Friday, March 11
Henderson, Nev.
2:30 PM
UC Irvine
vs
[6] UC Davis
UC Irvine Set for Semifinal Match-up with UC Davis
March 10, 2022 | Women's Basketball
BIG WEST SEMIFINAL
No. 6 UC Davis (15-12, 8-8 Big West) vs.
No. 2 UC Irvine (20-10, 14-4 Big West)
Date: Friday, March 11
Time: 2:30 p.m. (PST)
Location: The Dollar Loan Center (6,019) - Henderson, Nev.
Watch // Listen // Live Stats // Follow on Twitter
UC Irvine Game Notes
IRVINE, Calif. - Second-seeded UC Irvine will face No. 6 seed UC Davis in the semifinals of the 2022 Hercules Tires Big West Championships Presented by the Hawaiian Islands on Friday, March 11. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. at The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada.
STORYLINES
• Friday's semifinal showdown will be a rematch of last year's championship game.
• UCI advanced to its third Big West semifinal in the last four years with an 80-68 win over No. 7 seed Cal State Fullerton.
• The Anteaters led the conference and set a school record with 14 Big West wins.
• Their 20 overall victories are also tied for second in program history.
• UC Irvine came in behind Hawai'i in the league standings based on win percentage for its third-straight runner-up finish.
• The 'Eaters earned the No. 2 seed for the second year in a row and are 7-5 all-time when playing as the second seed.
• Over the last two years, the Anteaters are 25-8 in regular-season Big West games.
• Four 'Eaters made the 2022 All-Big West Team - Kayla Williams, Chloe Webb, Hunter Hernandez and Olivia Williams.
• Kayla Williams averaged a team-best 16.7 points, 4.3 assists and 2.4 steals in 17 conference games played.
• She finished the regular-season ranked among the top-four in the league in all three categories.
• Overall, Williams, who has scored 20+ in each of the last three contests, has put up 15.7 ppg.
• She also entered UC Irvine's single-season top-10 with 62 triples (T4th) and 68 steals (T3rd).
• Williams has connected from deep in 43 consecutive games played.
• Hunter Hernandez has three-straight double-digit scoring performances.
• She had a season-high 15 points in Wednesday's quarterfinal win over Cal State Fullerton.
• Hernandez is shooting 59% (13-22) from the field in March.
WITH A WIN...
• UC Irvine will advance to the Big West championship game for the second year in a row, and sixth time in program history.
• The 'Eaters would tie a school record with their 21st win.
BIG WEST NOTABLES
UC Irvine, which led the Big West with 14 conference victories, finished second in the regular-season standings based on win percentage. The Anteaters earned the No. 2 seed for the second year in a row, and sixth time in program history. UCI, which is making its 33rd tournament appearance in its 39th year as a member of the conference, has won one Big West title (1995).
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
Kayla Williams earned first-team All-Big West honors for the second year in a row, while she was also one of six players selected to the All-Defensive Team. In conference action, Williams ranked among the top-four in the league in scoring (16.7 ppg), assists (4.3 apg), steals (2.4 spg) and 3-pointers made (2.3/gm). Chloe Webb also garnered honorable mention recognition after averaging 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.4 steals in 13 regular-season Big West games played. Hunter Hernandez and Olivia Williams were both named to the All-Freshman Team.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kayla Williams was tabbed the Big West Player of the Week on Monday, March 7. She was recognized after averaging 23.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals in the final two games of the regular season. The 5-foot-7 point guard started the week by carrying the Anteaters to a 67-66 comeback win against Cal Poly with a season-high 26 points, 22 of which came in the second half. She was unstoppable over the final 10 minutes where she tied a school record for points scored in a quarter with 16 in the fourth. Williams added 20 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals in a 67-52 victory over CSUB.
WINNING WAYS
UC Irvine had been in a drought, going through 11 losing seasons in 13 years before head coach Tamara Inoue took over and quickly turned the program around. The Anteaters increased their win total in each of her first three years at the helm, culminating with the third 20-win campaign (2018-19) in school history. Now in her sixth season, which included last year's shortened schedule, the 2021 Big West co-Coach of the Year has made her way up to No. 2 on UCI's all-time wins list with 91 career victories. This year, the 'Eaters (20-10) secured their second 20-win season, and fourth above .500 in the Inoue era. Their 20 overall victories are tied for second in program history, while they set a school record with 14 Big West wins.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Sixth-seeded UC Davis (15-12) defeated No. 3 seed Long Beach State, 55-45, in Wednesday's quarterfinal round to advance to its seventh-straight semifinal. The Aggies had won five-straight Big West regular-season titles prior to this season, and returned 11 letterwinners from last year's championship team. UCD is led by two-time first-team all-conference selection Cierra Hall, who is averaging 15.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Evanne Turner is also in double figures at 12.3 ppg, and has knocked down a team-leading 69 3-pointers.
