Thursday, January 19
Honolulu, O'ahu
9:00 PM PT
UC Irvine
at
University of Hawai'i
Photo by: Matt Brown
Anteaters Head to Hawai'i for Big West Championship Rematch
January 18, 2023 | Women's Basketball
UC Irvine (14-3, 6-0 Big West) at
Hawai'i (6-9, 4-2 Big West)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 19
Time: 7 p.m. (HT) / 9 p.m. (PST)
Location: SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center (10,300) - Honolulu, Hawaii
IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's basketball closes out a tough Big West stretch this week as it makes the trek to Hawai'i for its fourth game in nine days. The Anteaters and Rainbow Wahine will square off in a rematch of last year's conference championship on Thursday, Jan. 19, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. (HT) / 9 p.m. (PST).
STARTING FIVE: STORYLINES
• UC Irvine is out to its best conference start at 6-0. The Anteaters are the only undefeated team in Big West play as they sit two games ahead of Hawai'i, UC Santa Barbara, Long Beach State and UC San Diego, which are all tied for second at 4-2. The 'Eaters have continued a dominant run in conference action as they have lost only eight Big West regular-season games in the last two-plus years. Dating back to the previous season, they have won 10-straight with their last loss coming at UH on Feb. 19, 2022. Since 2020-21, UCI has put up a league-best 31 regular-season victories and a .795 win percentage.
• UC Irvine climbed two spots to No. 16 in the latest College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top 25 released on Jan. 17. It is the program's highest ranking since coming in at No. 15 in 2018-19. The Anteaters are on an eight-game win streak, which is tied with the 1983-84 squad for the second-longest in program history.
• As of Jan. 17, the 'Eaters rank seventh in the nation in scoring defense. At 51.8 points allowed per game, they are behind No. 1 South Carolina (45.6 ppg), Norfolk State (50.2 ppg), No. 13 Duke (50.4 ppg), No. 3 LSU (50.6 ppg), Campbell (50.7 ppg) and USC (50.7 ppg). UCI has held 14 of its 17 opponents to 60 points or less and is 12-2 in those contests. The Anteaters, who have not given up more than 65 in a game this year, also have four outings with fewer than 40 points allowed, including two in Big West action as they limited UC Davis to 38 and Cal State Fullerton to 39.
• Nine of UC Irvine's 10 active players are averaging 11+ minutes per game, with six at 20+. Sophomore Nikki Tom leads the team and is eighth in The Big West at 31.2 minutes per outing. The 'Eaters have also had a balanced scoring attack with six putting up at least 6.5 ppg.
• Through six Big West games, sophomore Hunter Hernandez leads the team in scoring (10.8 ppg), rebounding (6.0 rpg) and assists (3.7 apg). She has registered 14 points and 4+ dimes in each of the last three outings with a career-high five assists against CSUN (Jan. 14) and at UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 16). Since Jan. 11, junior Nevaeh Dean is shooting 85% (11-13) from the field. She notched a career-high 12 points on a 6-of-7 performance at Cal State Fullerton. After missing three of her four free throws in the season opener, sophomore Olivia Williams has made 18 of her last 19, including a current streak of 11 in a row.
SCOUTING THE RAINBOW WAHINE
Hawai'i (6-9, 4-2 Big West) earned a split in its most recent road trip, falling at Long Beach State, 62-48, on Saturday before defeating CSUN, 76-60, on Monday. Daejah Phillips and Lily Wahinekapu lead the Rainbow Wahine with 10.9 and 10.3 points per game, respectively. Kallin Spiller is also averaging 8.3 points and a team-best 7.9 rebounds per outing.
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with Hawai'i, 35-13. The Rainbow Wahine have won three in a row after sweeping the regular-season series and defeating the Anteaters, 59-48, in the Big West championship game last year.
