UC San Diego (9-12, 6-6 Big West) at
UC Irvine (14-9, 9-3 Big West)
Date: Tuesday, Feb. 15
Time: 7 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
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UC Irvine Game Notes

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine returns to the hardwood on Tuesday, Feb. 15, when it welcomes UC San Diego to the Bren Events Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

In accordance with guidance from the California Department of Public Health, UC Irvine Athletics is requiring fans in attendance (ages 3 and older) at all indoor home events to provide proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test within one day for an antigen test and two days for a PCR test prior to entry. 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 9-3 in Big West play for the third time in head coach Tamara Inoue's six years at the helm.
• The 'Eaters saw a season-long five-game win streak come to an end at UC Davis last Saturday, Feb. 12.
• It was their first Big West road loss of the year (5-1).
• UC Irvine has allowed fewer than 60 points on 11 occasions, including in four of its last five games.
• UCI held UC Santa Barbara to a season low in points scored in a 58-31 win on Feb. 3.
• It was the fewest points the Anteaters allowed against an NCAA Division I opponent since 1991.
• Kayla Williams has reached double figures in scoring in 20-straight outings.
• She is averaging a team-best 14.5 ppg, and is also tops on the squad in 3FG made (44), assists (95) and steals (53).
• Williams is the only player in the league to rank among the Big West's top-five in all four categories.
• Chloe Webb is averaging 11.0 ppg and a team-leading 5.8 rpg.
• She had her third double-double of the season, and eighth of her career, with 13 pts/13 rebs at UCR on Feb. 10.
• Jayde Cadee ranks second on the squad with 33 threes.
• Twenty-four of her triples have come in her last 12 appearances.
• During that stretch, Cadee has seven outings with multiple 3-pointers, including a 6-of-11 performance vs. CSUN (Feb. 5).
• Déja Lee was teammates with UCSD's Izzy Forsyth at Semiahmoo Secondary School in Surrey, British Columbia.
 
WITH A WIN...
• The Anteaters would reach 10 wins in conference play for the sixth time in program history.
• UC Irvine would also reach double digits in the Big West win column for the second-straight season.
• The 'Eaters have not had back-to-back 10-win Big West seasons since joining the league in 1983-84.
• UCI would win its third-straight against the Tritons and improve to 9-1 in the all-time series.

SCOUTING THE TRITONS
UC San Diego (9-12, 6-6 Big West) is on a four-game losing streak after falling at UC Davis, 51-42, and at UC Riverside, 68-48, last week. Sydney Brown leads the Tritons with 11.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per contest, while Madison Baxter is UCSD's biggest threat from the perimeter where she is shooting 45.9% (34-74).
 
SERIES RECORD
UCI leads in its all-time series with UC San Diego, 8-1. This marks the first time the two teams will meet at the Bren Events Center as Big West opponents after both games were held in La Jolla last year. In the first meeting of the 2022 season, UCI, which was playing without two of its regular starters, defeated the Tritons, 59-44, at RIMAC Arena. Naomi Hunt led the 'Eaters with 15 points, while Kayla Williams and Déja Lee had 12 apiece. Williams added a game-high six assists. Aishah Brown paced UCSD with 18 points and 17 rebounds.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine saw its five-game win streak come to an end with a 66-51 loss to UC Davis last Saturday at the University Credit Union Center. The Anteaters got out to a slow start, scoring a season-low 18 points in the first half. The Aggies took advantage, going up by 17 at the break, and despite a late rally, UCI was unable to dig itself out of the early hole. Kayla Williams registered a team-high 17 points, 13 of which came in the second half. She also had six rebounds, two assists, two steals and a block. Sophia Locandro added eight points, and Chloe Webb had six. Hunter Hernandez contributed five points and three assists.
 
BIG WEST BATTLE
For the first time this season, the week will begin without either UC Irvine or Long Beach State at the top of the Big West standings. With three weeks remaining, it is still a tight race as Hawai'i (8-2) currently sits in first, and UC Irvine and Long Beach State are tied for second at 9-3. UC Santa Barbara is also in the mix in fourth with a 7-4 record.
 
CONFERENCE LEADERS
UC Irvine enters the weekend ranked first in the Big West in overall scoring offense (67.4 ppg), FT percentage (75.1), and offensive rebounds per game (13.3). Individually, Kayla Williams is the only student-athlete among the top-five in the conference in scoring (4th), assists (2nd), steals (3rd) and 3FG made (3rd).

DEFENSIVE PROWESS
The 'Eaters have held their opponents to under 60 points 11 times this season (10-1), seven of which have come in Big West games. UCI's defense has been stellar of late, limiting opponents to 36% from the field and 20% from behind the arc since Jan. 20. Last Thursday, UC Irvine held UCR to a season-low three points in the fourth quarter.
 
