Wednesday, December 9
Irvine, Calif.
5:00 PM
UC Irvine
vs
Westmont College
UC Irvine Adds Home Game vs. Westmont College
December 08, 2020 | Women's Basketball
Westmont (0-1) at
UC Irvine (0-2)
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 9
Time: 4 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Watch // Listen // Live Stats // Follow on Twitter
UC Irvine Game Notes
IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team has added a home game to its 2020-21 non-conference schedule as it will host Westmont College on Wednesday, Dec. 9. The Anteaters and Warriors are set for a 4 p.m. tip-off at the Bren Events Center.
Per the direction of the Big West Board of Directors, UCI will begin the season without spectators in attendance. The issue of fan attendance will be revisited as the season progresses.
STORYLINES
• UC Irvine has added Wednesday's game with Westmont after its scheduled contest at San José State (Dec. 8) was canceled.
• Sophomore Sophia Locandro was named the Big West Player of the Week on Dec. 7.
• She was recognized after finishing with 14 points (5-10 FG) and a team-high eight rebounds at LMU.
• Dating back to last year, Locandro has had at least one block in seven consecutive outings.
• Redshirt freshman Kayla Williams registered 10+ points in each of her first two collegiate games.
• Williams had 11 points vs. California Baptist and 14 at LMU.
• Sophomore Jayde Cadee has made a 3-pointer in her last 11 games.
• In 2019-20, Cadee had a team-leading 59 triples, which ranks fifth in single-season school history.
• UCI returns over 70% of its scoring, rebounding, steals and blocks from a year ago.
• The 'Eaters welcome back 10 players from a 2019-20 squad that finished second in the Big West.
• UC Irvine has five seniors who have combined to play 395 career games.
• Haleigh Talbert leads the group with 2,100 minutes played (96 games).
• She averaged a career-best 9.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per contest as a junior.
• Despite the experience returning, the Anteaters still have a lot of youth on their roster with five freshmen and four sophomores.
• Since 2017-18, the 'Eaters are averaging 17 wins per season.
WITH A WIN...
• UC Irvine will improve to 3-0 all-time against Westmont.
• The Anteaters will be 31-13 at the Bren Events Center since 2017-18.
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
Westmont (0-1), the NAIA's top-ranked team, opened its season with a 68-56 loss at Pepperdine on Dec. 5. The five-time defending Golden State Athletic Conference champions return seven letterwinners from last year's squad that went 27-3 overall. The Warriors have two NAIA All-American junior guards in Iyree Jarrett (First Team) and Stefanie Berberabe (Honorable Mention). Head coach Kirsten Moore, who led Westmont to a national championship in 2013, is in her 16th year at the helm.
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine leads in its all-time series with Westmont, 2-0. Both meetings took place in 1976 with the Anteaters defeating the Warriors, 53-36, and 67-40. The two programs' first meeting in 44 years will be an exhibition contest for Westmont.
CONNECTIONS
UC Irvine head coach Tamara Inoue and Westmont assistant coach Selena Ho-English played against each other in the Big West for three seasons. Inoue was the starting point guard at Long Beach State from 1999-02, while Ho-English played at Pacific from 1998-02. Ho-English also served as an assistant coach at UCI from 2002-05.
Westmont's Krissy Miyahara was teammates with the Anteaters' Tahlia Garza and Dani Guglielmo at Archbishop Mitty High School.
LOCANDRO NETS WEEKLY HONOR
Sophomore Sophia Locandro was named the Big West Women's Basketball Player of the Week on Monday, 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.
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.
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine led for 25 minutes, but was unable to hold off a late Loyola Marymount rally in a 66-56 loss at Gersten Pavilion on Thursday, Dec. 3. The Anteaters went up by as many as 12 in the third quarter before LMU started to chip away, closing the gap to three. The Lions then outscored UCI, 22-9, over the final 10 minutes.
