shooter, while Locandro is a mobile 6-foot-3 forward.
“It’s nice to see the freshmen step into their roles right away,” Inoue said. “It’s still early, but I don’t think they are going to need much time to make an impact on our program and that’s always fun as a coach.”
UC Irvine will open the 2019-20 campaign on Tuesday, Nov. 5, when it welcomes San Jose State to the Bren Events Center for a 7 p.m. showdown. From there, the 'Eaters are set to make their first-ever appearance in the Preseason WNIT, which features 16 of the top programs from across the country. UCI drew Oregon State in a first-round match-up in Corvallis on Nov. 9. The Beavers have made it to the Sweet 16 in each of the last four years with a trip to the Final Four in 2016.
“We have a very exciting and competitive non-conference schedule,” Inoue said. “We are really looking forward to the opportunity to compete in the Preseason WNIT and will be tested right away at Oregon State.”
The Anteaters begin Big West play at CSUN on Jan. 11, while their conference home opener is the following weekend against UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 16).
The first two rounds of the Big West Tournament will be held at Long Beach State (March 10-11). Action then moves to the Honda Center in Anaheim where the semifinals and championship game will be contested, March 13-14.