BENCH PRODUCTION
UCI has outscored its opponents in bench points, 539-330. All 14 'Eaters have made their way into the scoring column, 11 have at least one double-figure scoring game, and eight are averaging at least 4.0 points per outing. In addition, every Anteater who has appeared in at least 10 games is averaging more than 5.0 minutes.
 
TURNOVER TALK
The Anteaters have forced 15+ turnovers on 18 occasions (17.4/gm), with a season-high 25 vs. UC Riverside on Jan. 8. Since 2016-17, they have forced 17.9 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 20 of its 23 games. Kayla Williams is tops on the team with 20 double-digit performances, while Chloe Webb is second with 13. In addition, nine of the Anteaters' 14 wins have come by 10+ points.
 
NEAR PERFECTION
Chloe Webb was just shy of becoming the first Anteater in program history to have a perfect shooting performance with at least 10 field goals made. She still set the single-game school record at 90.9% (10-11) in a win at CSU Bakersfield on Jan. 27. Her only miss against the Roadrunners came at the 8:33 mark of the third period, and on that miss she got her own rebound, was fouled and went to the charity stripe where she made both free throws. Webb finished the evening with a career-high 26 points.
 
RECORD WATCH
Jayde Cadee is making her way up UCI's all-time charts in 3-pointers made with her 128 career triples tied for fifth in program history. With 24 blocks this season, Sophia Locandro has increased her career total to 82, which puts her in sole possession of eighth all-time at UC Irvine.
 
HOME & AWAY
Since 2017-18, UC Irvine has compiled a 44-20 (.688) record at the Bren Events Center. This season, eight of the Anteaters' 14 victories have come at home while they own a +10.3 scoring margin in games at the Bren. The 'Eaters are also 5-4 in true road games, with all of those wins coming in Big West play where they are 5-1.
 
WALKING BUCKET
Kayla Williams has reached double figures in scoring in 39 of 45 career games played with eight 20-plus point performances. Williams, who is averaging a team-best 14.5 ppg, has scored 10+ in each of her last 20 outings, with a season-high 25 at Cal State Fullerton on Jan. 20. She also has a streak of 36 consecutive games played with a 3-pointer made. The 5-foot-7 point guard owns a career high of 32 points which she set at Cal Poly on Jan. 23, 2021. 
 
SPINNING HER WEBB
Chloe Webb, who earned All-Big West honors last year, has been impressive in conference action, averaging 12.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.5 steals in 11 games played. She has reached double figures in scoring in seven of those outings with a career-high 26 points at CSUB on Jan. 27, and 20 vs. CSUN on Feb. 5. Since Jan. 6, she has shot 51% (50-98) from the field, 57% (8-14) from beyond the arc and 82% (32-39) at the free throw line.
 
3-POINT THREAT
Jayde Cadee is one of the Anteaters' biggest threats from the perimeter. In her last 12 outings, she has made 24 3-pointers, and is shooting 39% from deep. On Feb. 5, Cadee went 6-for-11 from behind the arc for a season-high 20 points, while she was also 5-of-10 for 15 points vs. UC Riverside (Jan. 8).
 
ACCESS DENIED
Sophia Locandro is tops on the team and third in the Big West with 1.1 blocks per game. The 6-foot-3 forward has registered at least one block in 15 of her 22 appearances, and has had multiple blocks on six occasions. Locandro matched her career high with four swats at California Baptist on Nov. 20. She also ranks third on the squad in scoring (8.6 ppg) and second in rebounding (4.7 rpg).

MITTY CONNECTION
Tuesday's game will feature five Archbishop Mitty High School alums. Four will be on the court as Hunter Hernandez, Amelia Scharpf, Olivia Williams and Katie Springs (UCSD) were all teammates and graduated from Mitty in 2021, while UC Irvine associate head coach Cecilia Russell-Nava was also a Monarch.
  
DOUBLE DUTY
UCI is 5-0 when an Anteater finishes with a double-double this season. Chloe Webb has a team-best three double-doubles, putting up 13 points/13 rebounds at UC Riverside, 11 points/10 rebounds vs. SJSU, and 14 points/13 rebounds against Southern Utah. Melodie Kapinga had the first of the year with 11 points and a career-high 10 boards in 13 minutes against Westcliff (Nov. 9), while Naomi Hunt registered 17 points and 12 rebounds vs. Sacramento State.
 
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 school history with 85 victories. The 2021 Big West co-Coach of the Year is one win 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 to come in behind five-time defending regular-season champion UC Davis, which earned 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 also named to the six-member Preseason All-Big West Team.
 
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.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine will make the trek to Hawai'i as it is set to square off against the Rainbow Wahine Saturday, Feb. 19, at 3:30 p.m. (HT)/5:30 p.m. (PT).