CSUN (4-11, 3-2 Big West) at
UC Irvine (12-3, 4-0 Big West)
Date: Saturday, Jan. 14
Time: 2 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
* UC Irvine Athletics is utilizing mobile ticketing and a clear bag policy.

UC Irvine (12-3, 4-0 Big West) at
UC Santa Barbara (10-4, 3-1 Big West)
Date: Monday, Jan. 16
Time: 7 p.m. (PST)
Location: The Thunderdome (5,000) - Santa Barbara, Calif.

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's basketball is back in the Bren Events Center this weekend as it is set to host CSUN on Saturday, Jan. 14, at 2 p.m. The Anteaters will then hit the road for a 7 p.m. Monday (Jan. 16) tilt at UC Santa Barbara.
 
STARTING FIVE: STORYLINES
• The 'Eaters are in the midst of a Big West stretch where they will play three games in six days as their Saturday match-up with CSUN is sandwiched in between rare Wednesday (Fullerton) and Monday (UCSB) road contests. It doesn't get any easier for UCI as it makes the trek to defending champion Hawai'i for a Big West finals rematch on Thursday, Jan. 19.
 
• UC Irvine is the only team that remains undefeated in Big West play at 4-0. Over the last two-plus seasons, the Anteaters own a conference-best 29 victories and .784 (29-8) win percentage in regular-season Big West games.
 
• The 'Eaters rose to No. 18 in the latest College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top 25 released on Jan. 10. UCI, which is on a six-game win streak, is 12-3 for the third time in program history, and second time under head coach Tamara Inoue (2018-19).
 
• As of Jan. 12, UC Irvine ranks third in the nation in scoring defense. At 50.5 points allowed per game, the Anteaters are behind only No. 1 South Carolina (45.3 ppg) and No. 5 LSU (50.4 ppg). They have held 13 of their 15 opponents, including each of the last nine, to under 60 points. The 'Eaters also have four outings with fewer than 40 points allowed, most recently limiting Cal State Fullerton to a season-low 39 on Jan. 11.
 
• Ten Anteaters are averaging 12.0+ minutes per game. They have a balanced scoring attack with seven players putting up at least 6.5 points per outing. In addition, nine 'Eaters have at least one double-figure scoring game this season.

SCOUTING THE MATADORS
After winning its first three conference games, CSUN (4-11, 3-2 Big West) has dropped its last two, most recently falling, 83-73, at UC Davis on Wednesday. Graduate students Tess Amundsen and Jordyn Jackson lead the Matadors with 13.6 and 13.0 points per game, respectively. Amundsen, who led all of NCAA Division I in 3FG percentage last year, is shooting 45% (24-53) from beyond the arc.
 
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with CSUN, 32-27. The Anteaters and Matadors have met only once in the last two seasons with UCI securing the 65-52 home win on Feb. 5, 2022. CSUN opted out of the 2020-21 campaign.
 
SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS
UC Santa Barbara (10-4, 3-1 Big West) escaped with a 63-62 victory over CSU Bakersfield on Wednesday. The Gauchos are tops in the Big West in scoring offense (69.8 ppg) and FG percentage (42.6%). Senior Ila Lane leads the squad with 13.3 points and 9.1 rebounds per contest. Senior Alexis Tucker is also averaging 12.5 ppg.
 
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with UC Santa Barbara, 67-36, but has won the last four. The two teams squared off once last year with the 'Eaters routing the Gauchos, 58-31, at the Bren Events Center on Feb. 3, 2022.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine extended its win streak to six with a 57-39 victory over Cal State Fullerton Wednesday at Titan Gym. The Titans came out strong, scoring the first four points of the night, but it was all Anteaters after that. UCI went up 5-4 at the 6:38 mark of the opening quarter and never relinquished that lead. Hunter Hernandez led the 'Eaters with 14 points (6-8 FG), eight rebounds and four assists. She scored 11 of her game-high tying 14 in the fourth quarter. Nevaeh Dean also finished with a career-best 12 points on a 6-of-7 shooting performance. Nevaeh Parkinson added nine points and five rebounds, while Amelia Scharpf chipped in eight points and a career-high seven boards.
 
HOME COOKING
Since 2017-18, UC Irvine is 54-20 (.730) at the Bren Events Center. The Anteaters are a perfect 6-0 at home this year and have won 12 consecutive games at the Bren dating back to last season.

LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
The Anteaters have an early hold on first place in the Big West standings with their 4-0 record sitting one game ahead of UCSB and Hawai'i. They are the only team to remain unbeaten in conference play. Over the last two-plus seasons, no team has been better in Big West regular-season games than UC Irvine. The 'Eaters are coming off back-to-back four-loss campaigns, combining for a 29-8 (.784) league record since 2020-21.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
UCI moved up one spot to No. 18 in the latest College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top 25. The Anteaters entered the rankings at No. 21 on Dec. 27 and were 19th last week. Prior to that, they were receiving votes in five-straight polls. They are 3-1 against teams that are currently ranked or receiving votes.
 
DEFENSIVE MINDED
The 'Eaters are third in all of NCAA Division I in scoring defense with their 50.5 points allowed per game coming in behind only No. 1 South Carolina and No. 5 LSU. The Anteaters have held 13 of their 15 opponents to under 60 points (11-2), including each of their last nine. The last time they gave up more than 60 points was in a 67-65 win at Eastern Washington on Dec. 1. UCI also ranks 12th in the nation in steals (11.9 spg), 16th in turnovers forced (21.4/gm) and 20th in FG% defense (35.2%).
  
