UC Irvine (4-10, 0-0 Big West) at
CSUN (5-9, 0-0 Big West)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 11
Time: 4 p.m. (PST)
Location: The Matadome (2,000) - Northridge, Calif.
Watch // Listen // Live Stats

Game Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team will head to CSUN for its Big West Conference opener on Saturday, Jan. 11. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. at The Matadome.
 
STORYLINES
• This is just the second time since CSUN joined the Big West in 2001-02 that UC Irvine will begin its conference slate against the Matadors.
• Eight of UCI's 11 active players have reached double figures in scoring, with five hitting the 20-point mark. 
• Freshmen Sophia Locandro and Chloe Webb were the latest Anteaters to record a 20-point game, both accomplishing the feat vs. Westcliff.
• Locandro had a season-best 22 points and 10 rebounds against the Warriors for the team's first double-double of the year.
• Webb also notched season-highs of 20 points, seven rebounds, six steals and three assists.
• She was the first 'Eater to have six steals in a game since Dec. 6, 2018.
• UC Irvine ranks first in the Big West and 40th in all of NCAA Division I with 4.6 blocks per game.
• Senior Lauren Saiki leads the team with 11.7 ppg and 6.5 apg. Her assist average is currently among the top-five in the nation.
• Saiki is the sixth Anteater in program history to reach 300 career assists.
• She enters the weekend at No. 5 on the school's all-time charts (323).
• Over the last two games, freshman Jayde Cadee has gone 11-of-21 (52%) from 3-point range.
• Cadee had a breakout performance at SMU with a season-high 21 points on a 7-for-10 performance from beyond the arc.
• Her seven triples are tied for second in UCI's single-game history, while her 70% clip also puts her among the program's all-time top-10.
• 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...
• The Anteaters would be victorious in their Big West opener for the second-straight season.
• Last year they started conference play with a 75-59 win at Cal Poly.
• The 'Eaters would earn their first road win in their all-time series with CSUN since Jan. 23, 2014.
 
SCOUTING THE MATADORS
CSUN (5-9, 0-0 Big West) wrapped up non-conference play with a 77-54 victory over NAIA member Hope International (Dec. 31). The Matadors will host Hawai'i in their Big West opener on Thursday, Jan. 9. Senior forward De'Jionae Calloway is tops on the squad with 14.6 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Freshman guard Deja Williams, who has made a team-best 27 threes, is also averaging 9.9 points per outing, while senior guard Hayley Tanabe has dished out 3.4 assists per contest.
 
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with CSUN, 30-26. The 'Eaters won the last meeting as they defeated the Matadors, 59-57, in the quarterfinals of the Big West Tournament at the Bren Events Center on March 13, 2019. Lauren Saiki finished with 16 points, while Tahlia Garza had eight points, including the go-ahead basket with two seconds left. UCI and CSUN have split the regular-season series, winning on their respective home courts, in each of the last three years.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine outscored Westcliff University (NAIA) by 32 in the second half to run away with a 93-41 victory Monday evening at the Bren Events Center. Sophia Locandro had the team's first double-double of the year with a season-best 22 points (10-16 FG) and 10 rebounds in 23 minutes played. Chloe Webb added season-highs of 20 points, seven boards, six steals and three assists. Haleigh Talbert finished with a career-high tying 14 points, while Jayde Cadee knocked down four triples for 12 points. Lauren Saiki dished out a game-high five assists.
 
As a team, the Anteaters shot 49% overall and 41% from long distance. They established season bests in points, rebounds (56), assists (22) and steals (14).
 
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 fifth on UCI's all-time list with 323 assists.

THE LO-DOWN
Saiki has been the Anteaters' assists leader in 48 of her 77 career games played. The Monterey Park, Calif., native has dished out a team-best 91 dimes this season, with her 6.5 apg ranking fourth in the nation. In addition, Saiki has reached double figures in scoring nine 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.
 
TWENTY-TWENTY
Freshmen Sophia Locandro (Mount Waverly, Victoria, Australia) and Chloe Webb (San Diego, Calif.) combined for 42 points on 63% shooting to highlight UCI's 93-41 win over NAIA member Westcliff University on Jan. 6. Locandro had the Anteaters' first double-double of the year with a season-high 22 points (10-16 FG) and 10 rebounds. Webb also had the best game of her young career with 20 points (9-14 FG), seven boards, six steals and three assists. She was the first 'Eater to snag six steals in a game since Dec. 6, 2018.
  
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. Cadee shattered her previous best of 12 vs. Portland State earlier in the month. All of her game-high 21 points came from behind the arc where she went 7-for-10. Her seven triples are the most by a Big West player this year and are tied for second in UCI's single-game history. Her 70% clip also ranks among the top-10. Cadee remained hot against Westcliff on Jan. 6, knocking down four triples. She is 11-of-21 from 3-point range over the last two games.
 
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 has started every game and is tops on the squad with 62 rebounds (4.4 rpg) and 23 steals (1.6 spg), while she ranks second in scoring (10.3 ppg), assists (2.1 apg) and blocks (0.9 bpg). Seaton, who came into the 2019-20 campaign averaging 2.3 points per outing, has reached double figures in scoring six times with a career-high 23 vs. Vanderbilt. She just missed her first double-double with nine rebounds against the Commodores.
 
BALANCED ATTACK
Eight Anteaters have reached double figures in scoring with five hitting the 20-point mark this year. Lauren Saiki has put up 10+ points in nine of 14 games. Alexus Seaton (6), Chloe Webb (5), Sophia Locandro (4), Haleigh Talbert (3), Jayde Cadee (3) and Dani Guglielmo (2) also have multiple double-digit outings, while Yazzy Sa'Dullah rounds out the group. UC Irvine has had six different leading scorers in 2019-20.
 
FRESHMAN IMPACT
UC Irvine's active freshmen have provided quality minutes early in their careers. Chloe Webb (5) and Sophia Locandro (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 Webb also had a collegiate-best 20 points and six steals against the Warriors. Jayde Cadee has reached double digits on three occasions, with a season-high 21 points on seven triples at SMU. Cadee ranks second on the team with 21 3-pointers made.
 
GETTING ON BOARD
Junior Joy Akaegbu-Cleveland (Spokane, Wash.) has had 5+ rebounds in five of the last seven games and is averaging 6.1 boards during that stretch. She had a season-high nine rebounds against Portland State (Dec. 2) and at Southern Utah (Dec. 6).
 
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 season-high 12 points against host Denver before matching that total to lead the team vs. North Alabama. Guglielmo then made her first career start against Portland State on Dec. 2, and has been part of the first five in each of the last seven outings.
 
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 17.6 turnovers per game with a season-high 29 against Loyola Marymount. The 'Eaters have also registered 4.6 blocks per outing, which is tops in the Big West and 40th in all of NCAA Division I. 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.
 
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.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine will host UC Santa Barbara in its Big West home opener at 7 p.m. next Thursday, Jan. 16.