Whittier College (0-0) at
UC Irvine (0-0)
Date: Tuesday, Nov. 8
Time: 6 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center 
* UC Irvine Athletics is utilizing mobile ticketing and a clear bag policy.

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's basketball begins the 2022-23 season by hosting Whitter College on Tuesday, Nov. 8. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at the Bren Events Center.
 
STARTING FIVE: STORYLINES
• Since 2017-18, the Anteaters have averaged 17 wins per season. Their 87 total victories over that span mark the program's best five-year stretch since 1980-85. The 'Eaters have also been one of the toughest teams to face in The Big West over the last couple years as they own a league-leading 25-8 regular-season conference record.
 
• UCI welcomes back eight letterwinners from a 2021-22 squad that set a program record with 14 conference victories and tied a 37-year old school record with 21 overall wins. UC Irvine also advanced to The Big West championship game for the second year in a row and earned the program's first postseason WNIT bid. Graduate student Naomi Hunt is the Anteaters' top returner after averaging 7.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists last season. Also back are 2022 Big West All-Freshman Team selections Hunter Hernandez and Olivia Williams, along with Nikki Tom, Déja Lee, Caiyle Kaupu, Amelia Scharpf and Tarryn Ross.
 
• The 'Eaters bring in four NCAA Division I transfers in 2022-23. Junior Diaba Konate is a point guard out of Idaho State where she averaged 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.9 steals in her three seasons with the Bengals. UCI also adds some size with three post players in Nevaeh Dean (Cincinnati), Nyagoa Gony (Purdue) and Nevaeh Parkinson (New Mexico).
 
• UC Irvine will have a couple new faces on the sidelines. Head coach Tamara Inoue and associate head coach Cecilia Russell-Nava both return for their seventh year, while Derek Wynn, Tyler Ellis, Cassie Klockgether and Nisma Ali round out the staff. Wynn comes to UCI as an assistant with two decades of collegiate coaching experience. He had previous stints at the University of Washington, Long Beach State, USC and Pepperdine. Ellis, who spent the last three seasons as UCI's Director of Women's Basketball Operations, has also been elevated to assistant coach. Klockgether will fill the DOBO role and Ali will serve as the Director of Administration.
 
• Tamara Inoue has wasted no time in building UC Irvine into a championship contender. After taking over a program that had been through 11 losing seasons in 13 years, Inoue made remarkable progress as the 'Eaters increased their win total in each of her first three seasons, highlighted by the second-best turnaround in all of NCAA Division I in 2017-18. The 2021 Big West co-Coach of the Year, who has led UCI to two of the program's four 20-win campaigns, ranks second in program history with 92 career victories.

SCOUTING THE POETS
Whittier College returns six letterwinners and two starters from last year's team that won the SCIAC Tournament and made the program's first trip to the NCAA Division III Championships. The Poets, who saw their 2020-21 season canceled, finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 16-9 overall record. Senior Lainie James is the team's top returning scorer after averaging 14.6 points per game last year. Sophomore Rhe Nae Leach also put up 9.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.3 blocks per outing.
 
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine leads in its all-time series with Whittier College, 1-0. The two teams have not faced each other since Jan. 21, 1977, when the 'Eaters took down the Poets, 69-22.
 
2021-22 HIGHLIGHTS
Last year, UCI set a program record with 14 conference victories and tied a 37-year old school record with 21 overall wins. It was the Anteaters' second 20-win campaign in four seasons. They also advanced to The Big West championship game for the second year in a row and earned the program's first postseason WNIT bid.
 
BIG WEST DOMINANCE
No team has been better in Big West regular-season play over the last two years than UC Irvine. The 'Eaters are coming off back-to-back four-loss campaigns, combining for a conference-leading 25-8 record. In 2020-21 and 2021-22, UCI had the most victories in league play, but finished second based on win percentage.
 
OPENING NIGHT
UC Irvine will start the campaign at home for the eighth consecutive year. The Anteaters have won four of their last five openers, and reached the century mark twice during that stretch (105 vs. Life Pacific in 2018 and 114 vs. Westcliff in 2021). The 'Eaters will kick off the year against Whittier College for the first time in program history.
 
HOME COOKING
Since 2017-18, UC Irvine is 48-20 (.706) at the Bren Events Center. Last year, 12 of the Anteaters' school-record tying 21 victories came at home, and they owned a +10.0 scoring margin in games at the Bren. UCI won its last six home games of the 2021-22 season.

IN THE RANKINGS
Although not featured in the preseason rankings, UC Irvine was receiving votes in the final 2021-22 College Insider Women's Mid-Major Poll. During the season, the Anteaters made their way into the RV section of the rankings eight times. The last time they cracked the top-25 in the mid-major poll was in 2018-19 when they rose to as high as No. 15 in the nation.
 
Statistically, UCI ranked first in The Big West in overall scoring offense (66.5 ppg), scoring margin (+5.6), FT percentage (76.0), and offensive rebounds per game (13.2) last year.
 
ROSTER SHUFFLE
Like many programs across the country, UC Irvine had some roster turnover during the offseason. Despite losing six letterwinners, the Anteaters still bring back eight key members from last year's WNIT squad, while welcoming in four NCAA Division I transfers, three of whom advanced to postseason play with their respective teams in 2021-22.
 
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
For the first time since 2017-18, UC Irvine was not picked to finish among the top-three in The Big West Preseason Coaches Poll. The Anteaters came in sixth with 62 points. Hawai'i was predicted to repeat as conference champion, collecting nine first-place votes for 99 points. UC Santa Barbara received the final two first-place nods to take second with 84 points, and was followed by Long Beach State (73), UC San Diego (72) and UC Davis (71). Finishing behind the 'Eaters were UC Riverside (40), Cal State Fullerton (33), Cal Poly (18) and CSU Bakersfield (17).
 
WINNING WAYS
Since 2017-18, the 'Eaters are averaging 17 wins per season. Their 87 total victories during that span is the program's best five-year stretch since 1980-85. Over the last four years, they have also registered two of the program's four 20-win campaigns.
 
THE HUNT FOR 1,000
Naomi Hunt reached a significant milestone at the 2022 Big West Championships where she surpassed 1,000 points in her collegiate career. Hunt entered the quarterfinal round needing four points to hit the 1K mark and did so on a jumper with 2:05 left in the second quarter. The graduate student scored 803 points in her three seasons at Long Beach State, while she had 229 in her first year at UCI.
 
GIVE AND TAKE
Sophomore Nikki Tom is the Anteaters' returning assists  and steals leader. As a true freshman, she dished out 51 helpers (1.5 apg) and had 38 takeaways (1.2 spg). One of three 'Eaters to play in all 33 games last year, Tom also averaged 4.1 points and 2.8 rebounds.
 
FIRST YEAR SUCCESS
Hunter Hernandez and Olivia Williams, who were teammates at Archbishop Mitty High School, were both named to the six-member Big West All-Freshman Team in 2021-22. Hernandez averaged 4.9 points and 3.2 rebounds in her first collegiate season. She came on strong late in the year with three double-figure scoring performances in her final six outings, including a season-high 15 points vs. Cal State Fullerton in The Big West quarterfinals. Williams also put up 4.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per contest. She started the first 19 games of her collegiate career.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine begins a three-game road swing this weekend, traveling to Sacramento State for a 1 p.m. showdown on Saturday, Nov. 12.