Haleigh Talbert led three 'Eaters in double figures with 15 points, while adding five rebounds and two assists. Sophia Locandro finished with 14 points and eight boards, and Kayla Williams notched 14 points, two assists and two steals.
SPLASH SISTERS
Four 'Eaters made at least 40 triples last season, and three of them are back this year. Jayde Cadee knocked down a team-leading 59 threes, while Haleigh Talbert finished with 47 and Dani Guglielmo had 40. Cadee, Talbert and Guglielmo have combined to make eight of UCI's 11 3-pointers over the first two games of the 2020-21 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. UC Santa Barbara was third, while Cal Poly, which collected two first-place nods, was fourth. This is the third year in a row the Anteaters were selected among the top-three in the Big West Preseason Polls.
BIG WEST SCHEDULE UPDATES
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.
HOME COOKING
Since 2017-18, UC Irvine is 30-13 (.698) at the Bren Events Center. The 30 home victories in three seasons are more than UCI's combined total from the previous five campaigns.
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 90 career 3-pointers made and 113 steals. She needs 17 more threes and 37 steals to etch her name in the record books.
TWO-WAY STAR
Sophomore Sophia Locandro is UC Irvine's top returning scorer, rebounder and shot blocker. She has kept those titles through the first two games of the 2020-21 season as she is averaging a team-best 12.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. The Australia native had a season-high 14 points and eight boards in the Anteaters' last game at LMU on Dec. 3. She also extended her streak of consecutive games played with at least one block to seven. Locandro was a 2019-20 All-Big West honorable mention selection, and was named to the conference's all-freshman team.
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 11.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Talbert notched a season-high 15 points and five boards at LMU.
MAKING MOVES
Through her first two collegiate games, redshirt freshman Kayla Williams is tied for the team lead with 12.5 points per outing. In her 'Eater debut vs. California Baptist on Nov. 28, the Los Angeles native had 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals 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, two assists and two steals at LMU on Dec. 3.
SHOOTERS TOUCH
Sophomore Jayde Cadee (Macleod, Victoria, 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 13 times in her young career. Cadee tied UCI's single-game record with eight triples at Long Beach State on Feb. 20, 2020.
UC Irvine (0-2)
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 9
Time: 4 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Watch // Listen // Live Stats // Follow on Twitter
UC Irvine Game Notes
IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team has added a home game to its 2020-21 non-conference schedule as it will host Westmont College on Wednesday, Dec. 9. The Anteaters and Warriors are set for a 4 p.m. tip-off at the Bren Events Center.
Per the direction of the Big West Board of Directors, UCI will begin the season without spectators in attendance. The issue of fan attendance will be revisited as the season progresses.
STORYLINES
• UC Irvine has added Wednesday's game with Westmont after its scheduled contest at San José State (Dec. 8) was canceled.
• Sophomore Sophia Locandro was named the Big West Player of the Week on Dec. 7.
• She was recognized after finishing with 14 points (5-10 FG) and a team-high eight rebounds at LMU.
• Dating back to last year, Locandro has had at least one block in seven consecutive outings.
• Redshirt freshman Kayla Williams registered 10+ points in each of her first two collegiate games.
• Williams had 11 points vs. California Baptist and 14 at LMU.
• Sophomore Jayde Cadee has made a 3-pointer in her last 11 games.
• In 2019-20, Cadee had a team-leading 59 triples, which ranks fifth in single-season school history.
• UCI returns over 70% of its scoring, rebounding, steals and blocks from a year ago.
• The 'Eaters welcome back 10 players from a 2019-20 squad that finished second in the Big West.
• UC Irvine has five seniors who have combined to play 395 career games.
• Haleigh Talbert leads the group with 2,100 minutes played (96 games).
• She averaged a career-best 9.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per contest as a junior.
• Despite the experience returning, the Anteaters still have a lot of youth on their roster with five freshmen and four sophomores.
• Since 2017-18, the 'Eaters are averaging 17 wins per season.
WITH A WIN...
• UC Irvine will improve to 3-0 all-time against Westmont.
