CSUN (8-10, 3-1 Big West) at
UC Irvine (5-12, 1-2 Big West)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 23
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.)

Long Beach State (7-10, 2-2 Big West) at
UC Irvine (5-12, 1-2 Big West)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 25
Time: 2:03 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Watch on ESPN3 // Listen // Live Stats // Tickets (UCI Undergraduate Students Free with I.D.)

Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team opens a two-game home set on Thursday, Jan. 23, when it welcomes CSUN to the Bren Events Center for a 7 p.m. showdown. The Anteaters will then host Long Beach State Saturday (Jan. 25) in a Black & Blue Rivalry Game on ESPN3. Tip-off is set for 2:03 p.m. with Rahshaun Haylock, Bill Herenda and Courtney Sweet on the call.
 
STORYLINES
• UC Irvine will have back-to-back home games for the first time this season.
• Due to injuries, the Anteaters have used seven different starting lineups over their last 11 games.
• Eight of UCI's 11 active players have reached double figures in scoring, with six hitting the 20-point mark.
• Junior Haleigh Talbert became the latest 'Eater with a 20-point performance, netting a game-high 23 at Cal Poly.
• Talbert has reached double figures in scoring in four-straight contests.
• She is averaging a team-best 17.3 points through three Big West games.
• Overall, senior Lauren Saiki is tops on the squad with 11.6 ppg and 6.9 apg.
• Her assist average is currently tops in the Big West and fourth in the nation.
• Saiki is the sixth Anteater in program history to reach 300 career assists.
• She enters the week at No. 3 on the school's all-time charts (350), and needs two more dimes to pass Erin Higashi for No. 2.
• Saiki has dished out 10+ helpers in each of the last two games. She is averaging 9.0 assists in Big West play.

WE MEET AGAIN
UC Irvine will conclude its regular-season series with CSUN in its third week of Big West play. The two teams already met on Saturday, Jan. 11, with the Matadors pulling out a 70-62 victory in Northridge. Haleigh Talbert led the 'Eaters with 13 points and seven rebounds, while De'Jionae Calloway paced CSUN with 16 points and 14 boards.
 
A GLANCE AT CSUN
CSUN (8-10, 3-1 Big West) defeated Cal State Fullerton in overtime, 63-57, but then fell at Long Beach State, 60-52, last week. Senior forward De'Jionae Calloway has anchored the Matador effort with a team-best 15.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
 
SCOUTING THE BEACH
Long Beach State (7-10, 2-2 Big West) split its two games last week, dropping a 57-55 decision at UC Davis before taking down previous Big West unbeaten CSUN, 60-52. Junior guard Shanaijah Davison leads LBSU with 14.2 ppg, while sophomore guard Justina King is averaging 13.2 points and a team-best 3.4 assists per outing.
 
SERIES RECORDS
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with CSUN, 31-26. The Anteaters will be looking to avenge their loss to the Matadors two weeks ago. UCI and CSUN have split the regular-season series, winning on their respective home courts, in each of the last three years. The 'Eaters haven't lost to the Matadors at home since 2016.
 
UC Irvine also trails in its all-time series with Long Beach State, 60-17, but has won three of the last four. In 2018-19, the Anteaters swept the Beach for the first time in 21 years.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine used a big fourth quarter to defeat Cal Poly, 68-57, last Saturday at Mott Athletics Center. The Anteaters outscored the Mustangs, 25-15, over the final 10 minutes. For the second-straight outing, Haleigh Talbert had a career best, putting up a game-high 23 points on 6-for-12 shooting (5-11 3FG). Lauren Saiki had UCI's second double-double of the year, finishing with 12 points and a season-best 11 assists. Jayde Cadee added 15 points on five triples.

300 AND COUNTING
Senior Lauren Saiki is the sixth Anteater in program history to record 300 career assists. She reached the milestone with the second of her five helpers against Vanderbilt on Dec. 20. Saiki, who is in her third year at UC Irvine after transferring from West Virginia, currently ranks third on UCI's all-time list with 350 assists.
 
