Anteaters Set to Entertain Saint Mary's in Wednesday Matinee

Wednesday, December 16

Irvine, Calif.

2:00 PM

UC Irvine

Saint Mary's

Anteaters Set to Entertain Saint Mary's in Wednesday Matinee

December 14, 2020 | Women's Basketball

Saint Mary's (0-4) at
UC Irvine (1-2)
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 16
Time: 2 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
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UC Irvine Game Notes | Saint Mary's Game Notes

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team will return to the Bren Events Center on Wednesday, Dec. 16, to host Saint Mary's in a 2 p.m. non-conference showdown.

Per the direction of the Big West Board of Directors, UCI will play without spectators in attendance. The issue of fan attendance will be revisited as the season progresses.

STORYLINES
• UC Irvine is coming off its first win of the season, a 91-78 overtime victory against Westmont, the NAIA's top-ranked team.
• It was UCI's first overtime game since Dec. 16, 2017, and its first OT win since a 74-71 triumph at Cal Poly on Feb. 18, 2017.
• Five Anteaters reached double figures in scoring for the first time since the 2018-19 season opener.
• Redshirt freshman Kayla Williams led the way with a season-high 24 points (14-20 FT) and seven assists.
• Williams has registered 10+ points in each of her three collegiate outings.
• She is averaging a team-best 16.3 points, 3.7 assists and 2.0 steals.
• Sophomore Chloe Webb had her first collegiate double-double with 14 points (6-7 FG) and a career-high 15 rebounds.
• She was the first 'Eater with 15 boards in a game since Shereen Sutherland at Utah State on Nov. 17, 2016.
• Sophomore Melodie Kapinga also had a career-best 12 points on a 4-for-5 performance from the field.
• Senior Haleigh Talbert has increased her production in each game this season, and is second on the squad with 12.7 ppg.
• Sophomore Jayde Cadee has made at least one 3-pointer in 12 consecutive outings.
• UC Irvine has five seniors who have combined to play 399 career games.
• The squad returns over 70% of its scoring, rebounding, steals and blocks from a year ago.
• Despite the experience returning, the Anteaters still have a lot of youth on their roster with five freshmen and four sophomores.
• From 2017-20, the 'Eaters averaged 17 wins per season.

WITH A WIN...
• UC Irvine will improve to 3-1 in its all-time series with Saint Mary's.
• The Anteaters will be 32-13 at the Bren Events Center since 2017-18.

SCOUTING THE GAELS
Saint Mary's (0-4) fell at Fresno State, 90-71, last Friday, marking its fourth-straight road loss to start the season. Junior guard Taycee Wedin leads the Gaels with 12.8 points per game, while senior guard/forward Brianna Simonich has pulled down 10.8 rebounds per outing. Through four games, SMC owns a +11.3 margin on the boards.

SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine leads in its all-time series with Saint Mary's, 2-1. The two teams have not faced each other since Jan. 2, 1998, when the Gaels defeated the Anteaters, 81-70, in Moraga, Calif.

The 'Eaters are 82-106 all-time against current members of the West Coast Conference, and are 4-4 against WCC foes in head coach Tamara Inoue's tenure.

CONNECTIONS
UC Irvine's Joy Akaegbu-Cleveland played at Saint Mary's from 2016-18 before transferring to UC Irvine.

The Gaels' second leading scorer, Madeline Holland, was teammates with Tahlia Garza and Dani Guglielmo at Archbishop Mitty High School. The trio helped the Monarchs win the 2015 CIF Division II state title.

UCI's Jayde Cadee and Sophia Locandro, and SMC's Leia Hanafin all hail from Melbourne, Australia, and were members of the Victoria Metro State team.

TEAM CAPTAINS
Seniors Haleigh Talbert, Dani Guglielmo and Tahlia Garza have been selected as team captains for the 2020-21 season. The trio was part of Inoue's first recruiting class and have played an integral role in the program's turnaround. As freshmen in 2017-18, they helped the Anteaters to a remarkable 13-win improvement, and in 2018-19, they were key contributors in UCI's first 20-win season in 34 years.

NEW LOOK SCHEDULE
In an effort to reduce travel and emphasize the health and safety of student-athletes, coaches and staff in a pandemic, the Big West altered its conference schedule so that teams will play the same opponent on consecutive days at one site. Games will not be rescheduled should a team need to quarantine during the season.

