Women's Basketball Set to Host UCI Thanksgiving Classic

Friday, November 26

Irvine, Calif.

2:30 PM

UC Irvine

Illinois State

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Women's Basketball Set to Host UCI Thanksgiving Classic

November 24, 2021 | Women's Basketball

Illinois State (1-3) at
UC Irvine (2-2)
Date: Friday, Nov. 26
Time: 2:30 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Tickets // Watch on ESPN+ // Listen on KUCI // Live Stats // Follow on Twitte r

Sacramento State (2-3) at
UC Irvine (2-2)
Date: Sunday, Nov. 28
Time: 2:30 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Tickets // Watch on ESPN+ // Listen on KUCI // Live Stats // Follow on Twitte r

UC Irvine Game Notes // Illinois State Game Notes // Sacramento State Game Notes

IRVINE, Calif. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team is set to host Illinois State and Sacramento State in the UCI Thanksgiving Classic this weekend. The Anteaters will face the Redbirds on Friday, Nov. 26, before squaring off against the Hornets on Sunday, Nov. 28. Both games will start at 2:30 p.m. at the Bren Events Center.

In accordance with guidance from the California Department of Public Health, UC Irvine Athletics is requiring fans ages 2 & older in attendance at all indoor home events to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within 72 hours before the event starts. In addition, all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear a mask while indoors at UCI facilities unless actively eating or drinking.

UCI Athletics is utilizing mobile ticketing and a clear bag policy for all 2021-22 home games.

STORYLINES
• The Anteaters are hosting their first regular-season tournament in 13 years (Last: OC Clash in December 2008).
• UCI ranks 17th in all of NCAA Division I in scoring offense (85.8 ppg).
• The 'Eaters have scored 80+ points three times with a program-record 114 in a season-opening win over Westcliff.
• As of Nov. 24, UC Irvine also ranked 13th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.5) and 28th in turnover margin (8.0).
• The Anteaters have forced 16+ turnovers in all four outings (19.8/gm), with a season-high 24 at California Baptist on Nov. 20.
• UCI has seen all 15 of its players make their way into the scoring column, with 11 averaging at least 4.0 points per game.
• Kayla Williams leads three 'Eaters in double figures at 11.8 ppg.
• Williams, a 2021-22 Preseason All-Big West selection, is coming off her sixth career 20-point performance.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Illinois State (1-3) dropped two games last week, falling to Purdue, 76-64, and UT Martin, 54-52. Maya Wong leads the Redbirds with 12.3 points and 2.5 assists per outing. DeAnna Wilson is also averaging 10.5 points and a team-best 6.0 rebounds per contest. ISU has eight returning letterwinners from last year's squad that went 16-9 and earned a postseason WNIT bid.

Sacramento State dropped to 2-3 on the young season following Tuesday's 75-46 loss to UC Davis. Lianna Tillman has paced the Hornets with 22.6 points and 4.2 assists per game, while Isnelle Natabou is averaging 11.2 points and a team-best 9.0 rebounds.

SERIES RECORDS
Friday will mark the first meeting between UC Irvine and Illinois State.

The Anteaters trail in their all-time series with Sacramento State, 6-5. The Hornets have won the last three meetings, including a 78-70 road victory in Tamara Inoue's first season at the helm of the UCI women's basketball program.

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
UC Irvine was picked to finish second in the Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll. The 'Eaters (88 points) received one first-place vote from the league's 11 head coaches to come in behind five-time defending regular-season champion UC Davis, which was tabbed the preseason favorite with nine first-place votes and 99 total points. This is the fourth year in a row the Anteaters were selected among the top-three in the Big West Preseason Poll.

Third-year freshman Kayla Williams was selected to the six-member Preseason All-Big West Team by both the coaches and the media. Last year, Williams was named the Big West Freshman of the Year and earned first-team all-conference honors. The 5-foot-7 guard averaged a team-best 14.4 points, 4.1 assists and 2.6 steals per game.

RECEIVING VOTES
For the third week in a row, UC Irvine was receiving votes in the College Insider Women's Mid-Major Poll (Nov. 23). The Anteaters were last featured in the mid-major rankings in 2018-19 when they rose to as high as No. 15 in the nation.

HOME COOKING
Since 2017-18, UCI is 38-17 (.691) at the Bren Events Center. The 38 home victories in four-plus seasons are more than the combined total from the previous six campaigns (2011-17).

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine came up short in a tightly-contested 93-88 overtime battle at defending WAC champion California Baptist last Saturday, Nov. 20. It was a back-and-forth affair that saw eight lead changes and nine tie scores. The Anteaters were out front for most of the second half, but the Lancers were able to do just enough to send it to overtime. CBU then outscored UCI, 12-7, in the extra period. Kayla Williams led the 'Eaters with a season-high 20 points to go along with four steals, two blocks and two assists. Sophia Locandro also had 14 points, eight rebounds and a career-high tying four blocks. Chloe Webb and Jayde Cadee added 10 points each, while Nikki Tom dished out a season-best six assists with no turnovers.

WINNING WAYS
Tamara Inoue was named the 2021 Big West co-Coach of the Year. She is the second coach in program history to earn the award, joining Colleen Matsuhara (1995) in elite company. In five-plus seasons, including last year's shortened campaign, Inoue is UCI women's basketball's third-winningest head coach (73).