THE LO-DOWN
Saiki has been the Anteaters' assists leader in 51 of her 80 career games played. She recorded her third and fourth career double-digit assist performances last week with 10 helpers vs. UC Santa Barbara and 11 at Cal Poly. The Monterey Park, Calif., native has dished out a team-best 118 dimes this season, with her 6.9 apg ranking fourth in the nation. In addition, Saiki has reached double figures in scoring 11 times with a season-high 20 points coming in a win over Loyola Marymount. She went 4-for-7 from long distance against the Lions.
 
HALEIGH'S TURN
Junior Haleigh Talbert became the sixth different 'Eater with a 20-point game this year after finishing with a career-high 23 at Cal Poly on Jan. 18. She went 6-for-12 from the field with a career-best five 3-pointers made. Talbert, who has four-straight double-digit scoring games, is averaging a team-best 17.3 points in Big West play. The Euless, Texas, native has also made a three in eight consecutive games.
 
TWENTY-TWENTY
Freshman Sophia Locandro (Mount Waverly, Victoria, Australia) has reached the 20-point mark in two of the last four games. She had the Anteaters' first double-double of the year with a season-high 22 points (10-16 FG) and 10 rebounds against Westcliff on Jan. 6. Locandro then finished with 20 points and eight boards vs. UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 16). Over the last four games, she is averaging 13.5 points and 8.5 rebounds.
 
HOME COOKING
Since the start of the 2017-18 campaign, UC Irvine is 25-10 (.714) at the Bren Events Center. The 25 home victories in two-plus seasons are more than the Anteaters' combined total from the previous five years.

COUNT 'EM FOR CADEE
Freshman Jayde Cadee (Macleod, Victoria, Australia) had a breakout performance at SMU on Dec. 29, scoring a season-high 21 points, all of which came from behind the arc where she was 7-for-10. Her seven triples are tied for the most in the Big West this year, and tied for second in UCI's single-game history. Her 70% clip also ranks among the program's top-10. Cadee is first on the team with 30 3-pointers, 20 of which have come in the last five contests. During that stretch, she is 20-of-44 (45%) from long distance.
 
COMING INTO HER OWN
In her third year at UC Irvine, junior Alexus Seaton has emerged as one of the team's leaders. The Fort Worth, Texas, native, who has started every game, is tops on the squad with 76 rebounds (4.5 rpg) and 27 steals (1.6 spg), while she ranks second in scoring (9.9 ppg) and assists (1.9 apg). Seaton, who came into the 2019-20 campaign averaging 2.3 points per outing, has reached double figures in scoring seven times with a career-high 23 vs. Vanderbilt.
 
BALANCED ATTACK
Eight 'Eaters have reached double figures in scoring with six hitting the 20-point mark this year. Lauren Saiki has put up 10+ points in 11 of 17 games. Alexus Seaton (7), Haleigh Talbert (6), Chloe Webb (5), Sophia Locandro (5), Jayde Cadee (4) and Dani Guglielmo (2) also have multiple double-digit outings, while Yazzy Sa'Dullah rounds out the group.
 
FRESHMAN IMPACT
UC Irvine's active freshmen have provided quality minutes early in their careers. Sophia Locandro (5) and Jayde Cadee (4) have combined for nine double-figure scoring games. Locandro had a season-high 22 points (10-16 FG) and 10 rebounds vs. Westcliff, while Cadee also had a collegiate-best 21 points at SMU. Chloe Webb, who will miss the remainder of the season with an injury, scored 10+ points in five of 14 games played with a season-high 20 against Westcliff. Webb (51.8%) and Locandro (51.0%) own the top-two field goal percentages on the team.
 
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 16.9 turnovers per game with a season-high 29 against Loyola Marymount. The 'Eaters have also registered 4.1 blocks per outing, which is tops in the Big West. They had a season-high 10 blocked shots at Denver, marking the first time they reached double digits in that category since Jan. 27, 2010.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine has a tough road stretch coming up as it makes the trek to Hawai'i on Thursday, Jan. 30. The Anteaters then return to the mainland for another away game at UC Riverside on Saturday, Feb. 1.