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with UC Davis, 33-10. The two teams split the 2022 regular-season series with the Anteaters winning at home, 76-59, in the Big West opener (Jan. 6), and falling at UCD, 66-51 on Feb. 12. The two teams have met in the postseason five times with the Aggies holding a 4-1 advantage, which includes last year's win in the championship game.
LAST TIME OUT
Second-seeded UC Irvine took care of business in the Big West quarterfinals, defeating No. 7 seed Cal State Fullerton, 80-68, Wednesday evening at The Dollar Loan Center. The Titans struck first, but after the Anteaters tied it up a minute later, CSF would not lead again. It remained close until an 11-0 run in the second quarter gave UCI a 15-point advantage. The Anteaters, who went up by as many as 21 late in the third, saw that cut down to single digits in the fourth, but went 13-for-14 at the free throw line over the final 1:41 to seal the victory. Kayla Williams led the way with 22 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Hunter Hernandez also finished with a season-high 15 points to go along with seven boards. She went 4-for-4 from the field and 5-of-5 at the charity stripe.
IN THE RANKINGS
UC Irvine enters the Big West semifinals ranked first in the league in overall scoring offense (67.1 ppg), scoring margin (+6.7), FT percentage (76.6), and offensive rebounds per game (13.5). Individually, Kayla Williams is among the top-three in the conference in scoring (3rd, 15.5 ppg), assists (2nd, 4.2 apg), steals (3rd, 2.3 spg), 3FG made (3rd, 2.1/gm) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3rd, 1.4).
DOUBLE DIGIT TIDBITS
UCI had multiple players score in double figures in 26 of its 30 games. Kayla Williams is tops on the squad with 26 double-digit performances, while Chloe Webb is second with 14. In addition, 13 of the team's 20 wins have come by 10+ points.
DEFENSIVE PROWESS
The 'Eaters have held their opponents to under 60 points 15 times this season (14-1), 11 of which came in Big West games. They limited 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. UC Irvine also held UCR to a season-low three points in the fourth quarter on Feb. 10.
TURNOVER TALK
The Anteaters have forced 15+ turnovers in 22 of their 30 games (17.0/gm), with a season-high 25 vs. UC Riverside on Jan. 8. Since 2016-17, they have forced 17.8 turnovers per outing and have consistently been one of the top teams in the Big West in that category.
HOME & AWAY
Since 2017-18, UC Irvine has compiled a 48-20 (.706) record at the Bren Events Center. This season, 12 of the Anteaters' 20 victories came at home, and they owned a +10.0 scoring margin in games at the Bren. The 'Eaters also went 6-6 in true road games, with all of those wins coming in Big West play (6-2), and are 2-0 in neutral-site contests.
BENCH PRODUCTION
All 14 'Eaters have made their way into the scoring column this year, while 11 have at least one double-figure scoring game, and seven 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.
RECORD WATCH
Jayde Cadee is making her way up UCI's all-time charts in 3-pointers made as she is fourth in program history with 143 career triples. With 27 blocks this season, Sophia Locandro has also increased her career total to 85, which puts her eighth all-time at UC Irvine. In addition, Kayla Williams is tied for third in single-season school history in 3-pointers made (62) and tied for fourth in steals (68).
THE HUNT FOR 1,000
Naomi Hunt accomplished an impressive feat on Wednesday, March 9, as she surpassed 1,000 points in her collegiate career. Hunt entered the Big West quarterfinal round needing four points to hit the milestone and did so on a jumper with 2:05 left in the second quarter. The graduate transfer scored 803 points in her three seasons at Long Beach State, while she has 201 (6.9 ppg) this year at UCI.