FROM THE LINE
After starting the season shooting just 65.4% from the free throw line, UCI has seen a significant improvement since Nov. 25, bumping its percentage up to 76%. Through their last 11 outings, the 'Eaters have shot 79.9% (115-144) at the charity stripe. Individually, Diaba Konate is tops on the squad and in The Big West with an 88.9% clip.
 
ATTENDANCE RECORDS
UC Irvine has already set two of the program's top-eight attendance records this season. On Dec. 14, the Anteaters hosted a successful Kids Day where they brought in eight local elementary schools for the sixth-best attendance mark of 1,101. Against UC Davis (Jan. 5), the 'Eaters also welcomed 1,093 fans to the Bren Events Center. It is the first time since 2011 that UCI women's basketball has seen a home crowd of over 1,000.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The 'Eaters have played nine of their 15 games away from Irvine and are 6-3 in those contests. After closing out a season-long three-game homestand on Thursday, Jan. 5, UCI is now in the midst of a stretch where it will be on the road for four of five games.
 
100 AND COUNTING
Seventh-year head coach Tamara Inoue earned her 100th career win in the non-conference finale against Grand Canyon on Dec. 21. Inoue is the second coach in program history to reach the century mark as her 104 victories rank second all-time behind only Dean Andrea (158), who spent 13 years at the helm from 1978-1991. Inoue, the 2021 co-Big West Coach of the Year has led the 'Eaters to two of the program's three national postseason tournaments and two of their four 20-win campaigns.
 
HUNT OUT FOR SEASON
Graduate student Naomi Hunt, a starter who was leading the Anteaters in both scoring (11.7 ppg) and rebounding (4.9 rpg), suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Big West opener against CSU Bakersfield on Dec. 31. Hunt reached two milestones in her time at UCI as she eclipsed 1,000 career points last season and surpassed 200 career 3-pointers made in the win at Eastern Washington on Dec. 1. The 6-foot-1 forward knocked down 212 threes and totaled 1,161 points with 803 in her three seasons at Long Beach State and 358 in her two years at UC Irvine.
 
GIVE AND TAKE
Junior transfer Diaba Konate leads the team and ranks among the top-four in The Big West in both assists (4.3 apg) and steals (2.7 spg) per game. Konate has dished out  3+ dimes in each of her last 10 outings, including a season-high seven vs. LIU on Nov. 25. She has also registered at least one steal in all 12 of her appearances, with a season-best five takeaways at Fresno State (Dec. 11). The Paris, France, native, has been one of UCI's top offensive threats as well, reaching double digits five times with a season-high 16 points at Sac State (Nov. 12).
 
OPENING STATEMENT
UC Irvine is 8-1 overall, and 6-0 this season, when sophomore Déja Lee is in the starting lineup. In her six starts this season, Lee is averaging 10.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.0 steals, while shooting 44% (20-45) from the field, 45% (10-22) from beyond the arc and 92% (12-13) at the free throw line. On Jan. 5, she stepped seamlessly back into the first five as she registered career highs of 22 points, eight rebounds and five steals to lead UCI to a 67-38 win over UC Davis. The 5-foot-9 point guard also had 12 points against Seattle U in her first start of the year on Nov. 19, and 11 points and a career-best six assists in a start vs. Westcliff (Dec. 14). In the season opener, Lee came off the bench to lead all players with 16 points (7-9 FG), eight boards, five dimes and no turnovers vs. Whittier College.
 
WILLIAMS FOR THREE
Sophomore Olivia Williams has seven games with multiple 3FG made and ranks second on the squad with 20 triples. She went 4-for-8 from beyond the arc for a career-high 16 points at Seattle U. The 6-foot-1 guard also had 15 points vs. Westcliff, 14 vs. Whittier, 11 vs. GCU, 10 vs. CSU Bakersfield and 10 at Long Beach State. She is averaging 8.2 ppg.

SEEING DOUBLE
Sophomore Hunter Hernandez has a pair of double-doubles and 20-point games this season. In her first start of the year on Dec. 14, Hernandez finished with career-highs of 20 points and 10 rebounds against Westcliff. Three days later, she matched that point total in a 72-57 win over Dartmouth. The 5-foot-9 guard added 13 points and 10 boards in the non-conference finale vs. Grand Canyon. Hernandez leads UCI's active players with 9.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game.
 
COURT PRESENCE
Sophomore Nikki Tom has been a steady presence on the court for UCI, starting every game and averaging 7.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.8 steals. She is tied for the team lead with six double-figure scoring performances, including a career-high 18 points on a near perfect outing where she was 6-of-7 from the field (4-4 3FG) vs. LIU on Nov. 25. In addition, the 5-foot-9 guard registered a career-high five steals and six assists vs. Westcliff on Dec. 14.
 
ON THE HORIZON
Diaba Konate, who dished out her 300th career assist at Eastern Washington on Dec. 1, is approaching another benchmark as she is on pace to reach 1,000 points. Konate (916) needs 84 more points to join the 1K club.
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine makes the trek to Honolulu for a Thursday (Jan. 19) Big West showdown at Hawai'i. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. (HT)/9 p.m. (PT) at Stan Sheriff Center.