UC Irvine (4-4) at
San José State (3-6)
Date: Wednesday, Dec. 15
Time: 6 p.m. (PST)
Location: Kaiser Permanente Arena (2,505) - Santa Cruz, Calif.
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UC Irvine Game Notes

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's basketball begins a five-game road stretch this week, traveling to Santa Cruz, California, for a 6 p.m. showdown against San José State on Wednesday, Dec. 15. The two teams will square off on neutral ground at Kaiser Permanente Arena, which is home to the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League.
 
STORYLINES
• True freshmen Hunter Hernandez, Amelia Scharpf and Olivia Williams will have a homecoming of sorts this week.
• All three are from Northern California and attended Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose.
• Wednesday will mark UC Irvine's second night game of the season.
• Seven of the Anteaters' first eight outings had a start time of 4 p.m. or earlier.
• UCI is coming off its first double-digit loss of the season, falling to San Diego, 75-64, on Saturday, Dec. 11.
• Kayla Williams led the 'Eaters with 17 points for her sixth-straight double-figure scoring performance.
• On the season, Williams is averaging a team-best 13.3 ppg.
• She is also tops on the squad in FG made (38), 3FG made (15), assists (31) and steals (21).
• Chloe Webb has reached double figures in scoring in each of the last two outings, increasing her season average to 10.1 ppg.
• Webb had a season-high 16 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field and 8-of-11 from the charity stripe against USD.
• Sophia Locandro (10) and Tara Dusharm (8) have combined for half of UCI's 36 blocks.
• Locandro has had at least one block in six outings with a career-high tying four at California Baptist.
• As of Dec. 13, UC Irvine ranks first in the Big West and 53rd in all of NCAA Division I in scoring offense (75.1 ppg).
• The Anteaters have scored 80+ points three times, including a program-record 114 in a season-opening win over Westcliff.
• The 'Eaters have forced 15+ turnovers in six of their eight contests (17.5/gm).
• They forced a season-high 24 turnovers at California Baptist on Nov. 20.
• UCI has used the same starters in all eight games. 

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS
San José State (3-6), which has lost three in a row, was last in action on Sunday, Dec. 5, when it suffered a 112-33 defeat at UCLA. Senior forward Cydni Lewis leads the Spartans with 12.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per outing. In 2019-20, SJSU relocated to Phoenix, Arizona, due to the Santa Clara County COVID-19 guidelines regarding intercollegiate athletics, and went 2-2 before canceling the remainder of its season. Head coach Jamie Craighead owns an 87-141 overall record in her ninth year at the helm of the program.
 
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine leads in its all-time series with San José State, 18-12, and has won both meetings in head coach Tamara Inoue's tenure. The two teams last met on Nov. 5, 2019, when the Anteaters edged the Spartans, 79-77, in Irvine. Sophia Locandro and Jayde Cadee both made their collegiate debuts in that game. Locandro finished with 11 points in 16 minutes.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine dropped a 75-64 decision to the University of San Diego last Saturday at the Bren Events Center. The Anteaters led by one at the half, but were outscored, 39-27, over the final 20 minutes. A big third quarter proved to be the difference for the Toreros as they built a double-digit lead they would maintain for most of the fourth. Kayla Williams finished with a game-high 17 points to go along with three assists. Chloe Webb also had a season-best 16 points, going 4-for-5 from the field and 8-of-11 at the free throw line. Olivia Williams added eight points, while Hunter Hernandez registered six points, five boards and two assists.
 
RECEIVING VOTES
UC Irvine has been receiving votes in each of the five College Insider Women's Mid-Major Polls released this season (Preseason-Dec. 7). 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.
 
RECORD WATCH
With 10 blocks this season, Sophia Locandro has increased her career total to 68, 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 104 career triples sitting three behind 2020 graduate Lauren Saiki (107).
 
