Anteaters Host Hawai'i in Lone Game This Week

Thursday, February 27

Irvine, Calif.

7:00 PM

UC Irvine

Hawai'i

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Anteaters Host Hawai'i in Lone Game This Week

February 25, 2020 | Women's Basketball

Hawai'i (14-11, 8-4 Big West) at
UC Irvine (10-17, 6-7 Big West)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 27
Time: 7 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Watch // Listen // Live Stats // Tickets (UCI Undergraduate Students Free with I.D.)

Notes (PDF)

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team begins the final stretch of the regular season by welcoming second-place Hawai'i to the Bren Events Center for a 7 p.m. showdown on Thursday, Feb. 27.

STORYLINES
• UC Irvine has won four of its last five games, and scored 70+ points in five of the last eight.
• UCI had its biggest comeback victory of the season last week, defeating LBSU, 70-61, after trailing by as many as 15 in the first half.
• Nine players have at least one double-figure scoring game, with six hitting the 20-point mark this season.
• Senior Lauren Saiki is tops on the squad overall with 11.9 ppg and 6.6 apg.
• Her assist average is No. 1 in the Big West and No. 4 in the nation.
• Saiki became the second player in program history to reach 400 career assists with the sixth of her 11 helpers at Long Beach State.
• It was her third double-figure assist performance of the season and fifth of her career.
• Saiki ranks second among the Anteaters' career (409) and single-season (177) assists leaders.
• She is on pace to break the 17-year old single-season record of 189 set by Lisa Faulkner in 2002-03.
• In addition, Saiki is eighth in program history with 163 career steals, and is 10th with 102 career 3-pointers made.
• Freshman Jayde Cadee had a career-high 24 points on 8-of-14 shooting from beyond the arc in last Thursday's win at LBSU.
• Cadee's eight threes tied a single-game school record set by Andee Ritter last year.
• Freshman Sophia Locandro is averaging a team-best 13.3 points, 7.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in Big West play.
• Locandro had a career-high four blocks in Saturday's 54-51 win over Cal Poly.

WITH A WIN...
• The Anteaters would win for the fourth time in their last six meetings with the Rainbow Wahine.
• UCI would improve to 6-2 in the month of February. The 'Eaters would also extend their win streak to a season-long three games.

SCOUTING THE RAINBOW WAHINE
Hawai'i (14-11, 8-4 Big West) suffered its first Big West home loss in a battle of the league leaders last Saturday, as the Rainbow Wahine fell to UC Davis, 65-48. This week marks the first time the 'Bows will be on the road since Feb. 8. Julissa Tago is tops on the squad with 13.6 points per game. Amy Atwell is also averaging 10.3 points and a team-best 5.2 rebounds per outing. UH ranks first in the conference in scoring defense (60.1 ppg) and 3-point field goal percentage defense (.280).

SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with Hawai'i, 32-11, but has won three of the last five. The Anteaters will be looking for a regular-season series split this week after dropping a 94-70 decision to the 'Bows in Honolulu on Jan. 30. Dani Guglielmo scored a career-high 19 points, while Lauren Saiki had 16 points and four assists in the last meeting.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine won a defensive battle with Cal Poly, 54-51, last Saturday at the Bren Events Center. Lauren Saiki and Sophia Locandro tied for the team lead with 13 points each. Locandro added seven rebounds and a career-high four blocks, while Saiki finished with five boards, five steals and four assists. It was the Anteaters' third-straight home win.

BIG WEST TALK
UC Davis is first in the Big West standings at 10-3, and holds a 1.5-game lead over second-place Hawai'i (8-4). The 'Eaters enter the week in sixth at 6-7, but are only one game behind third-place UC Santa Barbara (7-6). They are also a half-game back of Cal State Fullerton (6-6) and Long Beach State (6-6), who are tied for fourth.

Eight teams advance to the Big West Tournament with the top-two receiving a double-bye into the semifinals at Honda Center on March 13. The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds also get a first-round bye into the quarterfinals, which will be held at the Walter Pyramid (LBSU).

HOME COOKING
Since 2017-18, UC Irvine is 28-12 (.700) at the Bren Events Center. The 28 home victories in three seasons are more than UCI's combined total from the previous five campaigns. The Anteaters are 6-4 at home this year, and have won their last three in the friendly confines of the BEC.

THE BIG THREE
Senior Lauren Saiki, junior Haleigh Talbert and freshman Sophia Locandro have been key for the Anteaters in Big West play. In 13 conference games, the trio has accounted for 60% of the team's points, 45% of their rebounds and 71% of their assists.

