Loyola Marymount (1-2) at
UC Irvine (2-2)
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 19
Time: 7 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Watch // Listen // Live Stats // Tickets (UCI Undergraduate Students Free with I.D.)

Game Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team will play its third game in five days when it welcomes Loyola Marymount to the Bren Events Center for a 7 p.m. showdown on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
 
STORYLINES
• UC Irvine is coming off its first ever appearance in the Preseason WNIT (Nov. 9-16).
• The elite tournament featured 12 programs that advanced to the postseason last year, including five to the NCAA Tournament. 
• UCI had a tough draw as it was sent to eventual champion No. 6/7 Oregon State for a first-round match-up on Saturday, Nov. 9.
• Following the first-round loss, the Anteaters were regrouped into a consolation bracket hosted by the Kansas City Roos.
• The 'Eaters went 1-1, falling to Davidson, 78-72, before defeating Portland State, 83-75.
• Senior Lauren Saiki led the way last weekend, averaging 14.5 points and 7.0 assists per game.
• She earned a spot on the KC Site Preseason WNIT Consolation All-Tournament Team.
• Junior Jordan Sanders was named the first Big West Player of the Week of 2019-20 on Nov. 11.
• She had 16 points and eight rebounds vs. SJSU, and a season-high 23 points at Oregon State.
• Sanders, a first-team All-Big West selection, is one of the NCAA's top-five returning scorers after averaging 20.3 ppg last year.
• UC Irvine returns eight of its 10 letterwinners from last year's squad that went 20-11 overall.
• It was the third 20-win season in school history, and first since 1984-85 (21).
• UCI has increased its win total in each of head coach Tamara Inoue's three years at the helm.
• The 'Eaters were picked to finish first in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll and second in the Big West Preseason Media Poll.
 
WITH A WIN...
• UC Irvine would snap a two-game skid in its all-time series with Loyola Marymount.
• The Anteaters would improve to 2-0 at the Bren Events Center this year.
• It would also be their fifth-straight home win dating back to last season.

SCOUTING THE LIONS
Loyola Marymount (1-2) split a pair of home games against Big West opponents last week, defeating Hawai'i, 65-51, and falling to Cal State Fullerton in overtime, 79-74. Jasmine Jones leads the Lions with 14.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game. Chelsey Gipson is also averaging 11.3 points and 3.7 assists per outing.
 
LMU, which lost five seniors to graduation from last year's team that went 18-15 overall, was picked to finish sixth in the West Coast Conference Preseason Coaches Poll.
 
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine leads in its all-time series with Loyola Marymount, 11-8. The two teams have not played each other in three years. The Lions won the most recent meeting at Gersten Pavilion on Nov. 25, 2016, which was in UCI head coach Tamara Inoue's first season. The 'Eaters have won three of the last five against LMU.
 
LAST TIME OUT
After a tightly contested first half, UC Irvine used a big third quarter to create some separation and pull away with an 83-75 victory over Portland State in the final game of the Preseason WNIT last Saturday at Kansas City's Swinney Center. The Anteaters established season highs in points, field goal percentage (48%) and free throw percentage (75%). They also outrebounded the Vikings, 38-33. Jordan Sanders led the second-half charge with 16 of her game-high 18 points and seven of her team-best nine rebounds. Chloe Webb notched a season-best 13 points and six rebounds in 13 minutes of action, while Lauren Saiki had 11 points and eight assists. Alexus Seaton chipped in eight points, five boards, five assists and two steals.
 
BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior Jordan Sanders earned the first Big West Player of the Week award of the season on Nov. 11. It was her program-record fourth career honor. Sanders was recognized after averaging a team-best 19.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in two games. She finished with 16 points and eight boards in a season-opening win over San José State, before dropping 23 points in 24 minutes at No. 6/7 Oregon State.

COUNTDOWN TO 1,000
Sanders is 62 points away from becoming the 15th player to join UCI women's basketball's 1,000-point club. Currently sitting at 938 career points, Sanders is well on her way to accomplishing the feat this year, which would make her the sixth individual in program history to reach 1,000 points by the end of her third season.
 
OPENING NIGHT
The 'Eaters started the 2019-20 campaign with a 79-77 win over San José State on Nov. 5. They are now 3-1 in season openers in the Tamara Inoue era. In 2018-19, UCI defeated Life Pacific College (NAIA), 105-31. The 74-point triumph tied the second-largest margin of victory in program history. In 2017-18, the Anteaters won in more dramatic fashion, erasing a 13-point deficit in the final minutes with a half-court shot at the buzzer capping the rally for an 87-84 victory over Utah State.
 