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine took care of business on the road as it led wire-to-wire in a 70-60 victory over UC Santa Barbara Monday evening at The Thunderdome. The Anteaters were in control early with a 13-point lead at the half, but the Gauchos punched back in the third period where they outscored UCI, 22-12. UCSB cut the deficit to one before the 'Eaters responded with a 6-0 spurt to create some separation. UC Irvine then had a big 23-point fourth quarter to secure their eighth consecutive win. Hunter Hernandez had her third-straight 14-point game to go along with five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Diaba Konate also had 14 points to tie for the team lead.
LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
The Anteaters have an early hold on first place in the Big West standings with their 6-0 record sitting two games ahead of Hawai'i, UCSB, Long Beach State and UC San Diego. 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 31-8 (.795) league record since 2020-21.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCI moved up two spots to No. 16 in the latest College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top 25. The Anteaters entered the rankings at No. 21 on Dec. 27, before climbing to 19th (Jan. 3) and 18th (Jan. 10) in the last two weeks. Prior to that, they were receiving votes in five-straight polls. UCI's highest ranking in program history was 15th in 2018-19.
TENACIOUS D
The 'Eaters are seventh in all of NCAA Division I in scoring defense with their 51.8 points allowed per game coming in behind only No. 1 South Carolina, Norfolk State, No. 13 Duke, No. 3 LSU, Campbell and USC. The Anteaters have held 14 of their 17 opponents to 60 points or less (12-2). Their season-high in points allowed was 65 in a two-point victory at Eastern Washington. UCI also ranks 16th in the nation in steals (11.4 spg) and 19th in turnovers forced (21.0/gm).
FROM THE LINE
After starting the season shooting just 65.4% from the free throw line, UC Irvine has seen a significant improvement since Nov. 25, bumping its percentage up to a Big West leading 76.6%. Through their last 13 outings, the 'Eaters have shot 79.8% (146-183) at the charity stripe. Individually, Diaba Konate is tops on the squad and in The Big West with a 90.5% clip.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Anteaters have played 10 of their 17 games away from Irvine and are 7-3 in those contests. After closing out a season-long three-game homestand on Thursday, Jan. 5, UCI is now wrapping up a stretch where it will have played four of its last five on the road.
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 106 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.
HOME COOKING
Since 2017-18, UC Irvine is 55-20 (.733) at the Bren Events Center. The Anteaters are a perfect 7-0 at home this year and have won 13 consecutive games at the Bren dating back to last season.
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.
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 has seven double-figure scoring games with four coming in Big West play. She has registered 14 points and 4+ assists in each of her last three outings. Through six conference games, Hernandez is averaging 10.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals.
STARTING LINE
UC Irvine is 10-1 overall, and 8-0 this season, when sophomore Déja Lee is in the starting lineup. In her eight starts this season, Lee is averaging 10.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.9 steals, while shooting 47% (27-58) from the field, 44% (12-27) from beyond the arc and 82% (14-17) 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, 11 points and a career-best six assists in a start vs. Westcliff (Dec. 14) and 11 points in Saturday's start vs. CSUN. 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 against Whittier College.
WILLIAMS FOR THREE
Sophomore Olivia Williams has nine games with multiple 3FG made and leads all active players on the squad with 24 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 and CSUN, 14 vs. Whittier, 11 vs. GCU, 10 vs. CSU Bakersfield and 10 at Long Beach State. She is averaging 8.5 ppg.
COURT PRESENCE
Sophomore Nikki Tom has been a steady presence on the court for UCI, starting every game and averaging 7.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.6 steals. She has seven 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.
GIVE AND TAKE
Junior transfer Diaba Konate leads the team and ranks among the top-four in The Big West in both assists (3.8 apg) and steals (2.5 spg) per game. Konate has dished out 3+ dimes in 11 of her 14 outings with a season-high seven coming vs. LIU on Nov. 25. She has also recorded at least one steal in every appearance, including 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 six times with a season-high 16 points at Sac State (Nov. 12).
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 (930) needs 70 more points to join the 1K club.
