UC Irvine (7-6, 2-0 Big West) at
UC San Diego (5-6, 2-0 Big West)
Date: Tuesday, Jan. 11
Time: 7 p.m. (PST)
Location: RIMAC Arena (4,000) - La Jolla, Calif. (Spectators not permitted)
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UC Irvine Game Notes

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine will be looking for its third-straight win on Tuesday, Jan. 11, when it makes its way to La Jolla for a midweek Big West showdown at UC San Diego. The Anteaters and Tritons are set to square off at 7 p.m. at RIMAC Arena. Spectators are currently not permitted at UCSD's home events, but the game will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
STORYLINES
• Tuesday's contest will feature two of the early Big West unbeaten teams.
• UC Irvine and UC San Diego both took down UC Riverside and defending conference champion UC Davis last week.
• The Anteaters' 17-point win (76-59) against the Aggies was their largest margin of victory in Big West openers.
• The 'Eaters averaged 10.0 3FG made and 21.5 turnovers forced in their first two conference games.
• UCI has held its opponent to under 60 points in each of its last three outings.
• Preseason All-Big West selection Kayla Williams is averaging a team-best 12.9 ppg.
• Williams is also tops on the squad in 3FG made (24), assists (49) and steals (28).
• She ranks among the top-eight in the conference in all four categories.
• Chloe Webb averaged 15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals last week.
• Webb tied her season high with 16 points and dished out a career-best six assists against UC Davis.
• Jayde Cadee has caught fire from beyond the arc, making nine of her 18 3-pointers in the last three games.
• Sophia Locandro (15) and Tara Dusharm (9) have combined for half of UCI's 45 blocks.
• Locandro has had at least one block in nine outings with a career-high tying four at California Baptist.
 
WITH A WIN...
• UCI would be 3-0 in Big West play for the first time since 2010-11.
• The Anteaters would have their first three-game win streak of the season.
• The 'Eaters would improve to 8-1 in their all-time series with UC San Diego.

SCOUTING THE TRITONS
UC San Diego (5-6, 2-0 Big West) defeated UC Riverside, 60-57, and UC Davis, 59-56, at home to open Big West play last week. Sydney Brown leads the Tritons with 11.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, while Aishah Brown had an impressive start in conference action, averaging 12.0 points and 13.0 rebounds in UCSD's two Big West wins. Heidi VanDerveer is in her 10th year at the helm of the UC San Diego program which is in its second season at the DI level.
 
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine leads in its all-time series with UC San Diego, 7-1. Six of those meetings came prior to 1980, while the two teams split last year's regular-season series at RIMAC Arena. The Tritons won the opener, 66-63, on Feb. 26, 2021, before the Anteaters bounced back the next day with a 64-58 victory.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine continued to impress on the defensive end in a 59-53 Big West win over UC Riverside last Saturday at the Bren Events Center. The Anteaters finished with 13 steals and forced a season-high 25 turnovers, while holding their opponent to under 60 points for the third-straight game. The 'Eaters also pulled down 12 offensive rebounds, winning the battle in both second-chance points (11-4) and points off turnovers (25-10). Chloe Webb and Jayde Cadee tied for the game high with 15 points each. Cadee went 5-for-10 from beyond the arc, and Webb added five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Sophia Locandro also had 11 points, four boards, two steals and two blocks.
 
STARTING FIVE
After using the same starting lineup in its first 11 games, UC Irvine mixed it up in each of the last two outings. Hunter Hernandez made her first career start against UC Davis on Jan. 6, while Nikki Tom did the same vs. UC Riverside on Jan. 8. Sophia Locandro, Chloe Webb and Olivia Williams have started every game this season.
 
BENCH PRODUCTION
UCI has outscored its opponents in bench points, 333-178. All 15 'Eaters have made their way into the scoring column, 10 have at least one double-figure scoring game, and eight are averaging at least 4.0 points per outing.
 
HOME & AWAY
After playing five of their six games in the month of November within the friendly confines of the Bren Events Center, the Anteaters did the opposite in December with four of their five contests on the road. UCI is 6-2 at home, 0-4 in true road games, and 1-0 in neutral-site contests. Since 2017-18, UC Irvine is 42-18 (.700) at the Bren.
 
DEFENSIVE PROWESS
The Anteaters have held their opponent to under 60 points six times this season, including in each of the last three outings. Since Dec. 23, UC Irvine has allowed 56.7 ppg, while averaging 20.0 turnovers forced and 10.0 steals. Déja Lee has provided the spark during that stretch with seven steals, six of which have come in Big West games.
 
TURNOVER TALK
The 'Eaters have forced 15+ turnovers on nine occasions (17.5/gm), with a season-high 25 vs. UC Riverside on Jan. 8. 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 multiple players score in double figures in 12 of its 13 games. Kayla Williams is tops on the team with 10 double-digit performances, while Chloe Webb is second with eight. In addition, four of the Anteaters' seven wins have come by 10+ points.
 
RECORD WATCH
With 15 blocks this season, Sophia Locandro has increased her career total to 73, which puts her in sole possession of ninth all-time at UC Irvine. Jayde Cadee has also made her way into UCI's all-time top-10 in 3-pointers made as her 113 career triples are tied for seventh.
 
IRON WOMEN
Locandro and Cadee are tied for the team lead with 68 consecutive games played. The Australian duo has 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 (705), rebounds (350) and blocks (73). Cadee, meanwhile, surpassed 100 career 3-pointers made with the first of her three triples at California Baptist.
 
DOUBLE DUTY
UCI is 4-0 when an Anteater finishes with a double-double this season. Chloe Webb has a team-best two double-doubles, putting up 11 points/10 rebounds vs. SJSU, and 14 points/13 boards against Southern Utah. Melodie Kapinga had the first of the year with 11 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in 13 minutes against Westcliff (Nov. 9), while Naomi Hunt registered 17 points and 12 rebounds vs. Sacramento State.
 
SCORING MACHINE
Kayla Williams has reached double figures in scoring in 29 of 35 career games played with six 20+ point performances. Williams, who is averaging a team-best 12.9 ppg, has scored 10+ in each of her last 10 outings, with a season-high 20 points coming at CBU (Nov. 20). She also has a streak of 26 consecutive games played with a 3-pointer made. The 5-foot-7 point guard owns a career high of 32 points which she established at Cal Poly on Jan. 23, 2021. 
 
CATCHING FIRE
After battling through a 2-for-10 slump over a six-game stretch from Nov. 26-Dec. 21, Jayde Cadee has caught fire from beyond the arc. In her last three outings, she has made nine of her 18 3-pointers and has shot 47% from deep. Most recently, Cadee went 5-for-10 for a season-high 15 points against UC Riverside (Jan. 8).
 
SPINNING HER WEBB
Chloe Webb, who earned All-Big West honors last year, had an impressive start to conference play, averaging 15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.5 steals in wins over UC Davis and UC Riverside. She also went 3-for-4 from beyond the arc and 10-for-11 at the free throw line, while putting up a 4.5 assist-to-turnover ratio (9-to-2).
 
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 vs. the Warriors.
 
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 78 victories. The 2021 Big West co-Coach of the Year is eight wins away from tying Mark Adams (86) for second.
 
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. Last year, Williams was named the Big West Freshman of the Year and earned first-team all-conference honors after averaging 14.4 points, 4.1 assists and 2.6 steals per game.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine returns to the Bren Events Center on Saturday, Jan. 15, when it plays host to Hawai'i at 4 p.m.