WALKING BUCKET
Kayla Williams has reached double figures in scoring in 45 of 52 career games played with 12 20-plus point performances. Williams, who had a season-high 26 points against Cal Poly on March 3, is averaging a team-best 15.5 ppg overall and 17.0 ppg against Big West opponents. 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 has been impressive in her 14 outings against conference foes where she is averaging 11.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 2.2 steals. She reached double figures in scoring in eight of those contests with a career-high 26 points at CSUB on Jan. 27. Since Jan. 6, she has shot 50% (58-117) from the field, 53% (8-15) from beyond the arc and 82% (32-39) at the free throw line.
NEAR PERFECTION
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.
3-POINT THREAT
Jayde Cadee is one of the Anteaters' biggest threats from the perimeter. In 17 Big West games, she made 36 3-pointers, and shot 40% from deep. On Feb. 5, Cadee went 6-for-11 from behind the arc for a season-high 20 points against CSUN, while she was also 5-of-10 for 15 points vs. UC Riverside (Jan. 8).
ACCESS DENIED
Sophia Locandro is fourth in the Big West with 0.93 blocks per game. The 6-foot-3 forward has registered at least one block in 18 of her 29 appearances with a career-high tying four at California Baptist on Nov. 20. Locandro also ranks third on the squad in scoring (7.9 ppg) and second in rebounding (4.9 rpg).
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. Hernandez is averaging 5.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. She has come on strong late in the year with three-straight double-figure scoring performances, including a season-high 15 points vs. Cal State Fullerton in the Big West quarterfinals. Williams has also put up 4.4 points and 2.2 rebounds per outing. She started the first 19 games of her collegiate career.
DOUBLE DUTY
UCI is 6-0 when an Anteater finishes with a double-double this season. Chloe Webb has a team-best three, 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. Naomi Hunt also registered 17 points and 12 rebounds vs. Sacramento State, while Sophia Locandro notched 10 points/10 boards vs. UCSD.
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.
STARTING FIVE
UC Irvine has used six different starting lineups with at least one true freshman in the rotation in all but four games this year. The Anteaters put the same first five on the court in their last seven games where they are 6-1.
UP NEXT
The winner of the UC Irvine/UC Davis and Hawai'i/UC Riverside semifinal games will meet in the Big West championship at 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 12.
No. 6 UC Davis (15-12, 8-8 Big West) vs.
No. 2 UC Irvine (20-10, 14-4 Big West)
Date: Friday, March 11
Time: 2:30 p.m. (PST)
Location: The Dollar Loan Center (6,019) - Henderson, Nev.
Watch // Listen // Live Stats // Follow on Twitter
UC Irvine Game Notes
IRVINE, Calif. - Second-seeded UC Irvine will face No. 6 seed UC Davis in the semifinals of the 2022 Hercules Tires Big West Championships Presented by the Hawaiian Islands on Friday, March 11. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. at The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada.
STORYLINES
• Friday's semifinal showdown will be a rematch of last year's championship game.
• UCI advanced to its third Big West semifinal in the last four years with an 80-68 win over No. 7 seed Cal State Fullerton.
• The Anteaters led the conference and set a school record with 14 Big West wins.
• Their 20 overall victories are also tied for second in program history.
• UC Irvine came in behind Hawai'i in the league standings based on win percentage for its third-straight runner-up finish.
• The 'Eaters earned the No. 2 seed for the second year in a row and are 7-5 all-time when playing as the second seed.
• Over the last two years, the Anteaters are 25-8 in regular-season Big West games.
• Four 'Eaters made the 2022 All-Big West Team - Kayla Williams, Chloe Webb, Hunter Hernandez and Olivia Williams.
• Kayla Williams averaged a team-best 16.7 points, 4.3 assists and 2.4 steals in 17 conference games played.
• She finished the regular-season ranked among the top-four in the league in all three categories.
• Overall, Williams, who has scored 20+ in each of the last three contests, has put up 15.7 ppg.
• She also entered UC Irvine's single-season top-10 with 62 triples (T4th) and 68 steals (T3rd).
• Williams has connected from deep in 43 consecutive games played.
• Hunter Hernandez has three-straight double-digit scoring performances.
• She had a season-high 15 points in Wednesday's quarterfinal win over Cal State Fullerton.
• Hernandez is shooting 59% (13-22) from the field in March.
WITH A WIN...
• UC Irvine will advance to the Big West championship game for the second year in a row, and sixth time in program history.
• The 'Eaters would tie a school record with their 21st win.