400 AND COUNTING
Senior Lauren Saiki is the second 'Eater in program history to record 400 career assists. She reached the milestone with the sixth of her season-high tying 11 dimes at LBSU on Feb. 20. Saiki, who is in her third year at UC Irvine after transferring from West Virginia, ranks second on UCI's all-time list with 409 assists.

THE LO-DOWN
Saiki has been the Anteaters' assist leader in 60 of 90 career games played. She has hit double-digits three times in 2020 with 11 at Long Beach State (Feb. 20), 11 at Cal Poly (Jan. 18) and 10 vs. UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 16). The Monterey Park, Calif., native has dished out a team-best 177 dimes this year, which is second among UC Irvine's single-season leaders. Her 6.6 apg also rank first in the Big West and fourth in the nation. In addition, Saiki is eighth in school history with 163 career steals, and 10th with 102 3-pointers made.

TWENTY-TWENTY
Freshman Sophia Locandro (Mount Waverly, Victoria, Australia) is the only 'Eater with multiple 20-point games this year. On Feb. 15, she registered her fifth such performance with 24 points at UC Davis. She also had 23 vs. Fullerton, a career-high 25 at UC Riverside and 20 vs. UC Santa Barbara. In non-conference play, Locandro notched UCI's first double-double of the season with 22 points and 10 rebounds vs. Westcliff (Jan. 6). The 6-foot-3 forward has reached double figures, while also recording at least two blocks, in six of the last seven outings.

COUNT 'EM FOR CADEE
Freshman Jayde Cadee (Macleod, Victoria, Australia) has made a team-best 46 3-pointers on the season. She has knocked down multiple threes in a game nine times. At Long Beach State (Feb. 20), Cadee scored a season-high 24 points, all of which came from beyond the arc where she was 8-for-14. Her eight triples tied a single-game school record and are the most by a Big West player this year. Cadee also had 21 points on a 7-of-10 performance from downtown at SMU on Dec. 29.

HALEIGH'S TURN
Junior Haleigh Talbert (Euless, Texas) became the sixth different 'Eater with a 20-point game this year after finishing with a career-high 23 at Cal Poly on Jan. 18. She went 6-for-12 from the field with a career-best five 3-pointers made. The 5-foot-4 guard, who has reached double digits in scoring in 10 of the last 14 games, is averaging 12.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in Big West play.

HEATING UP
Junior Dani Guglielmo established two career highs over a three-game stretch with 18 points vs. CSUN and 19 at Hawai'i. In those two outings, she went a combined 11-for-24 (46%) from behind the arc. The Los Gatos, Calif., native broke through a shooting slump with a career-best six threes against the Matadors. She had gone 3-for-20 from long distance in the previous seven games. Guglielmo also reached double digits with 16 points in a win over UC Davis on Feb. 8. She was 4-for-8 from long distance and knocked down the go-ahead three with 43 seconds on the clock. She has made a career-best 34 triples on the season.

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, who has started every game, is among the top-four on the squad in scoring (8.5 ppg), rebounding (4.3 rpg), assists (1.7 apg) and steals (1.4 spg). Seaton, who came into the 2019-20 campaign averaging 2.3 points per outing, has reached double figures in scoring 10 times with a career-high 23 vs. Vanderbilt.

FIRST YEAR IMPACT
UC Irvine's active freshmen have provided quality minutes early in their careers. Sophia Locandro, who has 12 double-figure scoring games, is averaging 13.3 points and 7.0 rebounds in Big West action. She has led the team on the boards 15 times. Jayde Cadee is also averaging 5.5 points on 1.7 threes made per contest. Chloe Webb, who will miss the remainder of the season with an injury, scored 10+ points in five of 14 games played with a season-high 20 against Westcliff.

FRESH START
After struggling to a 2-11 record through December (0-6) and January (2-5), UC Irvine got off to a fresh start on Feb. 1 with a convincing 77-53 win at UC Riverside. It was UCI's largest margin of victory against an NCAA Division I opponent this season. The Anteaters also picked up their first win over league-leading UC Davis in five years, before defeating Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State and Cal Poly. They are now 5-2 in February.

ACCESS DENIED
UC Irvine has registered 3.8 blocks per outing, which is tied for first in the Big West. The 'Eaters had a season-high 10 blocked shots at Denver, marking the first time they reached double digits in that category since Jan. 27, 2010. UCI also ranks third in the conference with 16.7 turnovers forced per game. They have caused 20+ miscues five times with a season-high 29 against Loyola Marymount.

UP NEXT
The Anteaters have their Senior Night coming up next Thursday, March 5, against UC Riverside. They will recognize Lauren Saiki and Yazzy Sa'Dullah prior to the 7 p.m. tip-off.

UC Irvine then makes its way to Cal State Fullerton for the regular-season finale on Saturday, March 7 (5 p.m.).