UP NEXT
UC Irvine gets a well-deserved bye this weekend and will return to the Bren Events Center next Thursday, Jan. 26, when it plays host to Cal State Fullerton at 7 p.m.
Hawai'i (6-9, 4-2 Big West)
Date: Thursday, Jan. 19
Time: 7 p.m. (HT) / 9 p.m. (PST)
Location: SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center (10,300) - Honolulu, Hawaii
IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's basketball closes out a tough Big West stretch this week as it makes the trek to Hawai'i for its fourth game in nine days. The Anteaters and Rainbow Wahine will square off in a rematch of last year's conference championship on Thursday, Jan. 19, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. (HT) / 9 p.m. (PST).
STARTING FIVE: STORYLINES
• UC Irvine is out to its best conference start at 6-0. The Anteaters are the only undefeated team in Big West play as they sit two games ahead of Hawai'i, UC Santa Barbara, Long Beach State and UC San Diego, which are all tied for second at 4-2. The 'Eaters have continued a dominant run in conference action as they have lost only eight Big West regular-season games in the last two-plus years. Dating back to the previous season, they have won 10-straight with their last loss coming at UH on Feb. 19, 2022. Since 2020-21, UCI has put up a league-best 31 regular-season victories and a .795 win percentage.
• UC Irvine climbed two spots to No. 16 in the latest College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top 25 released on Jan. 17. It is the program's highest ranking since coming in at No. 15 in 2018-19. The Anteaters are on an eight-game win streak, which is tied with the 1983-84 squad for the second-longest in program history.
• As of Jan. 17, the 'Eaters rank seventh in the nation in scoring defense. At 51.8 points allowed per game, they are behind No. 1 South Carolina (45.6 ppg), Norfolk State (50.2 ppg), No. 13 Duke (50.4 ppg), No. 3 LSU (50.6 ppg), Campbell (50.7 ppg) and USC (50.7 ppg). UCI has held 14 of its 17 opponents to 60 points or less and is 12-2 in those contests. The Anteaters, who have not given up more than 65 in a game this year, also have four outings with fewer than 40 points allowed, including two in Big West action as they limited UC Davis to 38 and Cal State Fullerton to 39.
• Nine of UC Irvine's 10 active players are averaging 11+ minutes per game, with six at 20+. Sophomore Nikki Tom leads the team and is eighth in The Big West at 31.2 minutes per outing. The 'Eaters have also had a balanced scoring attack with six putting up at least 6.5 ppg.
• Through six Big West games, sophomore Hunter Hernandez leads the team in scoring (10.8 ppg), rebounding (6.0 rpg) and assists (3.7 apg). She has registered 14 points and 4+ dimes in each of the last three outings with a career-high five assists against CSUN (Jan. 14) and at UC Santa Barbara (Jan. 16). Since Jan. 11, junior Nevaeh Dean is shooting 85% (11-13) from the field. She notched a career-high 12 points on a 6-of-7 performance at Cal State Fullerton. After missing three of her four free throws in the season opener, sophomore Olivia Williams has made 18 of her last 19, including a current streak of 11 in a row.
SCOUTING THE RAINBOW WAHINE
Hawai'i (6-9, 4-2 Big West) earned a split in its most recent road trip, falling at Long Beach State, 62-48, on Saturday before defeating CSUN, 76-60, on Monday. Daejah Phillips and Lily Wahinekapu lead the Rainbow Wahine with 10.9 and 10.3 points per game, respectively. Kallin Spiller is also averaging 8.3 points and a team-best 7.9 rebounds per outing.
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with Hawai'i, 35-13. The Rainbow Wahine have won three in a row after sweeping the regular-season series and defeating the Anteaters, 59-48, in the Big West championship game last year.
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine took care of business on the road as it led wire-to-wire in a 70-60 victory over UC Santa Barbara Monday evening at The Thunderdome. The Anteaters were in control early with a 13-point lead at the half, but the Gauchos punched back in the third period where they outscored UCI, 22-12. UCSB cut the deficit to one before the 'Eaters responded with a 6-0 spurt to create some separation. UC Irvine then had a big 23-point fourth quarter to secure their eighth consecutive win. Hunter Hernandez had her third-straight 14-point game to go along with five rebounds, five assists and two steals. Diaba Konate also had 14 points to tie for the team lead.
LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
The Anteaters have an early hold on first place in the Big West standings with their 6-0 record sitting two games ahead of Hawai'i, UCSB, Long Beach State and UC San Diego. 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 31-8 (.795) league record since 2020-21.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCI moved up two spots to No. 16 in the latest College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top 25. The Anteaters entered the rankings at No. 21 on Dec. 27, before climbing to 19th (Jan. 3) and 18th (Jan. 10) in the last two weeks. Prior to that, they were receiving votes in five-straight polls. UCI's highest ranking in program history was 15th in 2018-19.
TENACIOUS D
The 'Eaters are seventh in all of NCAA Division I in scoring defense with their 51.8 points allowed per game coming in behind only No. 1 South Carolina, Norfolk State, No. 13 Duke, No. 3 LSU, Campbell and USC. The Anteaters have held 14 of their 17 opponents to 60 points or less (12-2). Their season-high in points allowed was 65 in a two-point victory at Eastern Washington. UCI also ranks 16th in the nation in steals (11.4 spg) and 19th in turnovers forced (21.0/gm).
FROM THE LINE
After starting the season shooting just 65.4% from the free throw line, UC Irvine has seen a significant improvement since Nov. 25, bumping its percentage up to a Big West leading 76.6%. Through their last 13 outings, the 'Eaters have shot 79.8% (146-183) at the charity stripe. Individually, Diaba Konate is tops on the squad and in The Big West with a 90.5% clip.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Anteaters have played 10 of their 17 games away from Irvine and are 7-3 in those contests. After closing out a season-long three-game homestand on Thursday, Jan. 5, UCI is now wrapping up a stretch where it will have played four of its last five on the road.
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 106 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.
HOME COOKING
Since 2017-18, UC Irvine is 55-20 (.733) at the Bren Events Center. The Anteaters are a perfect 7-0 at home this year and have won 13 consecutive games at the Bren dating back to last season.
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.
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 has seven double-figure scoring games with four coming in Big West play. She has registered 14 points and 4+ assists in each of her last three outings. Through six conference games, Hernandez is averaging 10.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.2 steals.
STARTING LINE
UC Irvine is 10-1 overall, and 8-0 this season, when sophomore Déja Lee is in the starting lineup. In her eight starts this season, Lee is averaging 10.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.9 steals, while shooting 47% (27-58) from the field, 44% (12-27) from beyond the arc and 82% (14-17) 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, 11 points and a career-best six assists in a start vs. Westcliff (Dec. 14) and 11 points in Saturday's start vs. CSUN. 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 against Whittier College.
WILLIAMS FOR THREE
Sophomore Olivia Williams has nine games with multiple 3FG made and leads all active players on the squad with 24 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 and CSUN, 14 vs. Whittier, 11 vs. GCU, 10 vs. CSU Bakersfield and 10 at Long Beach State. She is averaging 8.5 ppg.
COURT PRESENCE
Sophomore Nikki Tom has been a steady presence on the court for UCI, starting every game and averaging 7.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.6 steals. She has seven 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.
GIVE AND TAKE
Junior transfer Diaba Konate leads the team and ranks among the top-four in The Big West in both assists (3.8 apg) and steals (2.5 spg) per game. Konate has dished out 3+ dimes in 11 of her 14 outings with a season-high seven coming vs. LIU on Nov. 25. She has also recorded at least one steal in every appearance, including 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 six times with a season-high 16 points at Sac State (Nov. 12).
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 (930) needs 70 more points to join the 1K club.
UP NEXT
UC Irvine gets a well-deserved bye this weekend and will return to the Bren Events Center next Thursday, Jan. 26, when it plays host to Cal State Fullerton at 7 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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
