UC Irvine (2-4, 0-0 Big West) at
UC Santa Barbara (0-4, 0-0 Big West)
Date: Sunday, Dec. 27
Time: 5 p.m. (PST)
Location: The Thunderdome (6,000) - Santa Barbara, Calif.
Watch on ESPN3 // Listen on KUCI // Live Stats // Follow on Twitter

UC Irvine (2-4, 0-0 Big West) at
UC Santa Barbara (0-4, 0-0 Big West)
Date: Monday, Dec. 28
Time: 5 p.m. (PST)
Location: The Thunderdome (6,000) - Santa Barbara, Calif.
Watch on ESPN3 // Live Stats // Follow on Twitter

UC Irvine Game Notes // Digital Program

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team will start Big West Conference play at UC Santa Barbara as they are set to face the Gauchos on Sunday, Dec. 27 and Monday, Dec. 28. Both contests are scheduled for a 5 p.m. start and will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
 
STORYLINES
• UC Irvine will begin its Big West slate on the road for the third-straight year.
• The Anteaters have not faced UC Santa Barbara in a Big West opener since the 2012-13 season.
• They are 2-3 against the Gauchos in conference openers.
• The 'Eaters split back-to-back games in San Diego last weekend, defeating SDSU, 66-55, before falling to USD, 75-56.
• Five of UCI's six games have been decided by 10+ points.
• Freshman Victoria Baker led UC Irvine in its win over San Diego State with a season-high 17 points (6-10 FG).
• 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 (15.0 ppg, 4.5 apg, 2.7 spg).
• Williams had a season-high 24 points in an overtime win against Westmont College on Dec. 9.
• She made 14 free throws on 20 attempts, both of which rank among the top-three in single-game school history.
• Sophomore Sophia Locandro averaged a team-best 14.0 points in the Anteaters' three games last week.
• Locandro had her first 20-point performance of the season, and seventh of her career, vs. Saint Mary's on Dec. 16.
• Sophomore Jayde Cadee has made a 3-pointer in 15 consecutive games.
• She has knocked down a team-leading 15 threes this season, five of which came at SDSU.
• Sophomore Chloe Webb is tops on the squad with 6.8 rebounds per game.
• She had her first collegiate double-double with 14 points (6-7 FG) and a career-high 15 boards against Westmont.
• Senior Haleigh Talbert is averaging 9.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in four outings this season.
• She was sidelined with an injury for the first time in her career on Dec. 16, snapping a streak of 97 consecutive games played.
• The 'Eaters have 10 returning letterwinners who accounted for over 70% of the team's rebounding, steals and blocks in 2019-20.
 
SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS
UC Santa Barbara (0-4, 0-0 Big West) is coming off back-to-back losses to Santa Clara. The Gauchos fell to the Broncos, 82-60, on Dec. 18 and 73-51 on Dec. 19. Doris Jones leads UCSB with 16.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Danae Miller, who was a preseason All-Big West selection, is also averaging 12.5 points and 4.0 assists per outing.
 
SERIES RECORD
UCI trails in its all-time series with UC Santa Barbara, 67-32. The Gauchos swept the regular-season series last year with a 65-61 victory in Irvine and a 67-57 triumph at home. The Anteaters are looking to snap a five-game losing streak at The Thunderdome as their last road win at UCSB came on Jan. 29, 2015.
 
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.
 
BIG WEST OPENERS
UC Irvine is 12-25 all-time in Big West openers, and 9-14 when playing the first game of the conference season on the road. This is the third year in a row the Anteaters will begin their league slate away from home. They fell at CSUN last year, while defeating Cal Poly on the road in 2018-19.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine fell behind early and was unable to dig itself out of the hole in a 75-56 loss to San Diego last Sunday at Jenny Craig Pavilion. The Anteaters trailed by 11 at the half, before a tough start to the third quarter really put the game out of reach as the Toreros scored 14 points before UCI got back on the board four minutes into the period. Sophia Locandro led the 'Eaters with a game-high 16 points and eight rebounds. Kayla Williams added 11 points, five assists and three steals, while Jayde Cadee registered nine points. Chloe Webb chipped in eight points and six rebounds, and Caiyle Kaupu also had eight points in her second collegiate game.

ROAD WIN
The Anteaters earned their first road win of the season last Saturday, using a strong defensive effort and a balanced scoring attack to take down San Diego State, 66-55, at Viejas Arena. UCI held SDSU to 31% shooting, while forcing a season-high 26 turnovers. Victoria Baker led three 'Eaters in double figures with a game and season-high 17 points. Jayde Cadee knocked down five triples for a season-best 15 points, while Kayla Williams also finished with 15 points, six assists and four steals.
 
FIRST FIVE
UC Irvine used five different starting lineups in its six preseason games. Sophia Locandro and Kayla Williams are the only two 'Eaters who started every contest. Both of UCI's wins came with Locandro, Williams, Alexus Seaton, Dani Guglielmo and Haleigh Talbert as the first five.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
  
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.
 
TURNOVER TALK
The 'Eaters have forced a Big West-leading 118 turnovers, and rank second in the conference with an average of 19.7 per game. They have caused at least 13 miscues in every outing with a season-high 26 in a win at San Diego State on Dec. 19.
 
MAKING MOVES
Redshirt freshman Kayla Williams has registered 10+ points, 2+ assists and 2+ steals in every game this year, and is tops on the squad in all three categories (15.0 ppg, 4.7 apg, 2.7 spg). The Los Angeles native had a season-high 24 points and seven assists in an overtime victory against Westmont on Dec. 9. She 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. Williams also had 15 points, six assists and a season-best four steals in a 66-55 win at San Diego State (Dec. 19). The 5-foot-7 point guard made her Anteater debut on Nov. 28, marking her first official competition since her high school career ended on Feb. 27, 2019 (21 months).
 
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 bounced back against Saint Mary's last 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. The Australia native also notched a game-high 16 points and eight rebounds at San Diego on Sunday, Dec. 20. 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-best eight boards, six of which came on the offensive end. On the season, the 6-foot-3 forward is averaging 11.8 points, 5.0 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) has knocked down a team-leading 15 3-pointers through six games. Nine of them have come in the last three outings, including at San Diego State where she made five threes for a season-high 15 points. Cadee has multiple triples in a game 16 times in her young career. She tied a UCI single-game record with eight treys at Long Beach State on Feb. 20, 2020, and finished the campaign with 59 3-pointers, which ranks fifth in single-season program history.
 
FRESHMEN HIGHLIGHTS
Freshmen Victoria Baker and Caiyle Kaupu turned some heads in San Diego last weekend. After averaging 2.0 points through her first four games, Baker erupted for a game-high 17 (6-10 FG) in a win at San Diego State on Dec. 19. Kaupu also made her debut that night, playing nine minutes against the Aztecs. She came back the following day to finish with eight points, three rebounds, one steal and one block at USD in just her second collegiate outing.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE TIME
Sophomore Chloe Webb had her first collegiate double-double with 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds against Westmont College on Dec. 9. The 5-foot-8 guard was the first Anteater with 15 boards in a game since Nov. 17, 2016. On the season, Webb is averaging 6.8 points and a team-best 6.8 rebounds per outing. She is shooting 57% from the field (12-for-21).
 
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 9.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 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 games of her career as she was sidelined with an injury against Saint Mary's (Dec. 16) and at San Diego (Dec. 20).
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine's next scheduled games are at UC Davis, Jan. 8-9.