UC Irvine (20-5, 12-2 Big West) at
UC San Diego (12-14, 9-7 Big West)
Date: Thursday, Feb. 23
Time: 7 p.m. (PST)
Location: LionTree Arena (4,000) - La Jolla, Calif.

Hawai'i (12-13, 10-6 Big West) at
UC Irvine (20-5, 12-2 Big West)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 25
Time: 2 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Pride Night

* UC Irvine Athletics is utilizing mobile ticketing and a clear bag policy.

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's basketball begins the penultimate week of the regular season at UC San Diego on Thursday, Feb. 23. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at LionTree Arena. The Anteaters then return to the Bren Events Center for a 2 p.m. showdown with Hawai'i on Saturday, Feb. 25.
 
STARTING FIVE: STORYLINES
• UC Irvine (12-2), which had to cancel its last two games due to a limited number of healthy players, enters the week second in the Big West standings, sitting one game behind Long Beach State (14-2). UCI's only conference losses have come by two points on its home court as it dropped a 66-64 overtime decision to Cal State Fullerton on Jan. 26 and suffered a 52-50 setback to LBSU on Feb. 4. The 'Eaters are 7-0 in Big West road games.
 
• With last Wednesday's victory over UC Santa Barbara, the Anteaters secured their second-straight 20-win season. It is the first time they have had back-to-back 20-win campaigns since 1983-84 and 1984-85. In addition, it is the fastest they have reached the single-season benchmark in 38 years as the 1984-85 squad was also 20-5. UCI now has five 20-win seasons in program history with three coming in head coach Tamara Inoue's seven-year tenure.
 
• The 'Eaters have been on a dominant run in conference action, losing only 10 Big West regular-season games in the last two-plus years. Since 2020-21, they have put up 37 regular-season conference victories and a league-leading .787 win percentage.
 
• UC Irvine was 18th in the latest College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top 25. The Anteaters have been featured in the poll for nine consecutive weeks with a high ranking of 13th.
 
• The 'Eaters are also eighth in the nation in scoring defense (as of Feb. 21). They have held 20 of their 25 opponents to 60 points or less (17-3).

SCOUTING THE TRITONS
UC San Diego (12-14, 9-7 Big West) has dropped three of its last four after falling to UC Davis, 72-49, on Monday, Feb. 20.  Sydney Brown leads the Tritons with 12.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
 
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine leads in its all-time series with UC San Diego, 10-1. Since the Tritons made the move to NCAA Division I and The Big West in 2020-21, UCI holds a 4-1 advantage. The 'Eaters defeated UCSD, 64-51, in the most recent meeting at the Bren Events Center on Feb. 2. Déja Lee led the way with 20 points and seven assists, while Nevaeh Parkinson notched a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
 
SCOUTING THE RAINBOW WAHINE
Hawai'i (12-13, 10-6 Big West) has won four of its last five following a 64-52 victory over CSU Bakersfield on Monday, Feb. 20. Lily Wahinekapu and Daejah Phillips are both averaging double figures in scoring at 11.6 and 10.6 points per game, respectively. Kallin Spiller has also registered 8.8 points and a team-leading 7.4 rebounds per outing.
 
SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with Hawai'i, 35-14. The Anteaters will be looking for their first regular-season series sweep against the Rainbow Wahine since 2018 after picking up a 71-67 overtime road win on Jan. 19. Hunter Hernandez led four 'Eaters in double figures with 19 points.
 
LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine showed heart and pure determination in a 74-60 overtime win against UC Santa Barbara last Wednesday at the Bren Events Center. UCI was trailing 56-51 with 35 seconds left in regulation. After leading scorer Hunter Hernandez made 1-of-2 free throws, she drew a charge, and on the following play was fouled again, but had to be helped off the court with a lower leg injury. Rallying around their teammate, the 'Eaters played inspired basketball. Déja Lee came off the bench to convert both free throws and make it a two-point game. They then forced a turnover and Amelia Scharpf made it count, hitting the game-tying jumper with nine seconds left. UCI got another stop on the defensive end to send the game to overtime where it outscored UCSB, 18-4. Diaba Konate led the way with a season-high 20 points, six assists and four steals. In her 100th game, Konate eclipsed 1,000 points in her collegiate career. Hernandez also had her fourth-straight double-figure scoring performance with 18, while Scharpf had 10.
 
LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
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 37-10 (.787) league record since 2020-21. They had a streak of 11 consecutive regular-season conference wins come to an end with their overtime loss to Cal State Fullerton on Jan. 26 being their first since a defeat at Hawai'i on Feb. 19, 2022. The Anteaters are second in The Big West standings with their 12-2 record sitting one game behind LBSU and two ahead of third-place UCSB.
 
IN THE RANKINGS
UCI came in at No. 18 in the latest College Insider Women's Mid-Major Top 25. The Anteaters have been featured in every poll since Dec. 27 and were receiving votes for five weeks prior to that. Their highest ranking was 13th on Jan. 24.
 
TENACIOUS D
UC Irvine is eighth in all of NCAA Division I in scoring defense with its 53.1 points allowed per game coming in behind No. 1 South Carolina, Norfolk State, No. 11 Duke, Little Rock, Campbell, Green Bay and Fairleigh Dickinson. The 'Eaters have held 20 of their 25 opponents to 60 points or less. Their season-high in points allowed was 67 in an overtime win at Hawai'i on Jan. 19. UCI also ranks 20th in the nation in steals (10.6 spg), 20th in 3FG% defense (26.9), and 27th in turnovers forced (19.9/gm).
 