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
UC Irvine was picked to finish second in both the Big West Preseason Coaches and Media Poll. The 'Eaters (101 points) received two first-place votes from the league's 11 head coaches to come in behind four-time defending regular-season champion UC Davis. The Aggies were tabbed the preseason favorite with six first-place votes and 114 total points. This is the third year in a row the 'Eaters were selected among the top-three in the preseason polls.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine earned its first win of the season with a 91-78 overtime victory against Westmont College last Wednesday at the Bren Events Center. The Anteaters, who saw an 11-point lead disappear in the final two minutes of regulation, regrouped before the overtime period where they outscored the Warriors, 22-9. Kayla Williams led UCI with a season-high 24 points (14-20 FT) and seven assists. She was a key factor in OT where she was 9-of-12 at the charity stripe. Chloe Webb registered a double-double with 14 points (6-7 FG) and a career-best 15 rebounds. Haleigh Talbert added 16 points and seven boards, while Melodie Kapinga finished with a career-high 12 points. Jayde Cadee chipped in 10 points with three triples, two of which came early in OT.

SPLASH SISTERS
Four 'Eaters made at least 40 triples last year, and three are back this year. Jayde Cadee knocked down a team-leading 59 threes, while Haleigh Talbert finished with 47 and Dani Guglielmo had 40. This season, the trio has combined to make 14 of UCI's 19 3-pointers.

HOME COOKING
Since 2017-18, UC Irvine is 31-13 (.705) at the Bren Events Center. The 31 home victories in three-plus seasons match UCI's combined total from the previous six campaigns (2011-17).

RECORD WATCH
Senior Tahlia Garza ranks seventh in program history with 86 blocks. She is 14 away from passing Chelsea Mackey and becoming the sixth Anteater to record 100 career blocks. Senior Haleigh Talbert sits just outside UCI's all-time top-10 with 93 career 3-pointers made and 114 steals. She needs 14 more threes and 36 steals to etch her name in the record books.

MAKING MOVES
Through her first three collegiate games, redshirt freshman Kayla Williams is tops on the squad with 16.3 points, 3.7 assists and 2.0 steals per outing. In her Anteater debut on Nov. 28, the Los Angeles native had 11 points in 35 minutes played. It was her first official competition since her high school career ended on Feb. 27, 2019 (21 months). The 5-foot-7 point guard, who sat out last season with a lower leg injury, also had 14 points at LMU on Dec. 3, before erupting for a season-high 24 points and seven assists in an overtime win against Westmont (Dec. 9). Williams went 9-for-12 from the foul line in the five-minute extra period, and finished the evening with 14 free throws made on 20 attempts, both of which rank among the top-three in single-game school history.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE TIME
Sophomore Chloe Webb (San Diego) had her first collegiate double-double with 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds against Westmont College. She was the first Anteater with 15 boards in a game since Nov. 17, 2016. The 5-foot-8 guard also notched four assists and two steals in the victory. Webb, who missed the season opener with an injury, has been UCI's most efficient scorer over the last two games where she is 7-of-8 from the field (.875).

HEART OVER HEIGHT
Senior Haleigh Talbert (Euless, Texas) has been one of the Anteaters' most consistent all-around players over the last few years, and the 5-foot-4 guard has continued to put up solid numbers in 2020-21 as she is averaging 12.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 steals per contest. Talbert has increased her offensive production in each game this season, finishing with seven points vs. California Baptist, 15 at LMU and 16 in an overtime victory against Westmont.

LOCANDRO NETS WEEKLY HONOR
Sophomore Sophia Locandro (Melbourne, Australia) was named the Big West Women's Basketball Player of the Week on Dec. 7. She earned her second career weekly award for her performance at LMU where she finished with 14 points and a team-high eight rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end. The 6-foot-3 forward was 5-for-10 from the field, while also recording an assist, steal and block. On the season, Locandro is averaging 9.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. She was a 2019-20 All-Big West honorable mention selection and was named to the conference's all-freshman team.

SHOOTERS TOUCH
Sophomore Jayde Cadee (Melbourne, Australia) finished with a team-best 59 3-pointers last year, which ranks fifth in single-season program history. She has knocked down multiple threes in a game 14 times in her young career. Cadee tied UCI's single-game record with eight triples at Long Beach State on Feb. 20, 2020.

TURNOVER TALK
In three games this season, the 'Eaters have forced a Big West leading 50 turnovers (16.7/game). They have caused at least 13 miscues in every outing with a season-high 19 in the opener against California Baptist. UCI has also held the advantage in turnovers and points off turnovers in two of its three contests.

WINNING WAYS
Over the last three years, the Anteaters are averaging 17 wins per season. Their 51 total victories during that span is the program's best three-year stretch since 1983-86.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine will hit the road for its final two non-conference games starting with a 4 p.m. tilt at San Diego State on Saturday, Dec. 19. The Anteaters will then square off against the University of San Diego at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 20.