BIG WEST NOTABLES
UC Irvine, which led the Big West with 14 conference victories, finished second in the regular-season standings based on win percentage. The Anteaters earned the No. 2 seed for the second year in a row, and sixth time in program history. UCI, which is making its 33rd tournament appearance in its 39th year as a member of the conference, has won one Big West title (1995).
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
Kayla Williams earned first-team All-Big West honors for the second year in a row, while she was also one of six players selected to the All-Defensive Team. In conference action, Williams ranked among the top-four in the league in scoring (16.7 ppg), assists (4.3 apg), steals (2.4 spg) and 3-pointers made (2.3/gm). Chloe Webb also garnered honorable mention recognition after averaging 11.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.4 steals in 13 regular-season Big West games played. Hunter Hernandez and Olivia Williams were both named to the All-Freshman Team.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kayla Williams was tabbed the Big West Player of the Week on Monday, March 7. She was recognized after averaging 23.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 2.5 steals in the final two games of the regular season. The 5-foot-7 point guard started the week by carrying the Anteaters to a 67-66 comeback win against Cal Poly with a season-high 26 points, 22 of which came in the second half. She was unstoppable over the final 10 minutes where she tied a school record for points scored in a quarter with 16 in the fourth. Williams added 20 points, five rebounds, two assists and three steals in a 67-52 victory over CSUB.
WINNING WAYS
UC Irvine had been in a drought, going through 11 losing seasons in 13 years before head coach Tamara Inoue took over and quickly turned the program around. The Anteaters increased their win total in each of her first three years at the helm, culminating with the third 20-win campaign (2018-19) in school history. Now in her sixth season, which included last year's shortened schedule, the 2021 Big West co-Coach of the Year has made her way up to No. 2 on UCI's all-time wins list with 91 career victories. This year, the 'Eaters (20-10) secured their second 20-win season, and fourth above .500 in the Inoue era. Their 20 overall victories are tied for second in program history, while they set a school record with 14 Big West wins.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Sixth-seeded UC Davis (15-12) defeated No. 3 seed Long Beach State, 55-45, in Wednesday's quarterfinal round to advance to its seventh-straight semifinal. The Aggies had won five-straight Big West regular-season titles prior to this season, and returned 11 letterwinners from last year's championship team. UCD is led by two-time first-team all-conference selection Cierra Hall, who is averaging 15.3 points, 8.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Evanne Turner is also in double figures at 12.3 ppg, and has knocked down a team-leading 69 3-pointers.
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with UC Davis, 33-10. The two teams split the 2022 regular-season series with the Anteaters winning at home, 76-59, in the Big West opener (Jan. 6), and falling at UCD, 66-51 on Feb. 12. The two teams have met in the postseason five times with the Aggies holding a 4-1 advantage, which includes last year's win in the championship game.
LAST TIME OUT
Second-seeded UC Irvine took care of business in the Big West quarterfinals, defeating No. 7 seed Cal State Fullerton, 80-68, Wednesday evening at The Dollar Loan Center. The Titans struck first, but after the Anteaters tied it up a minute later, CSF would not lead again. It remained close until an 11-0 run in the second quarter gave UCI a 15-point advantage. The Anteaters, who went up by as many as 21 late in the third, saw that cut down to single digits in the fourth, but went 13-for-14 at the free throw line over the final 1:41 to seal the victory. Kayla Williams led the way with 22 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two steals. Hunter Hernandez also finished with a season-high 15 points to go along with seven boards. She went 4-for-4 from the field and 5-of-5 at the charity stripe.
IN THE RANKINGS
UC Irvine enters the Big West semifinals ranked first in the league in overall scoring offense (67.1 ppg), scoring margin (+6.7), FT percentage (76.6), and offensive rebounds per game (13.5). Individually, Kayla Williams is among the top-three in the conference in scoring (3rd, 15.5 ppg), assists (2nd, 4.2 apg), steals (3rd, 2.3 spg), 3FG made (3rd, 2.1/gm) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3rd, 1.4).
DOUBLE DIGIT TIDBITS
UCI had multiple players score in double figures in 26 of its 30 games. Kayla Williams is tops on the squad with 26 double-digit performances, while Chloe Webb is second with 14. In addition, 13 of the team's 20 wins have come by 10+ points.
DEFENSIVE PROWESS
The 'Eaters have held their opponents to under 60 points 15 times this season (14-1), 11 of which came in Big West games. They limited 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. UC Irvine also held UCR to a season-low three points in the fourth quarter on Feb. 10.
