UC Irvine (11-6, 9-2 Big West) at
UC San Diego (4-7, 4-7 Big West)
Date: Friday, Feb. 26
Time: 5 p.m. (PST)
Location: RIMAC Arena (4,000) - La Jolla, Calif.
Watch on ESPN3 // Listen // Live Stats // Follow on Twitter

UC Irvine (11-6, 9-2 Big West) at
UC San Diego (4-7, 4-7 Big West)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 27
Time: 5 p.m. (PST)
Location: RIMAC Arena (4,000) - La Jolla, Calif.
Watch on ESPN3 // Listen on KUCI // Live Stats // Follow on Twitter

UC Irvine Game Notes // UC San Diego Game Notes

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's basketball takes its final road trip of the regular season this weekend as it heads south to La Jolla for a two-game Big West series at UC San Diego, Feb. 26-27. Tip-off on both days is slated for 5 p.m.
 
STORYLINES
• UCI is riding a three-game win streak after sweeping Cal State Fullerton last weekend.
• It was the Anteaters' third Big West series sweep of the season as they also went 2-0 at UCSB and at Cal Poly.
• The 'Eaters are 9-2 in conference play for the first time since 2017-18.
• Redshirt freshman Kayla Williams has five 20+ point games, including a career-high 32 at Cal Poly (7-11 3FG).
• Her 32 points are tied for 11th in single-game school history, and her seven made threes are tied for third.
• Williams is tops on the squad in scoring (15.4 ppg), assists (4.5 apg) and steals (2.6 spg).
• Sophomore Chloe Webb notched her team-leading fourth double-double with 17 points and 10 rebounds last Saturday.
• Webb, a 5-foot-8 guard, is averaging 10.4 points and a team-best 7.2 rebounds per outing. 
• After being sidelined for a month due to injury, senior Haleigh Talbert has found her groove with five-straight 10+ point games.
• During that stretch, Talbert is averaging 12.4 points, while shooting 44% from the field and 90% at the FT line.
• Sophomore Sophia Locandro, a 2020 All-Big West selection, ranks among the top-three on the squad with 10.4 ppg and 5.3 rpg.
• UC Irvine is tops in the Big West with 331 turnovers forced (19.5/gm).
• The Anteaters have forced 17+ TOs in 14-straight games.
• The 'Eaters have shot over 40% in seven of their last eight outings.
• Four players have made at least 10 threes this year, led by Williams' team-best 26 triples.

SCOUTING THE TRITONS
UC San Diego (4-7, 4-7 Big West) snapped a six-game losing streak with a pair of road wins at UC Riverside last weekend. Sydney Brown was named the Big West Player of the Week after registering back-to-back double-doubles. On the season, Brown is averaging a team-best 13.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per contest, while Tyla Turner has put up 12.2 points and 3.7 assists per outing.
 
SERIES RECORD
This will mark the first meeting between UCI and UCSD in the NCAA Championship era (since 1981-82). The two teams squared off six times in the 1970s with the Anteaters going 6-0 and posting a +24.8 scoring margin.
 
BIG WEST TOURNEY MOVES TO VEGAS
In late December, the conference office announced it will be moving this year's Big West Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament to the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. All nine postseason eligible teams will compete in the 2021 championship, March 9-13. The tournament will be held without spectators, which includes the general public, as well as family and guests of team personnel.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The final score appeared to be a lot closer than the game actually was as UC Irvine saw its 22-point lead cut down to single digits in the final three minutes of a 68-60 win over Cal State Fullerton last Saturday at the Bren Events Center. The Anteaters were dominant for most of the game and really put their foot on the gas early in the fourth quarter, taking their largest lead at 59-37 with just over seven minutes to go. They would match that 22-point advantage three more times before the Titans rallied down the stretch. Chloe Webb led the 'Eaters with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Haleigh Talbert also finished with 13 points, five boards and three assists, while Alexus Seaton added 11 points.
 
FOR THE RECORD
UC Irvine and UC Riverside made a mutual decision, with the approval of the Big West, to cancel their originally scheduled series on Feb. 12-13. The two teams previously met in January as they split two games that were added during a common off week (Jan. 8-9). The results of those contests, which had been designated as non-conference, now count toward the Big West standings, putting UCI in second at 9-2.

FIRST FIVE
UC Irvine, which used seven different starting lineups in its first 10 games, has found a winning recipe of late. Over the last eight contests, where they are 7-1, the Anteaters have put the same first five on the court - Sophia Locandro, Alexus Seaton, Kayla Williams Dani Guglielmo and Chloe Webb. Locandro and Williams are the only two 'Eaters who have started every game this season.
 
DOUBLE DIGIT MARGIN
Eleven of the Anteaters' 17 games, including seven of their 11 wins, have been decided by 10+ points. Their largest margin of victory this season is 21, which they established in their second meeting at CSU Bakersfield (Feb. 6).
 
WINNING WAYS
UCI is on pace for its fourth-straight season with at least 13 wins. From 2017-20, the 'Eaters went 51-43, marking the program's best three-year stretch since 1983-86.
 