• The Anteaters will be 31-13 at the Bren Events Center since 2017-18.
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
Westmont (0-1), the NAIA's top-ranked team, opened its season with a 68-56 loss at Pepperdine on Dec. 5. The five-time defending Golden State Athletic Conference champions return seven letterwinners from last year's squad that went 27-3 overall. The Warriors have two NAIA All-American junior guards in Iyree Jarrett (First Team) and Stefanie Berberabe (Honorable Mention). Head coach Kirsten Moore, who led Westmont to a national championship in 2013, is in her 16th year at the helm.
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine leads in its all-time series with Westmont, 2-0. Both meetings took place in 1976 with the Anteaters defeating the Warriors, 53-36, and 67-40. The two programs' first meeting in 44 years will be an exhibition contest for Westmont.
CONNECTIONS
UC Irvine head coach Tamara Inoue and Westmont assistant coach Selena Ho-English played against each other in the Big West for three seasons. Inoue was the starting point guard at Long Beach State from 1999-02, while Ho-English played at Pacific from 1998-02. Ho-English also served as an assistant coach at UCI from 2002-05.
Westmont's Krissy Miyahara was teammates with the Anteaters' Tahlia Garza and Dani Guglielmo at Archbishop Mitty High School.
LOCANDRO NETS WEEKLY HONOR
Sophomore Sophia Locandro was named the Big West Women's Basketball Player of the Week on Monday, 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.
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.
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine led for 25 minutes, but was unable to hold off a late Loyola Marymount rally in a 66-56 loss at Gersten Pavilion on Thursday, Dec. 3. The Anteaters went up by as many as 12 in the third quarter before LMU started to chip away, closing the gap to three. The Lions then outscored UCI, 22-9, over the final 10 minutes.
Haleigh Talbert led three 'Eaters in double figures with 15 points, while adding five rebounds and two assists. Sophia Locandro finished with 14 points and eight boards, and Kayla Williams notched 14 points, two assists and two steals.
SPLASH SISTERS
Four 'Eaters made at least 40 triples last season, and three of them are back this year. Jayde Cadee knocked down a team-leading 59 threes, while Haleigh Talbert finished with 47 and Dani Guglielmo had 40. Cadee, Talbert and Guglielmo have combined to make eight of UCI's 11 3-pointers over the first two games of the 2020-21 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. UC Santa Barbara was third, while Cal Poly, which collected two first-place nods, was fourth. This is the third year in a row the Anteaters were selected among the top-three in the Big West Preseason Polls.
BIG WEST SCHEDULE UPDATES
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.
HOME COOKING
Since 2017-18, UC Irvine is 30-13 (.698) at the Bren Events Center. The 30 home victories in three seasons are more than UCI's combined total from the previous five campaigns.
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 90 career 3-pointers made and 113 steals. She needs 17 more threes and 37 steals to etch her name in the record books.
TWO-WAY STAR
Sophomore Sophia Locandro is UC Irvine's top returning scorer, rebounder and shot blocker. She has kept those titles through the first two games of the 2020-21 season as she is averaging a team-best 12.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks. The Australia native had a season-high 14 points and eight boards in the Anteaters' last game at LMU on Dec. 3. She also extended her streak of consecutive games played with at least one block to seven. Locandro was a 2019-20 All-Big West honorable mention selection, and was named to the conference's all-freshman team.
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 11.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 steals per game. Talbert notched a season-high 15 points and five boards at LMU.
MAKING MOVES
Through her first two collegiate games, redshirt freshman Kayla Williams is tied for the team lead with 12.5 points per outing. In her 'Eater debut vs. California Baptist on Nov. 28, the Los Angeles native had 11 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals 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, two assists and two steals at LMU on Dec. 3.
SHOOTERS TOUCH
Sophomore Jayde Cadee (Macleod, Victoria, 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 13 times in her young career. Cadee tied UCI's single-game record with eight triples at Long Beach State on Feb. 20, 2020.
Players Mentioned
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