TURNOVER TALK
The Anteaters have forced 15+ turnovers in 22 of their 30 games (17.0/gm), with a season-high 25 vs. UC Riverside on Jan. 8. Since 2016-17, they have forced 17.8 turnovers per outing and have consistently been one of the top teams in the Big West in that category.
HOME & AWAY
Since 2017-18, UC Irvine has compiled a 48-20 (.706) record at the Bren Events Center. This season, 12 of the Anteaters' 20 victories came at home, and they owned a +10.0 scoring margin in games at the Bren. The 'Eaters also went 6-6 in true road games, with all of those wins coming in Big West play (6-2), and are 2-0 in neutral-site contests.
BENCH PRODUCTION
All 14 'Eaters have made their way into the scoring column this year, while 11 have at least one double-figure scoring game, and seven 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.
RECORD WATCH
Jayde Cadee is making her way up UCI's all-time charts in 3-pointers made as she is fourth in program history with 143 career triples. With 27 blocks this season, Sophia Locandro has also increased her career total to 85, which puts her eighth all-time at UC Irvine. In addition, Kayla Williams is tied for third in single-season school history in 3-pointers made (62) and tied for fourth in steals (68).
THE HUNT FOR 1,000
Naomi Hunt accomplished an impressive feat on Wednesday, March 9, as she surpassed 1,000 points in her collegiate career. Hunt entered the Big West quarterfinal round needing four points to hit the milestone and did so on a jumper with 2:05 left in the second quarter. The graduate transfer scored 803 points in her three seasons at Long Beach State, while she has 201 (6.9 ppg) this year at UCI.
WALKING BUCKET
Kayla Williams has reached double figures in scoring in 45 of 52 career games played with 12 20-plus point performances. Williams, who had a season-high 26 points against Cal Poly on March 3, is averaging a team-best 15.5 ppg overall and 17.0 ppg against Big West opponents. 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 has been impressive in her 14 outings against conference foes where she is averaging 11.1 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 2.2 steals. She reached double figures in scoring in eight of those contests with a career-high 26 points at CSUB on Jan. 27. Since Jan. 6, she has shot 50% (58-117) from the field, 53% (8-15) from beyond the arc and 82% (32-39) at the free throw line.
NEAR PERFECTION
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.
3-POINT THREAT
Jayde Cadee is one of the Anteaters' biggest threats from the perimeter. In 17 Big West games, she made 36 3-pointers, and shot 40% from deep. On Feb. 5, Cadee went 6-for-11 from behind the arc for a season-high 20 points against CSUN, while she was also 5-of-10 for 15 points vs. UC Riverside (Jan. 8).
ACCESS DENIED
Sophia Locandro is fourth in the Big West with 0.93 blocks per game. The 6-foot-3 forward has registered at least one block in 18 of her 29 appearances with a career-high tying four at California Baptist on Nov. 20. Locandro also ranks third on the squad in scoring (7.9 ppg) and second in rebounding (4.9 rpg).
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. Hernandez is averaging 5.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. She has come on strong late in the year with three-straight double-figure scoring performances, including a season-high 15 points vs. Cal State Fullerton in the Big West quarterfinals. Williams has also put up 4.4 points and 2.2 rebounds per outing. She started the first 19 games of her collegiate career.
DOUBLE DUTY
UCI is 6-0 when an Anteater finishes with a double-double this season. Chloe Webb has a team-best three, 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. Naomi Hunt also registered 17 points and 12 rebounds vs. Sacramento State, while Sophia Locandro notched 10 points/10 boards vs. UCSD.
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.
STARTING FIVE
UC Irvine has used six different starting lineups with at least one true freshman in the rotation in all but four games this year. The Anteaters put the same first five on the court in their last seven games where they are 6-1.
UP NEXT
The winner of the UC Irvine/UC Davis and Hawai'i/UC Riverside semifinal games will meet in the Big West championship at 5 p.m. on Saturday, March 12.
Players Mentioned
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Center
/ Women's Basketball
Forward
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's Basketball
Guard
/ Women's BasketballRIPPING THREES 3️⃣
Wednesday, March 25
Dropped & Drained 🫢
Tuesday, March 24
𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 🤣🎙️
Wednesday, February 18
Pregame with Reese 🎙️
Wednesday, February 11