HOME COOKING
Since 2017-18, UC Irvine is 35-15 (.700) at the Bren Events Center. The 35 home victories in three-plus seasons are more than the combined total from the previous six campaigns (2011-17).
 
TURNOVER TALK
The Anteaters have forced a Big West-leading 19.5 turnovers per game. UCI has caused 17+ miscues in 14-straight outings, with 20+ in three of the last five contests. They forced a season-high 26 turnovers at SDSU (Dec. 19).
 
WORKING OVERTIME
After two seasons without an overtime game, the 'Eaters have gone to an extra period twice this year. It is the first time they have had multiple OT games since 2014-15, and multiple OT wins since 2013-14. UC Irvine has fared well this year as it is 2-0 in overtime games, while outscoring its opponents, 37-15, in the five-minute extra period.
 
RECORD WATCH
Senior Tahlia Garza ranks seventh in the school record books with 96 blocks. She is four away from passing Chelsea Mackey (99) and becoming the sixth Anteater in program history to record 100 career blocked shots. Senior Haleigh Talbert sits just outside UCI's all-time top-10 with 99 career 3-pointers made. She needs eight more threes to etch her name in the record books.

BIG WEST LEADERBOARD
In Big West play, redshirt freshman Kayla Williams leads the conference in steals (2.6 spg), while also ranking among the top-five in scoring (3rd, 15.6 ppg) and assists (4th, 4.5 apg). She earned her first career Big West Player of the Week award after dropping a career-high 32 points on 10-of-22 shooting (7-11 3FG) in the second of back-to-back wins at Cal Poly. The Los Angeles native also finished with 24 points at UC Santa Barbara (Dec. 28), 24 at CSU Bakersfield (Feb. 5) and 20 vs. Hawai'i (Jan. 29). In addition, Williams was the first of three players in the Big West with a double-digit assist game this year, dishing out a career-best 10 dimes against the Gauchos on Dec. 27.
 
MAKING MOVES
Overall, Williams is tops on the squad with 15.4 points, 4.5 assists and 2.6 steals per contest. She has 14 double-figure scoring games and five 20-plus point performances, including in three of the last six outings. Her career-high 32 points are tied for 11th in single-game school history, while her seven triples are tied for third. 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).
 
FREE THROW RECORDS
In the first game at CSU Bakersfield (Feb. 5), Williams was a perfect 11-for-11 at the free throw line. It was the first time an 'Eater did not miss a free throw with at least 10 attempts since 2011. She also ranks among the top-three in UCI's single-game history with her 14 free throws made and 20 free throws attempted in a 24-point performance against Westmont College on Dec. 9. Williams is shooting 74% (75-102) at the charity stripe this season.
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE TIME
Sophomore Chloe Webb has a team-leading four double-doubles this year, three of which have come in Big West games. Most recently, she finished with a season-high tying 17 points to go along with 10 rebounds in a 68-60 win over Cal State Fullerton (Feb. 20). The San Diego native also recorded 12 points/10 boards at UCSB on Dec. 27, and 14 points/11 boards at Cal Poly on Jan. 22. Webb's first double-double of the season, and of her career, came in non-conference action against Westmont College on Dec. 9, when she put up 14 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. The 5-foot-8 guard was the first 'Eater with 15 boards in a game since Nov. 17, 2016. Webb has led UC Irvine on the glass in eight of the last 10 contests. For the season, she is averaging 10.4 points and a team-best 7.2 rebounds per outing. She is shooting 48% from the field (63-for-132).
 
BACK TO BUSINESS
Sophomore Sophia Locandro, a 2019-20 All-Big West honorable mention selection, has continued to be a key presence on the court for the 'Eaters this year. The 6-foot-3 forward ranks among the top-three on the squad with 10.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per contest. She has reached double figures in scoring nine times with a season-high 20 points vs. Saint Mary's on Dec. 16. Locandro went 8-for-15 from the field and was 4-of-5 at the free throw line against the Gaels for her seventh career 20-point performance. The Australia native also pulled down a career-high tying 11 rebounds at UC Santa Barbara (Dec. 27). Earlier in December, 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-high eight boards, six of which came on the offensive end.

HEART OVER HEIGHT
Senior Haleigh Talbert (Euless, Texas) has been one of the Anteaters' most consistent all-around players over the last few years as she is the team's active career leader in points (754), assists (176) and steals (121). The 5-foot-4 guard has continued to put up solid numbers in 2020-21, averaging 10.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 11 games played. She missed a month of competition with an injury, snapping a streak of 97 consecutive games played. Talbert has found her rhythm again after her return to the court on Jan. 22 as she has reached double figures in scoring and pulled down at least four rebounds in each of the last five games.
 
TEAM CAPTAINS
Seniors Haleigh Talbert, Dani Guglielmo and Tahlia Garza are UC Irvine's team captains for the 2020-21 season. The trio was part of head coach Tamara Inoue's first recruiting class and 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.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine returns to the Bren Events Center next weekend to close out the regular season against Long Beach State, March 5-6.