THE TURNAROUND
Prior to Inoue's arrival in 2016-17, UC Irvine had just two winning seasons in 15 years. But, ever since Inoue's first campaign with her own recruits in 2017-18, the 'Eaters have been on the rise. That 2017-18 squad put together the second-best turnaround in all of NCAA Division I as they posted 18 wins after finishing with just five in 2016-17. The following year, the Anteaters notched the program's first 20-win season since 1985. In 2020-21, they also advanced to the Big West championship game for the first time in 24 years. UCI has placed among the top-three in the conference standings three times under Inoue.

OPENING NIGHT
For the seventh-straight year, the Anteaters started the campaign at home, and won their fourth opener in the last five seasons with a 114-53 victory over Westcliff on Nov. 9. Their 114 points were a program record, breaking the previous mark of 107, which was set back in 1979 and matched in 2018. Of the five 100-point games in school history, four have come in the Tamara Inoue era. The 'Eaters also tied a 39-year old school record with 30 assists (on 43 made field goals) against the Warriors.

BENCH POINTS
UC Irvine has shown its depth early in the season, with nearly half of its points coming off the bench. Through the first four games, the Anteaters have a lopsided 159-63 advantage in bench points.

HELPING HAND
UCI ranks among the top-35 in the country with 18.0 assists per game (34th) and a 1.5 assist-to-turnover ratio (13th). Nikki Tom and Kayla Williams are tops on the squad with 16 helpers each (4.0 apg). Tom has led the Anteaters in assists in three-straight games.

DOUBLE DUTY
The 'Eaters have two double-doubles on the young season. Melodie Kapinga had the first of the year with 11 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in 13 minutes against Westcliff (Nov. 9). Chloe Webb followed with 14 points and 13 boards for her sixth career double-double in a win over Southern Utah on Nov. 11. Webb is averaging 10.0 points and a team-best 6.5 rebounds per outing.

BACK TO WORK
Despite losing five seniors to graduation, UC Irvine welcomes back eight letterwinners, including its top-three scorers from a year ago in Kayla Williams (14.4 ppg), Chloe Webb (12.2 ppg) and Sophia Locandro (10.1 ppg). Williams was named the 2021 Big West Freshman of the Year and earned first-team all-conference honors, while Webb received an honorable mention nod.

JOINING THE CREW
The Anteaters bring in a group of seven newcomers in 2021-22. UCI has five true freshmen - Hunter Hernandez, Déja Lee, Amelia Scharpf, Nikki Tom and Olivia Williams - while adding some experience with grad transfers Tara Dusharm (Pepperdine) and Naomi Hunt (Long Beach State).

TURNOVER TALK
The 'Eaters forced 16+ turnovers in each of their first four contests (19.8/gm), with a season-high 24 at California Baptist on Nov. 20. Since 2016-17, they have forced 18.1 turnovers per game and have consistently been one of the top teams in the Big West in that category.

RECORD WATCH
With eight blocks this season, Sophia Locandro has increased her career total to 66, which puts her in sole possession of 10th all-time at UC Irvine. Jayde Cadee is also on the verge of breaking into UCI's all-time top-10 in 3-pointers made with her 102 career triples sitting just five behind 2020 graduate Lauren Saiki (107).

YEAR THREE
Sophia Locandro is UCI's active career leader in points (627), rebounds (307) and blocks (66). The 6-foot-3 forward is a two-time Big West Player of the Week, and garnered all-conference recognition as a freshman in 2019-20.

SCORING MACHINE
Kayla Williams has reached double figures in scoring in 21 of 27 career games played with six 20+ point performances. As a redshirt freshman last year, she ranked among the best in the Big West in scoring (6th, 14.4 ppg), assists (3rd, 4.1 apg) and steals (2nd, 2.6 spg). In the second of back-to-back wins at Cal Poly (Jan. 23, 2021), Williams dropped a career-high 32 points on 10-of-22 shooting (7-11 3FG). Her 32 points are T11th in single-game school history, while her seven triples are T3rd.

SHOOTERS TOUCH
Jayde Cadee is the Anteaters' active career leader in 3-pointers made (102). As a freshman, she knocked down a team-leading 59 triples, which ranks fifth in single-season school history. The 5-foot-10 guard, who has 24 career games with multiple threes made, also tied a single-game program record with eight 3-pointers at Long Beach State on Feb. 20, 2020.

INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
UC Irvine has three international student-athletes in Jayde Cadee, Sophia Locandro and Déja Lee. Lee, a freshman from Surrey, British Columbia, was one of the top-ranked 2021 prospects in Canada. She competed with the Canadian National Team at the 2021 FIBA U19 Women's World Cup (5th) and the 2019 FIBA U16 Americas Championship (2nd). Cadee and Locandro both hail from Melbourne, Australia, where they won national titles with the Victoria Metro State team. In addition, freshman Olivia Williams, who has dual citizenship, has competed with the New Zealand National Team, winning silver at the 2019 FIBA U17 Women's Oceania Championship.

EMPOWERED WOMEN EMPOWER WOMEN
UCI women's basketball has an all-female staff with head coach Tamara Inoue, associate head coach Cecilia Russell-Nava, assistants Jualeah Woods and Cinnamon Lister, and Director of Operations Tyler Ellis. All five played Division I basketball and have made it to the NCAA Tournament as a player and/or coach. In addition, Tayyiba Haneef-Park, a three-time Olympian and two-time silver medalist with the U.S. Women's Indoor Volleyball Team, is in her fourth year as the program's Director of Administration.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine will travel to Pac-12 foe USC for a 7 p.m. showdown next Thursday, Dec. 2.