FROM THE LINE
UC Irvine ranks first in The Big West and 29th in the NCAA in free throw percentage (77.1%). The Anteaters have been even better in conference games where they are shooting 78.1%. They had three flawless performances, going 7-for-7 at UC Riverside, and 8-for-8 against CSU Bakersfield and at Long Beach State. Individually, Diaba Konate is tops in The Big West and fourth in the nation with a 91.9% clip. She made 28 consecutive free throws before missing her first attempt at Cal Poly on Feb. 9.
 
WINS AND LOSSES
The 'Eaters, who had a school-record tying nine-game win streak from Dec. 17-Jan. 19, need to win two of their last four to break the program record of 21 overall victories that was set in 1984-85, and matched last year. UCI has not lost by double digits this season with three of its five setbacks, including its only two conference defeats, coming by two points. They do not have back-to-back losses this year.
 
AIN'T THAT GRAND
Entering last week's game vs. UCSB, junior transfer Diaba Konate, who was averaging 7.7 ppg, needed 16 points to reach 1,000 in her collegiate career. She got that and more, netting a season-high 20 in a 74-60 OT win against the Gauchos to put her at 1,004. In 100 career games played, she also has 355 assists, 323 rebounds and 204 steals.
 
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 112 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 three of their five 20-win campaigns.
 
HUNT, WILLIAMS, HERNANDEZ OUT FOR SEASON
UC Irvine has lost three starters, Naomi Hunt, Olivia Williams and Hunter Hernandez, to season-ending injuries in Big West play. The latest blow came against UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 15, when Hernandez went down with a knee injury. She was the Anteaters' leading scorer (12.0 ppg) and rebounder (5.5 rpg). Hunt, who was averaging 11.7 points and 4.9 boards, has been out since the conference opener against CSU Bakersfield on Dec. 31. In addition, Williams suffered a season-ending injury at Hawai'i on Jan. 19. She had started every game this year, averaging 8.9 points per outing.
 
WEEKLY HONORS
Sophomore Hunter Hernandez earned her second Big West Player of the Week award on Feb. 13. She was recognized after averaging 20.5 points in a pair of double-digit road victories at Cal Poly and UC Riverside. The 5-foot-9 guard shot 56% from the field and 92% at the free throw line in those two games. Hernandez's first honor came on Jan. 23, following a road trip where she put up 16.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in wins at UCSB and at Hawai'i. On the season, Hernandez has 15 double-figure scoring games with 11 coming in conference play, three 20-point performances and three double-doubles. She averaged 14.1 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.2 apg and 1.4 spg in league contests.
 
GIVE AND TAKE
Diaba Konate leads the team and ranks among the top-five in The Big West in both assists (3.4 apg) and steals (2.4 spg) per game. Konate has dished out  3+ dimes 15 times 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, averaging 8.3 ppg.
 
INSIDE PRESENCE
Nevaeh Parkinson, Nevaeh Dean and Nyagoa Gony have boosted UCI's inside presence this year. Parkinson is averaging a team-best 6.6 rebounds in Big West play, while Gony has 1.5 blocks per outing. She registered a career-high six blocks at UC Riverside, tying for the third most in single-game school history. Parkinson (48%) and Dean (46%) also rank first and second on the team in FG%.
 
MINUTES LEADER
Sophomore Nikki Tom is tops on the squad and fourth in The Big West at 34.0 minutes per outing. Tom, who has started every game, has logged 35+ minutes in 12 consecutive contests.
 
COURT PRESENCE
Tom has been a steady presence on the court for UCI, starting every game and averaging 7.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.9 steals. She has 10 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. Tom also had 15 points (4-6 FG, 6-6 FT) in a 54-52 win at CSUN on Jan. 28. In addition, the 5-foot-9 guard registered a career-high five steals and six assists vs. Westcliff on Dec. 14. She also had five takeaways vs. LBSU (Feb. 4).
 
STARTING LINE
UC Irvine is 15-3 overall, and 13-2 this season, when sophomore Déja Lee is in the starting lineup. 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 lift UCI to a 67-38 win over UC Davis. The 5-foot-9 point guard had her second 20-point effort against UC San Diego where she was 5-for-8 from deep while also dishing out a career-high seven assists. 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.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
The Anteaters have played 14 of their 25 games away from Irvine and are 11-3 in those contests. They are 7-0 in Big West away games and own a program record 10 true road victories.
 
HOME COOKING
Since 2017-18, UC Irvine is 57-22 (.722) at the Bren Events Center. The Anteaters, who are 9-2 at the Bren this year, saw a 13-game home win streak snapped on Jan. 26.
 
ATTENDANCE HIGHS
UC Irvine has set two of the program's top-eight attendance records this season. On Dec. 14, the Anteaters hosted Kids Day where they brought in eight local elementary schools for their 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. UC Irvine ranks third in the Big West in average home attendance this year.
 
QUARTER RECORDS
The 'Eaters outscored Whittier, 26-0, in the 3Q of their 98-33 season-opening win. It was the first time in program history UCI held its opponent scoreless in a quarter (since 2015-16). The previous school record was one point allowed in the third frame against Life Pacific (2018).
 
DOWN TO THE WIRE
UC Irvine has had a handful of close contests this season with 10 of its 25 games decided by five points or less (6-4). In non-conference play, the 'Eaters had two game-winners in the final seconds as Diaba Konate sank the go-ahead jumper with 0.2 ticks on the clock in a 60-58 triumph at Sac State (Nov. 12), and Nevaeh Parkinson converted a layup with 4.2 seconds remaining to give UCI a 54-53 victory at Seattle U (Nov. 19).
 
UP NEXT
UC Irvine will close out the regular season with a home game against UC Riverside (March 2) before traveling to CSU Bakersfield (March 4). UCI will hold a Senior Night ceremony for Nyagoa Gony and Naomi Hunt following next Thursday's contest vs. the Highlanders.