'Eaters Ready for Championship Showdown with Hawai'i

BIG WEST CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
No. 2 UC Irvine (21-10, 14-4 Big West) vs.
No. 1 Hawai'i (19-9, 13-3 Big West)
Date: Saturday, March 12
Time: 5 p.m. (PST)
Location: The Dollar Loan Center (6,019) - Henderson, Nev.
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UC Irvine Game Notes

IRVINE, Calif. - No. 2 seed UC Irvine is set to face No. 1 Hawai'i in the title game of the 2022 Hercules Tires Big West Championships Presented by the Hawaiian Islands on Saturday, March 12. Tip-off is set for 5 p.m. at The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada.

STORYLINES
• The Anteaters are making an appearance in the Big West championship game for the second year in a row.
• They knocked out two-time defending tournament champion UC Davis with a thrilling 84-75 OT victory on Friday.
• UC Irvine avenged last year's championship loss and a 2019 semifinal loss to the Aggies.
• The 'Eaters have scored 80+ points in each of their two Big West tournament wins (82.0 ppg).
• They are shooting 43% from the field and are 47-of-57 at the free throw line in the postseason.
• UCI led the conference and set a school record with 14 Big West wins.
• Its 21 overall victories are tied for first in program history.
• The Anteaters are currently on a season-long six-game win streak.
• Over the last two years, UC Irvine is 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 four contests, has put up 15.7 ppg.
• She has entered UC Irvine's single-season top-10 with 63 triples (3rd) and 70 steals (4th).

WITH A WIN...
• UC Irvine will win its second Big West tournament title, and first since 1995.
• The 'Eaters would earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

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 second-seeded Anteaters, who are making their 33rd tournament appearance in their 39th year as a member of the conference, have advanced to the final for the second year in a row, and sixth time in program history. They are 1-4 all-time in championship games with their lone Big West title coming in 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 92 career victories. This year, the 'Eaters (21-10) secured their second 20-win season, and fourth above .500 in the Inoue era. Their 21 overall victories are tied for first in program history, while they set a school record with 14 Big West wins.

SCOUTING THE RAINBOW WAHINE
Top-seeded Hawai' (19-9), which has won seven in a row, escaped with a 48-47 victory over No. 9 CSU Bakersfield in the quarterfinals, before toppling No. 4 UC Riverside, 69-55, in Friday's semifinal. The Rainbow Wahine are making their seventh Big West championship appearance, winning the title in 2016 and 1996. They are led by Big West Player of the Year Amy Atwell, who is averaging a conference-best 17.6 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds per game.

SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with Hawai'i, 34-13. The 'Bows swept the 2022 regular-season series, winning 77-73 in Irvine on Jan. 15, and 67-57 in Honolulu on Feb. 19. The two teams have met once in the postseason during the Rainbow Wahine's first stint in the Big West. UH won that quarterfinal match-up, 85-82 (March 9, 1994).

LAST TIME OUT
Second-seeded UC Irvine won an 84-75 overtime thriller against No. 6 seed UC Davis in the Big West semifinals Friday at The Dollar Loan Center. After going up by as many as 11 in the third quarter, UCI found itself trailing by five late in the fourth. Kayla Williams then knocked down a couple free throws and hit a three to tie it up at 59-all with 2:34 remaining. The Aggies pulled back out front with a two-point lead and possession with 31 seconds to go, but Williams stepped up once again with the steal, followed by a layup out of a timeout to make it 64-64 with 17 ticks on the clock. UCD's final attempt to win it at the buzzer fell short, sending the game to overtime. Naomi Hunt set the tone in the extra period, draining back-to-back threes to give UC Irvine a 70-66 lead. The Anteaters increased their cushion to eight before it came down to the free throw line where they were 10-for-14 over the final 1:37 to seal the victory. Williams finished with 22 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals. Chloe Webb had 14 points, while Hunt chipped in 11.

IN THE RANKINGS
UC Irvine enters the Big West championship game ranked first in the league in overall scoring offense (67.7 ppg), scoring margin (+6.8), FT percentage (76.6), and offensive rebounds per game (13.2). Individually, Kayla Williams is among the top-three in the conference in scoring (3rd, 15.7 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 27 of its 31 games. Kayla Williams is tops on the squad with 27 double-digit performances, while Chloe Webb is second with 15. In addition, 13 of the team's 21 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 31 games (16.9/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' 21 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 3-0 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 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.

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 28 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 third in single-season school history in 3-pointers made (63) and fourth in steals (70).

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 212 (7.1 ppg) this year at UCI.

WALKING BUCKET
Kayla Williams has reached double figures in scoring in 46 of 53 career games played with 13 20-plus point performances. Williams, who had a season-high 26 points against Cal Poly on March 3, is averaging a team-best 15.7 ppg overall and 17.3 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 15 outings against conference foes where she is averaging 11.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.2 steals. She reached double figures in scoring in nine of those contests with a career-high 26 points at CSUB on Jan. 27. Since Jan. 6, she has shot 49% (63-129) from the field, 47% (9-19) from beyond the arc and 81% (35-43) 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 regular-season 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 19 of her 30 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 5.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. She has come on strong late in the year with three double-figure scoring performances in her last four outings, including a season-high 15 points vs. Cal State Fullerton in the Big West quarterfinals. Williams has also put up 4.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per contest. 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 eight games where they are 7-1.

HAWAI'I CONNECTIONS
Third-year UC Irvine assistant coach Cinnamon Lister was on the Princeton women's basketball staff in the same role when UH's McKenna Haire was a sophomore with the Tigers in 2018-19. That team won the Ivy League championship, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Caiyle Kaupu hails from Holualoa, Hawai'i, where she graduated from Konawaena High School in 2020, while head coach Tamara Inoue was also born and raised in Kaua'i.

UP NEXT
The winner of Saturday's Big West championship game will receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, while the loser will get the automatic bid to the WNIT.

Schedule

'Eaters Ready for Championship Showdown with Hawai'i

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Players Mentioned

Jayde Cadee

Hunter Hernandez

Naomi Hunt

Melodie Kapinga

Caiyle Kaupu

Sophia Locandro

Chloe Webb

Kayla Williams

Olivia Williams

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