#8 UC Santa Barbara (8-21, 5-11 Big West) vs.
#5 UC Irvine (18-10, 8-8 Big West)
Date: Tuesday, March 12
Time: 6 p.m. (PDT)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Ticket Info // WatchESPN // Listen on KUCI // Live Stats

UC Irvine Game Notes

IRVINE, Calif. - The fifth-seeded UC Irvine women's basketball team begins postseason action against No. 8 seed UC Santa Barbara in the first round of the Big West Tournament presented by Pacific Surfliner on Tuesday, March 12. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at the Bren Events Center, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.

Single session tickets for the first round and quarterfinals at the Bren can be purchased at the box office on the day of the game - $10 adults and $5 College Students/Youth (Ages 3-17).
 
ALL-CONFERENCE SELECTIONS
• Jordan Sanders earned first-team All-Big West honors, while Lauren Saiki received an honorable mention nod.
• It is Sanders' second career postseason award as the 2018 Big West FOY was an honorable mention selection last year.
• This is also the second year in a row the Anteaters have had a representative on the All-Big West First Team.
 
STORYLINES
• In her final regular-season game, senior Andee Ritter broke the all-time school record in 3FG made and steals.
• Ritter knocked down three triples to give her 199 in her career, topping Kathy Lizarraga's 27-year old standard of 198.
• She also picked up two steals to pass Megan Stafford (1996-00) as the program leader with 189 career takeaways.
• The 6-foot guard was named the Big West Player of the Week for her record-breaking performance.
• Earlier in the year, Ritter broke a single-game school record with eight 3-pointers made in a 73-57 win over Cal Poly (Jan. 26).
• UC Irvine ranks first in the Big West with a 74.4 free throw percentage and is 76-of-93 (82%) over the last six games.
• Through March 9, the Anteaters are sixth in the nation in turnover margin, 13th in turnovers forced and 21st in steals.
• The 'Eaters have forced at least 20 turnovers 18 times, and had a season-high 36 against Life Pacific on Nov. 7.
• UC Irvine has shown it is never out of a game, erasing a double-digit deficit in five of its wins this year.
• Nine of the team's 10 active roster members have logged 10+ minutes per contest, while six are averaging at least 5.0 ppg.
• UCI was in the College Insider Mid-Major Top-25 poll for nine consecutive weeks (Dec. 4-Feb. 12) with a high ranking of 15th.
• Jordan Sanders, who has 13 20-point games, ranks sixth in single-season school history with 490 points.
• Sanders is second in the Big West and 21st in the nation with 20.4 ppg. She has missed the last three games with an injury.
• On Dec. 18, Sanders netted a career-high 34 points (15-25 FG) at Portland State.
• Her 34 points are tied for fifth-most in UCI single-game history, while her 15 made field goals rank third.
• Lauren Saiki has two of her three 20-point performances in the last four outings and is averaging 16.0 ppg during that stretch.
 
TOURNAMENT NOTES
• UC Irvine is making its 30th Big West Tournament appearance in its 36th year as a member of the conference.
• The Anteaters are 12-28 all-time in Big West Tournament games and 4-20 when playing in the first round.
• They are 2-4 against UC Santa Barbara in the postseason.
• The two teams last met in the tournament at the Bren in 2016 with the fifth-seeded Gauchos winning, 62-43.
 
WITH A WIN…
• UC Irvine would earn its first Big West Tournament victory since 2014.
• The Anteaters would reach the quarterfinal round for the second-straight year.
• The 'Eaters would secure their 19th win, tying the 1994-95 squad for the third-most victories in a season in program history.

LAST TIME OUT
Seniors Andee Ritter and Sabrina Engelstad got the proper send-off with a 65-60 win over Long Beach State in their final regular-season game Saturday at the Bren. A better script couldn't have been written for Ritter, who with her family in attendance, broke UCI's career records in both 3-pointers made (199) and steals (189). She finished with 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. Lauren Saiki had a game-high 23 points to go along with three assists. Tahlia Garza added 10 points, six boards and two blocks, while Brooke Bayman chipped in eight points and three steals.
 
SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS
UC Santa Barbara (8-21, 5-11 Big West) tied for seventh in the Big West standings but lost the tiebreaker to Long Beach State. The Gauchos have won two of their last three games, defeating Cal Poly and UC Riverside, before falling at UC Davis, 80-44, on Saturday. Coco Miller leads UCSB with 12.3 points, 1.9 3FG made and 1.8 steals per game. Danae Miller is also averaging 9.8 points and a team-leading 4.0 assists per outing. UC Santa Barbara has struggled on the road where it is 1-13 overall, and 0-8 against Big West opponents.
 
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with UC Santa Barbara, 65-31. The two teams split the regular-season series for the second-straight year. On Jan. 31, the Anteaters pulled away late for a 74-68 victory at the Bren Events Center. Jordan Sanders finished with a game-high 28 points to go along with five rebounds. Lauren Saiki and Sabrina Engelstad added 14 and 12 points, respectively. The Gauchos avenged that loss two weeks later, defeating UCI, 71-52, in Santa Barbara on Feb. 16. Sanders once again had a game-high 25 points and nine boards, but the 'Eaters were unable to slow down the duo of Coco Miller (21) and Danae Miller (20) who combined for 41 points on 12-of-18 shooting.
 
UC Irvine is 2-4 all-time against UC Santa Barbara in Big West Tournament games. The Gauchos won the first-round match-ups at the Bren in 2012 and 2016, while also defeating the Anteaters in the semifinals (2003) and championship (1997). UCI's two wins came in 1984 and 1985.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
UC Irvine made its debut in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll at No. 24 (Dec. 4), and remained in the top-25 for nine consecutive weeks. The 'Eaters reached as high as No. 15, but have since dropped out of the rankings. 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.
 
THE TURNAROUND
Last year, in just her second season at the helm, Tamara Inoue led the 'Eaters to their highest win total and first postseason appearance in 23 years. They saw a 12.5-game improvement from 2016-17, which was the second-best turnaround in all of NCAA Division I. This year, Inoue and her squad proved it wasn't a fluke, starting the season at 7-0 for the first time in program history. The Anteaters have notched their second-straight 18-win season, marking their most victories in back-to-back campaigns since 1983-84 (20) and 1984-85 (21).
 
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 inbound 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. 
 
LEAVING A LEGACY
Senior Andee Ritter recently became UC Irvine's all-time leader in 3-pointers made and steals. She knocked down three triples against Long Beach State on March 9 to give her 199 in her career, breaking Kathy Lizarraga's 27-year old record of 198. The Medford, Ore., native had already topped Lizarraga's single-season program record, which was established in 1988-89, 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 also surpassed Megan Stafford (1996-00) for first in the Anteater record books with her 189th career steal last Saturday.
 
DEFENSIVE PRESENCE
The 'Eaters have been locked in on the defensive end, forcing 20+ turnovers 18 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 March 9, UCI ranks sixth in the nation in turnover margin (7.7), 13th in TOs forced (21.0/gm) and 21st in steals (10.8/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.
 
WIN NO. 10
UC Irvine was the only Big West school to reach double figures in the win column during non-conference play. It was the fastest the Anteaters have hit the 10-win mark in program history. It is also the first time since 2010-11 and 2011-12 that UCI has recorded back-to-back 10-win seasons.
 
HOME COOKING
Since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, the 'Eaters are 20-8 (.714) at the Bren Events Center. Their 20 victories in two seasons are more than their total from the previous four years combined.

THE BIG THREE
Senior Andee Ritter, junior Lauren Saiki and sophomore Jordan Sanders have accounted for 57 percent of UC Irvine's scoring. They have combined for 1,096 points (39.1 ppg), and have produced 56 double-figure scoring games, 19 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 30-9 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 23 of 24 games played. Thirteen of those have been 20+ performances, including six in Big West action with 24 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). Against 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 21st in the nation, with 20.4 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 hosts the first two rounds of the Big West Tournament, March 12-13. The semifinals and championship game then move to Honda Center in Anaheim, March 15-16.