UC Irvine (1-3) at
San Diego State (2-4)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 19
Time: 4 p.m. (PST)
Location: Viejas Arena (12,414) - San Diego, Calif.
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UC Irvine (1-3) at
San Diego (2-2)
Date: Sunday, Dec. 20
Time: 4 p.m. (PST)
Location: Jenny Craig Pavilion (5,100) - San Diego, Calif.
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UC Irvine Game Notes | San Diego State Game Notes | San Diego Game Notes

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team will hit the road in its final tune-up before Big West play as the Anteaters head south for games against San Diego State on Saturday, Dec. 19, and the University of San Diego on Sunday, Dec. 20. Both contests are slated for a 4 p.m. start.
 
STORYLINES
• UC Irvine is looking for its first win of the season against an NCAA Division I opponent.
• Redshirt freshman Kayla Williams has registered at least 10 points, two assists and two steals in every game this season.
• She is tops on the team in all three categories (16.0 ppg, 4.0 apg, 2.3 spg).
• Sophomore Chloe Webb leads the Anteaters with 8.7 rebounds per game.
• She had her first collegiate double-double with 14 points (6-7 FG) and a career-high 15 boards vs. Westmont on Dec. 9.
• Sophomore Sophia Locandro had her first 20-point game of the year, and seventh of her career, vs. Saint Mary's (Dec. 16).
• Senior Haleigh Talbert was sidelined for the first time in her UCI career on Wednesday.
• It snapped Talbert's streak of 97 consecutive games played.
• Sophomore Jayde Cadee has made at least one 3-pointer in her last 13 games.
• UC Irvine returns over 70% of its scoring, rebounding, steals and blocks from a year ago.
 
SCOUTING THE AZTECS
San Diego State (2-4) was last in action one week ago when it traveled to Fort Collins, Colo., for its Mountain West-opening series, Dec. 8-10. The Aztecs lost both contests, falling to Colorado State, 86-77, and 84-77 (2OT). Sophia Ramos has paced SDSU with 16.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.2 steals per game.
 
A GLANCE AT USD
San Diego (2-2) dropped a 64-55 decision at Arizona State in its most recent outing on Dec. 13. The Toreros were scheduled to play at Long Beach State on Thursday, but the game was canceled due to an abundance of caution regarding COVID-19 protocols within the LBSU program. Jordyn Edwards leads USD with 11.3 points and 2.8 assists per contest, while Sydney Hunter is averaging 10.0 ppg and a team-best 7.3 rpg.
 
SERIES RECORDS
UCI trails in its all-time series with San Diego State, 20-7. In the most recent meeting two years ago, the Anteaters suffered their first loss of the 2018-19 campaign, falling to the Aztecs, 78-70 in Irvine (Dec. 7, 2018). UC Irvine had won the previous year at Viejas Arena, 67-65.
 
The 'Eaters are 65-109 all-time against the 11 current members of the Mountain West Conference, and are 6-7 against MWC foes in head coach Tamara Inoue's tenure.
 
UCI trails in its all-time series with San Diego, 16-13. The Toreros have come out on top in the last two meetings but the programs haven't met since 2014.
 
USD is the third West Coast Conference opponent the Anteaters will face this season. Against the WCC, the 'Eaters are 0-2 this year, 4-5 in head coach Tamara Inoue's tenure and 82-107 all-time.
 
NEW LOOK SCHEDULE
In an effort to reduce travel and emphasize the health and safety of student-athletes, coaches and staff in the middle of 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.
 
LAST TIME OUT
In a tightly contested game from start to finish, UC Irvine came up just short, falling to Saint Mary's, 67-64, Wednesday at the Bren Events Center. Neither team went up by more than six, while there were 15 lead changes and 10 tie scores.
 
Sophia Locandro paced the Anteaters with 20 points, four rebounds and two blocks. Kayla Williams also finished with 15 points, five assists and three steals. Chloe Webb added eight points and a team-high seven rebounds, while Alexus Seaton chipped in seven points.
 
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.
 
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. This is the third year in a row the Anteaters were selected among the top-three in the preseason polls.
 
RECORD WATCH
Senior Tahlia Garza ranks seventh in program history with 87 blocks. She is 13 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.
 
OVERTIME NOTES
UC Irvine's 91-78 victory over Westmont College was the program'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. The Anteaters outscored the Warriors, 22-9, in the five-minute extra period.
 
TURNOVER TALK
The Anteaters have forced a Big West-leading 68 turnovers. They have caused at least 13 miscues in every outing with a season-high 19 in the opener against California Baptist. UCI has held the advantage in turnovers and points off turnovers in three of its four games.
 
MAKING MOVES
Redshirt freshman Kayla Williams is tops on the squad with 16.0 points, 4.0 assists and 2.3 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, 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.
 
BACK ON TRACK
After finishing with only four points in 11 minutes played due to foul trouble in a win over Westmont, sophomore Sophia Locandro (Melbourne, Australia) bounced back against Saint Mary's this past Wednesday, recording her first 20-point game of the season, and seventh of her career. She was 8-for-15 from the field and 4-of-5 at the free throw line. Earlier this month, Locandro was named the Big West Women's Basketball Player of the Week for her effort at LMU (Dec. 3), where she put up 14 points and a team-high eight boards, six of which came on the offensive end. On the season, the 6-foot-3 forward is averaging 12.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and a team-leading 1.3 blocks per game. She was a 2019-20 All-Big West honorable mention selection and was named to the conference's all-freshman team.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE TIME
Sophomore and San Diego native Chloe Webb had her first collegiate double-double with 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds against Westmont College on Dec. 9. 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. On the season, Webb leads UCI with 8.7 rebounds per game and a 60% field goal percentage (9-for-15).
 
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 and 1.7 assists per contest. Talbert increased her offensive production over the first three games, finishing with seven points vs. California Baptist, 15 at LMU and 16 in an overtime victory against Westmont. She then missed the first game of her career on Wednesday as she was sidelined with an injury in UC Irvine's loss to Saint Mary's.
 
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 15 times in her young career. Cadee tied a UCI single-game record with eight triples at Long Beach State on Feb. 20, 2020.

SPLASH SISTERS
UC Irvine is averaging about six 3-pointers made per game. Jayde Cadee (8), Haleigh Talbert (6) and Kayla Williams (6) have led the way from the perimeter, combining for 20 of the Anteaters' 25 threes this season. In 2019-20, the 'Eaters established single-season school records with 224 triples and 701 attempts from beyond the arc. They ranked among the top-three in the Big West in both categories.
 
WINNING WAYS
Over the last three years, the Anteaters averaged 17 wins per season. Their 51 total victories during that span was the program's best three-year stretch since 1983-86.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine is slated to start Big West Conference play at UC Santa Barbara, Dec. 27-28. Both games are scheduled for a 4 p.m. start and will be broadcast on ESPN3.