UC Irvine (17-7, 7-5 Big West) at
Cal State Fullerton (12-13, 4-8 Big West)
Date: Wednesday, Feb. 27
Time: 7 p.m. (PST)
Location: Titan Gym (4,000) - Fullerton, Calif.
Watch // Listen on KUCI // Live Stats

UC Irvine Game Notes

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team makes the short trip to Cal State Fullerton for a battle of the Big West Conference's Orange County schools on Wednesday, Feb. 27. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at Titan Gym.
 
STORYLINES
• UC Irvine ranks first in the Big West with a 74.0 free throw percentage and has made 29-33 (88%) FTs in the last two games.
• UCI was in the College Insider Mid-Major's top-25 poll for nine consecutive weeks (Dec. 4-Feb. 12) with a high ranking of 15th.
• The Anteaters (17-7) own their best record through 24 games since 1984-85 when they were 19-5.
• Through Feb. 25, the 'Eaters are fourth in the nation in turnover margin, eighth in turnovers forced and 16th in steals.
• UC Irvine has forced at least 20 turnovers 16 times, and had a season-high 36 against Life Pacific on Nov. 7.
• The Anteaters have trailed by double digits 11 times this year, but came back to win five of those games.
• Nine of the team's 10 active roster members have logged 10+ minutes per contest, while six are averaging at least 5.0 ppg.
• Jordan Sanders, who has 13 20-point games this year, ranks sixth in single-season school history with 474 points.
• Sanders is second in the Big West and 18th in the nation with 20.6 ppg.
• She has reached 20 in each of the last three games, upping her average to 23.0 ppg and 9.0 rpg during that stretch.
• On Dec. 18, Sanders netted a career-high 34 points (15-25 FG) at Portland State.
• Her 34 points are tied for the fifth-most in UCI single-game history, while her 15 made field goals rank third.
• Andee Ritter broke a single-game school record with eight 3-pointers made in a 73-57 win over Cal Poly on Jan. 26.
• She has 190 career threes, putting her just eight away from tying and nine from breaking UCI's 26-year old all-time record.
• Ritter is also second in the conference with 2.3 steals/game and is third in program history with 181 career takeaways.
• Lauren Saiki ranks second in the conference and is among the top-50 in all of NCAA Division I with 5.0 assists per outing.
 
WITH A WIN…
• UC Irvine would sweep Fullerton for the second year in a row and improve to 5-1 against the Titans in the Tamara Inoue era.
• The 'Eaters would secure their 18th win, tying last year's squad for the fourth-most victories in a season in program history.
 
BIG WEST STANDINGS
• UC Davis (11-1) can clinch the No. 1 seed with two wins this week, or one win plus a loss for both UC Riverside and CSUN.
• The 'Eaters (7-5) are currently in fourth, sitting a game behind the Highlanders and Matadors, who play each other Thursday.
• Hawai'i (7-6) is also in the mix for one of the top seeds as they are a half-game behind UCI.
• The top-two seeds receive a double-bye into the Big West semifinals at Honda Center on March 15.
• The No. 3 and 4 seeds earn a bye into the Big West quarterfinals, which will be held at the Bren Events Center on March 13.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine found itself on the wrong end of a 66-65 thriller as UC Riverside hit a last second three to steal the win at the Bren Events Center last Saturday. Jordan Sanders led the Anteaters with her fourth double-double of the season, finishing with 24 points and 10 rebounds. Lauren Saiki added 12 points, five boards, four assists and three steals.
 
SCOUTING THE TITANS
Cal State Fullerton (12-13, 4-8 Big West) earned a split last week as it snapped a six-game losing streak with a 74-62 victory over UC Santa Barbara, before falling at Cal Poly, 69-58. Raina Perez leads four Titans in double figures with 12.8 ppg, while she is also averaging 5.0 assists. Daeja Smith has registered 12.6 points and a team-best 8.4 rebounds per contest. Amiee Book (10.4 ppg) and Jade Vega (10.2 ppg, 4.7 apg) round out the quartet.
 
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine leads in its all-time series with Cal State Fullerton, 40-38, and has come out on top in each of the last four meetings. The Anteaters will be looking for their second-straight series sweep of the Titans after winning, 65-61, at the Bren Events Center on Feb. 9. The 'Eaters outscored CSF, 23-7, over the final 10 minutes to overcome a 12-point third-quarter deficit. Jordan Sanders finished with a game-high 18 points to go along with eight rebounds and two blocks. Brooke Bayman also had a season-best 13 points and four boards, while Lauren Saiki added 12 points, four assists and three steals.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
UC Irvine made its debut in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll at No. 24 on Dec. 4, and remained in the top-25 for nine consecutive weeks. The 'Eaters, who had reached as high as No. 15, have dropped out of the rankings, but were still receiving votes in the poll released on Feb. 19. One of UCI's losses this year came to Oregon, which was seventh in both the AP and USA Today Polls at the time. The Ducks were the Anteaters' first nationally ranked opponent since Arizona State in 2006.
 
