WNIT FIRST ROUND
UC Irvine (21-11) at
UCLA (14-12)
Date: Friday, March 18
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Pauley Pavilion (13,800) - Los Angeles, Calif.
Watch // Listen // Live Stats // Bracket

UC Irvine Game Notes

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine is set to begin the 2022 Postseason WNIT with a first-round match-up at UCLA on Friday, March 18. The Anteaters and Bruins will tip-off at 7 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom.
 
STORYLINES
• UCI is The Big West's automatic qualifier to the WNIT.
• This is the Anteaters' third postseason berth, but first WNIT appearance.
• They previously made the NCAA Tournament in 1995 and the Women's Basketball Invitational in 2018.
• The 'Eaters led the conference and set a school record with 14 Big West wins.
• UC Irvine's 21 overall victories are tied for first in program history.
• It is UCI's fourth 20-win season in school history and second under head coach Tamara Inoue.
• Over the last two years, the 'Eaters are 25-8 in regular-season Big West games, and 4-2 in the Big West tournament.
• Four Anteaters 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 four of the last five contests, has put up 15.5 ppg.
• She has also tied UC Irvine's single-season record with 72 steals and ranks second with 65 triples.
• Hunter Hernandez saw her streak of three-straight double-digit scoring games come to an end in the Big West semifinals.
• Hernandez  is shooting 56% (14-25) from the field in the month of March.
 
WITH A WIN...
• UC Irvine would earn its first postseason victory.
• It would be the program's first win over a Pac-12 school since taking down Oregon State, 68-46, on Dec. 3, 1999.
• The 'Eaters would advance to the second round of the WNIT to face either Air Force or San Francisco.

POSTSEASON NOTES
UC Irvine received The Big West's automatic qualifier to the WNIT as the highest-finishing team in the conference's regular-season standings that did not make the NCAA Tournament. Although the Anteaters had the most victories in league play with a school-record 14, they finished second to Hawai'i based on win percentage. They then fell to the top-seeded Rainbow Wahine in last Saturday's Big West championship game. This is UCI's third postseason berth, but first to the WNIT. The 'Eaters previously made it to the NCAA Tournament in 1995 and the Women's Basketball Invitational in 2018.
 
ALL-BIG WEST
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.
 
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 (21-11) 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 BRUINS
UCLA (14-12), which is making its seventh-straight postseason appearance, earned a WNIT at-large bid as the seventh-place team out of the Pac-12. The Bruins were an NCAA Tournament participant from 2016-21, and were the champions in their first and only WNIT appearance in 2015. UCLA is led by All-Pac-12 selections Charisma Osborne (16.4 ppg) and IImar'I Thomas (15.6 ppg).
 
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with UCLA, 9-0. The two teams last met on Dec. 16, 2015, when the Bruins won 83-48 at Pauley Pavilion. The Anteaters, who will be facing their third Pac-12 opponent this season, are 5-45 all-time against schools currently in the conference. Their last Pac-12 victory came against Oregon State on Dec. 3, 1999.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Second-seeded UC Irvine fell to No. 1 seed Hawai'i, 59-48, in the title game of the 2022 Hercules Tires Big West Championships Presented by the Hawaiian Islands last Saturday at The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada. The Anteaters led by five at the half, holding the Rainbow Wahine to 21 points on 28% shooting, which included an 0-for-10 performance from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes. But, the 'Bows made up the difference at the free throw line after the break where they were 20-for-24. They finished the night going 27-of-32 (84%) at the charity stripe, while the 'Eaters were 7-for-14. Kayla Williams, who was named to the Big West All-Tournament Team, led UCI with 11 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Jayde Cadee added 11 points, and Sophia Locandro had nine points, a team-best seven boards and three blocks.
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kayla Williams earned the final Big West Player of the Week award of the 2021-22 season 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.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
UC Irvine ranks first in The Big West in overall scoring offense (67.0 ppg), scoring margin (+6.2), FT percentage (75.9), and offensive rebounds per game (13.3). 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) and 3FG made (3rd, 2.1/gm).
 
DOUBLE DIGIT TIDBITS
UCI had multiple players score in double figures in 28 of its 32 games. Kayla Williams is tops on the squad with 28 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 16 times this season (14-2), 12 of which came against Big West foes. 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 32 games (16.7/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 3-1 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.
 
RECEIVING VOTES
UC Irvine was receiving votes in the College Insider Women's Mid-Major Poll seven times this season (Preseason-Dec. 7, Jan. 31). The 'Eaters were last featured in the mid-major rankings in 2018-19 when they rose to as high as No. 15 in the nation.
 
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 146 career triples. She needs one three to move into a tie for third with Wendy Gabbe. With 31 blocks this season, Sophia Locandro has also increased her career total to 89, which puts her eighth all-time at UC Irvine. In addition, Kayla Williams is tied for first in single-season school history in steals (72) and is second in 3-pointers made (65).
 
THE HUNT FOR 1,000
Naomi Hunt reached a significant milestone in the Big West tournament, surpassing 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 transfer scored 803 points in her three seasons at Long Beach State, while she has 218 (7.0 ppg) this year at UCI.

WALKING BUCKET
Kayla Williams has reached double figures in scoring in 47 of 54 career games played with 13 20-plus point performances. Williams is averaging a team-best 15.5 ppg overall, and was even better against Big West opponents where she put up 17.3 ppg (20 games). The 5-foot-7 point guard had a season-best 26 points against Cal Poly on March 3, while she also set a career high of 32 points against the Mustangs on Jan. 23, 2021. 
 
SPINNING HER WEBB
Chloe Webb, a two-time All-Big West honorable mention selection, is averaging 10.2 points and a team-high 5.7 rebounds per outing. She owns 15 double-figure scoring games and three double-doubles this season. Since Jan. 6, the 5-foot-8 guard has shot 47% (64-137) from the field and 81% (38-47) 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. Her 51 3-pointers this season rank 10th in school history, while her freshman total of 59 threes made ranks sixth. Forty of her 51 triples this year came against Big West opponents. 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 tied for second in the Big West with 1.0 blocks per game. The 6-foot-3 forward has registered at least one block in 20 of her 31 appearances with a career-high tying four at California Baptist on Nov. 20. Locandro also ranks third on the squad in scoring (8.0 ppg) and second in rebounding (5.0 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 5.0 points and 3.2 rebounds per game. She has come on strong late in the year with three double-figure scoring performances in her last five outings, including a season-high 15 points vs. Cal State Fullerton in the Big West quarterfinals. Williams has also put up 4.2 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 nine contests where they are 7-2.
 
UP NEXT
If the Anteaters win on Friday, they will face either Air Force or San Francisco in the second round, March 19-22.