CAREER DAY
Junior Alexus Seaton, who averaged 3.5 ppg and 2.5 rpg last year, made a statement in the season-opening win over San José State, establishing career highs in points (17), rebounds (7) and assists (5). For the first time as an 'Eater, the Arlington, Texas, native led the team in scoring. Seaton has continued to be one of UCI's best all-around players so far this season with 12.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.3 steals per game.
 
JORDAN EFFECT
UC Irvine is in good shape when Jordan Sanders scores 10+ points. In her career, the Anteaters are 34-11 when she reaches double figures, and 12-5 when she hits the 20-point mark. Sanders recently dropped 23 at No. 6/7 Oregon State for her 17th career 20-point game. Her career high is 34, which she established on 15-of-25 shooting at Portland State on Dec. 18, 2018.
 
THE LO-DOWN
Senior Lauren Saiki (Monterey Park, Calif.) has been the Anteaters' assists leader in 39 of 67 career games played.  Through the first four contests of 2019-20, she has dished out a team-best 30 helpers (7.5 apg), with a season-best nine at No. 6/7 Oregon State. She was recently named to the Kansas City Site Preseason WNIT Consolation All-Tournament Team after averaging 14.0 points, 7.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds in two games. Saiki had two double-figure assist performances last year, including a career-high 13 dimes (1 turnover) in a 77-61 win over Indiana State. In two-plus seasons at UCI, Saiki has amassed 262 assists, putting her at No. 10 in program history.
 
FRESHMAN IMPACT
The Anteaters' active freshmen have provided quality minutes early in their careers. Sophia Locandro had 11 points in her collegiate debut, before finishing with a season-best 14 points (6-6 FG) and six rebounds vs. Davidson on Nov. 15. Chloe Webb is also coming off her best outing of the year with 13 points and six boards in 13 minutes against Portland State (Nov. 16). Webb ranks second on the team with a 62.5 field goal percentage. Jayde Cadee has also come on strong lately, with 11 points on 5 made 3-pointers over the last two games. Kayla Williams and redshirt freshman Melodie Kapinga have missed the first four games due to injury.
 
BALANCED ATTACK
Five different Anteaters have reached double figures in scoring this year. Lauren Saiki has put up 10+ points in all four games, while Jordan Sanders has done it three times. Alexus Seaton and Sophia Locandro also have multiple double-digit outings, and Chloe Webb had her first last Saturday against Portland State. UC Irvine has also had a different leading scorer in three of its first four games.
 
HOME COOKING
Since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, UC Irvine is 23-8 (.742) at the Bren Events Center. The 23 home victories in two-plus seasons equal the Anteaters' combined total from the previous five years.

ACCESS DENIED
UC Irvine, which ranked 22nd in the nation in turnovers forced last year, has continued to put the defensive pressure on its opponents in 2019-20. The Anteaters have forced 16.5 turnovers per game with a season-high 18 in the opener against San José State. The 'Eaters also held an 8-to-1 advantage in blocked shots vs. the Spartans. Their eight blocks were the most in a game since Dec. 8, 2017, when they had eight at San Diego State.
 
WINNING WAYS
In 2018-19, UC Irvine recorded the third 20-win season in program history, and first in 34 years. The 'Eaters have increased their win total in each of Tamara Inoue's three years as head coach. They upped their number of victories by one in 2016-17, 12 in 2017-18 and two in 2018-19.
 
THE TURNAROUND
The Anteaters made their biggest jump in 2017-18 with their highest win total (18) and first postseason appearance since 1994-95. They saw a 12.5-game improvement from 2016-17, which marked the second-best turnaround in all of NCAA Division I.
 
GROWING UP
UC Irvine is primed to continue its winning ways with 10 members from last year's team returning (8 letterwinners, 2 redshirts). For the first time since Inoue's initial season at the helm when she inherited five seniors, the 'Eaters will have more upperclassmen than underclassmen. Their roster is comprised of three seniors, six juniors and five freshmen.
 
EXPERIENCE MATTERS
The 'Eaters return over 70% of their scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocks. Jordan Sanders was tops on the squad last year with 547 points (20.3 ppg) and 193 rebounds (7.1 rpg). Lauren Saiki also led the way with 134 assists (4.3 apg), while ranking second in scoring (11.9 ppg) and steals (60).
 
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
For the first time in program history, the Anteaters were picked to finish first in the Big West Preseason Coaches Poll. They received six of the nine first-place votes to top the list with 77 points. Three-time defending regular season champion UC Davis was a close second with 70 points (two first-place votes). UC Riverside collected the final first-place nod and came in third with 60 points. Jordan Sanders was selected to the preseason all-conference team for the second year in a row. Sanders and Lauren Saiki also made the media's Preseason All-Big West Team.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine will have a 10-day layoff before traveling to Colorado for the Pioneer Thanksgiving Classic, Nov. 29-30. The 'Eaters open the tournament against host Denver on Friday before taking on North Alabama in a neutral-site game on Saturday.