HOME & AWAY
After playing five of their six games in the month of November within the friendly confines of the Bren Events Center, the 'Eaters will hit the road for four of their final five non-conference contests. UCI is 4-2 at home, and 0-2 on the road this year. Since 2017-18, UC Irvine is 40-18 (.690) at the Bren Events Center.
 
TURNOVER TALK
The Anteaters have forced 15+ turnovers in six of eight contests (17.5/gm), with a season-high 24 at California Baptist on Nov. 20. Since 2016-17, they have forced 18.0 turnovers per game and have consistently been one of the top teams in the Big West in that category.
 
DOUBLE DIGIT TIDBITS
UCI has had at least two players score in double figures in every game this season. Kayla Williams is tops on the squad with six 10+ point performances, while Chloe Webb is second with five. Williams and Webb have both reached double digits 25 times in their careers, and the 'Eaters are 9-5 when they each score 10+ in the same game.
 
WINNING WAYS
UC Irvine increased its win total in each of head coach Tamara Inoue's first three years at the helm, culminating with the program's third 20-win campaign in 2018-19. In five-plus seasons, including last year's shortened schedule, Inoue already ranks third in program history with 75 victories. The 2021 Big West co-Coach of the Year is 11 wins away from tying Mark Adams (86) for second.
 
THE TURNAROUND
Prior to Inoue's arrival in 2016-17, UC Irvine had two winning seasons in 15 years, but ever since her 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, posting 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.
 
BENCH PRODUCTION
Through the first eight games, UC Irvine has outscored its opponents, 233-109, in bench points. All 15 Anteaters have made their way into the scoring column, nine have at least one double-figure scoring game, and seven are averaging at least 4.0 points per outing.
 
DOUBLE DUTY
Three different 'Eaters have a double-double 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, while Naomi Hunt had 17 points and 12 rebounds vs. Sacramento State (Nov. 28).
 
IRON WOMEN
Sophia Locandro and Jayde Cadee are tied for the team lead with 63 consecutive games played. The two Australians have not missed a contest since their arrival in Irvine in 2019-20. Locandro, a 6-foot-3 forward, is the team's active UCI career leader in points (649), rebounds (319) and blocks (68). Cadee, meanwhile, surpassed 100 career 3-pointers made with the first of her three triples at California Baptist on Nov. 20. 
 
SCORING MACHINE
Kayla Williams has reached double figures in scoring in 25 of 31 career games played with six 20+ point performances. She has increased her 2021-22 average to 13.3 ppg after scoring 10+ in each of the last six outings, including a season-high 20 at California Baptist. Williams also has a streak of 22 consecutive games played with at least one 3-pointer made. She owns a career high of 32 points which she established at Cal Poly on Jan. 23, 2021. 
 
HEATING UP
Chloe Webb is averaging 10.1 points and a team-leading 6.1 rebounds per game. She has reached double figures in scoring five times this season, including in each of the last two contests with 16 points vs. San Diego and 13 at USC. In those two games, Webb shot 60% (9-15) from the field and 73% (11-15) from the charity stripe.
 
OPENING NIGHT
For the seventh-straight year, UCI started the campaign at home, and won its fourth opener in the last five seasons with a 114-53 victory over Westcliff on Nov. 9. The 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 against the Warriors.
 
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 experience with graduate transfers Tara Dusharm (Pepperdine) and Naomi Hunt (Long Beach State).
 
MITTY CONNECTION
True freshmen Hunter Hernandez, Amelia Scharpf and Olivia Williams were all teammates at Archbishop Mitty HS in San Jose. The trio helped the Monarchs to four league championships and three CIF Central Coast Section titles. They also won the 2020 Nor Cal Championship and advanced to the state championship before the game was canceled in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, associate head coach Cecilia Russell-Nava is a Mitty alum, while recent UCI graduates Dani Guglielmo and Tahlia Garza were also Monarchs.
 
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 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 stays on the road next week, traveling to Arizona State (Dec. 21) and Grand Canyon (Dec. 23) to close out its non-conference slate.