COMING UP CLUTCH
On Feb. 14, UC Irvine was locked in a defensive battle at Long Beach State. The score was knotted at 46-all and it was 49er ball with four seconds remaining in regulation. What transpired next was nothing short of remarkable. Alexus Seaton came up with a huge steal on the inbounds pass, allowing only two ticks to come off the clock before the 'Eaters called a timeout. That set up the game-winner as Brooke Bayman got it in to Jordan Sanders, who took one dribble before draining a contested 18-foot jumper right before the buzzer for the thrilling 48-46 victory. 
 
CHART CLIMBER
Senior Andee Ritter ranks second among UC Irvine's all-time leaders with 190 career 3-pointers made. She needs eight more to tie, and nine more to break the record of 198, which was established by Kathy Lizarraga (1988-92) over 25 years ago. The Medford, Ore., native already topped Lizarraga's 28-year old single-season program record with 87 3-pointers as a sophomore, and set UCI's single-game high with a career-best eight treys vs. Cal Poly on Jan. 26. Ritter is also third in school history with 181 career steals, needing only eight more to move into sole possession of first in the Anteater annals.
 
DEFENSIVE PRESENCE
The 'Eaters have been locked in on the defensive end, forcing 20+ turnovers 16 times. 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 eight 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 Feb. 25, UCI ranks fourth in the nation in turnover margin (8.5), eighth in TOs forced (21.7/gm) and 16th in steals (11.3/gm).
 
COMEBACK KIDS
The Anteaters have come back from a double-digit deficit to win five times this year. In those five games, UCI outscored its opponents in the second half, 195-128 (13.4 ppg). Most recently, the 'Eaters erased a 12-point third-quarter deficit to top Cal State Fullerton, 65-61, on Feb. 9. UC Irvine has also won three games when trailing with five minutes left in regulation.
 
THE BIG THREE
Senior Andee Ritter, junior Lauren Saiki and sophomore Jordan Sanders have accounted for 58 percent of UC Irvine's scoring. They have combined for 974 points (40.6 ppg), and have produced 50 double-figure scoring games, 17 of which have been 20+ performances.
 
JORDAN EFFECT
UC Irvine is in good shape when sophomore Jordan Sanders scores 10+ points. In her young career, the Anteaters are 30-8 when she reaches double figures, and 12-3 when she hits the 20-point mark. The Springfield, Mo., native has played a key role in UCI's success this year, putting up double digits in 22 of 23 games played. Thirteen of those have been 20+ performances, including six in Big West action with 25 vs. UC Riverside (Feb. 23), 20 at Hawai'i (Feb. 21), 25 at UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 16), 29 vs. UH (Feb. 7), 28 vs. UCSB (Jan. 31) and 20 vs. Cal Poly (Jan. 26). In the second meeting with the Highlanders, Sanders added 10 rebounds for her fourth double-double. In non-conference play, she poured in a career-high 34 points on 15-of-25 shooting at Portland State on Dec. 18. Just two days earlier, she had a then career-best 29 points and six steals at Portland. Sanders also finished with a 20-point double-double against Indiana State (25pts/11rebs) and UNLV (21pts/12rebs) back in November. The 2018 Big West Freshman of the Year ranks second in the league, and 18th in the nation, with 20.6 ppg.
 
THE LO-DOWN
Junior Lauren Saiki (Monterey Park, Calif.) has 13 games with five or more assists this year. Ten of those came in a consecutive stretch from Nov. 24-Jan. 12. She started the streak against Indiana State where she recorded her first double-double as an Anteater with 10 points and a career-high 13 assists. Saiki committed just one turnover in the 77-61 victory over the Sycamores. Her 13 dimes rank third in single-game program history and were the most by an 'Eater since Megan Stafford dished out 15 vs. Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 27, 1997. Saiki went on to notch her second double-double with 13 points and 10 assists at Portland State on Dec. 18. The 5-foot-3 point guard also had a career-high 25 points and two blocks, to go along with four rebounds and five assists at Cal Poly (Jan. 5).
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine returns home to host league-leading UC Davis in a 2 p.m. Big West showdown on Saturday, March 2.