UC Irvine (5-14, 1-4 Big West) at
Hawai'i (9-10, 3-3 Big West)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 30
Time: 7 p.m. (HT) / 9 p.m.  (PST)
Location: Stan Sheriff Center (10,300) - Honolulu, Hawaii
Watch // Listen // Live Stats

UC Irvine (5-14, 1-4 Big West) at
UC Riverside (6-13, 2-3 Big West)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 1
Time: 5 p.m. (PST)
Location: SRC Arena (2,750) - Riverside, Calif.
Watch // Listen // Live Stats

Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team begins a tough three-game Big West road stretch this week, starting with a trip to Hawai'i for a 7 p.m. (HT)/9 p.m. (PT) showdown with the Rainbow Wahine on Thursday, Jan. 30. The Anteaters then have a quick turnaround as they return to the mainland for a 5 p.m. game at UC Riverside on Saturday, Feb. 1.
 
STORYLINES
• Due to injuries, UC Irvine has used eight different starting lineups over their last 13 games.
• Eight Anteaters have at least one double-figure scoring game, with six hitting the 20-point mark this season.
• Junior Haleigh Talbert has reached double figures in six-straight contests and is averaging a team-best 16.6 points in Big West play.
• Talbert surpassed 500 career points against Long Beach State last Saturday.
• Overall, senior Lauren Saiki is tops on the squad with 11.0 ppg and 6.8 apg.
• Her assist average is currently No. 1 in the Big West and No. 4 in the nation.
• Saiki is the sixth 'Eater in program history to record 300 career assists.
• In last week's game vs. CSUN, she passed Erin Higashi for No. 2 on the school's all-time charts and has since increased her total to 362.
• Saiki has also cracked UCI's single-season top-10 with 130 assists in 2019-20.
• She is on pace to break the 17-year old record of 189 set by Lisa Faulkner (2002-03).
• Freshman Sophia Locandro has led the Anteaters on the boards in each of the last six outings and is averaging 8.3 rpg during that stretch.

A GLANCE AT HAWAI'I
Hawai'i (9-10, 3-3 Big West) fell at Long Beach State, 62-55, before picking up its first conference road win at UC Riverside, 65-59, last week. Senior guard Julissa Tago is tops on the squad with 13.1 points per game, while junior forward Amy Atwell has registered 10.4 points and a team-best 5.0 rebounds per outing. The Rainbow Wahine lead the Big West in scoring defense (61.2 ppg), field goal percentage defense (.374) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (.282).
 
SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS
UC Riverside (6-13, 2-3 Big West) came up short at Cal Poly, 75-70, and lost to Hawai'i, 65-59, last week. The Highlanders will be looking to snap their two game losing streak at Long Beach State (Jan. 30), before they welcome UCI to SRC Arena on Saturday. Senior guard Jannon Otto has paced UCR with 15.8 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per outing.
 
SERIES RECORDS
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with Hawai'i, 31-11, but has come out on top in three of the last four meetings. The Anteaters, who are 3-16 on the road against the Rainbow Wahine, have won two in a row in Honolulu, including a 53-48 victory on Feb. 21, 2019.
 
UCI also trails in its all-time series with UC Riverside, 40-20. The Highlanders swept the regular-season series last year, defeating the 'Eaters, 88-72, in Riverside and 66-65 in Irvine.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine saw another game slip away in the fourth quarter as Long Beach State outscored the Anteaters by nine over the final 10 minutes for a 56-46 Black & Blue Rivalry win last Saturday at the Bren Events Center. UCI trailed by one after three periods, but went 1-for-14 from the field and scored only six points in the final frame. Haleigh Talbert finished with a game-high 15 points to go along with four rebounds, three steals and two assists. Lauren Saiki also reached double figures with 12 points (4-7 3FG). She added six assists and a career-best six steals. Sophia Locandro chipped in seven points and seven boards.
 
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 12 of 19 games. Haleigh Talbert (8), Alexus Seaton (7), Sophia Locandro (6), Chloe Webb (5), Jayde Cadee (4) and Dani Guglielmo (3) also have multiple double-digit outings, while Yazzy Sa'Dullah rounds out the group.
 
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 second on UCI's all-time list with 362 assists.
 
THE LO-DOWN
Saiki has been the Anteaters' assists leader in 53 of her 82 career games played. She recorded her third and fourth career double-digit assist performances two weeks ago with 10 helpers vs. UC Santa Barbara and 11 at Cal Poly. The Monterey Park, Calif., native has dished out a team-best 130 dimes this season, which put her at No. 10 among UCI's single-season leaders. Her 6.8 apg also rank first in the Big West and fourth in the nation.
 
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 six-straight double-digit scoring games, is averaging a team-best 16.6 points in Big West play. The Euless, Texas, native has also made a three in 10 consecutive games.
 
TWENTY-TWENTY
Freshman Sophia Locandro (Mount Waverly, Victoria, Australia) is the only Anteater with two 20-point games this year. She had the team's first double-double 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 six games, she is averaging 12.0 points and 8.3 rebounds.
 
BACK-TO-BACK
After recording just five points through five games to start the year, junior Dani Guglielmo notched her first career back-to-back double-figure scoring performances at the Denver Thanksgiving Classic (Nov. 29-30). The Los Gatos, Calif.,  native netted a then season-high 12 points against host Denver before matching that total to lead the team vs. North Alabama. She would reach double digits again vs. CSUN on Jan. 23. Despite playing on a sprained ankle suffered at Cal Poly, she broke through a shooting slump with a career-high 18 points (6-11 3FG). Prior to that, she had gone 3-for-20 from long distance over a seven-game stretch. Guglielmo made her first career start against Portland State on Dec. 2, and was part of the first five for 11-straight games.
 
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 second on the team with 30 3-pointers, 20 of which have come in the last seven contests.
 
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 31 steals (1.6 spg), while she ranks second in scoring (9.2 ppg), rebounding (4.4 rpg) and assists (1.8 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.
 
FRESHMAN IMPACT
UC Irvine's active freshmen have provided quality minutes early in their careers. Sophia Locandro (6) and Jayde Cadee (4) have combined for 10 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 (49.6%) own the top-two field goal percentages on the team.
 
ACCESS DENIED
UC Irvine has registered 4.0 blocks per outing, which is tops in the Big West. The 'Eaters had a season-high 10 blocked shots at Denver, marking the first time they reached double digits in that category since Jan. 27, 2010. UCI also ranks third in the conference with 17.5 turnovers forced per game. They have caused 20+ miscues four times with a season-high 29 against Loyola Marymount.
 
OPENING NIGHT
The 'Eaters started the 2019-20 campaign with a 79-77 win over San José State on Nov. 5. They improved to 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.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine concludes its three-game Big West road swing next Wednesday, Feb. 5, when it travels to the Central Coast for a 7 p.m. tilt at UC Santa Barbara. The 'Eaters then return home to host UC Davis on Saturday, Feb. 8 (2 p.m.).