UC Irvine (7-3) at
Oregon (8-3)
Date: Thursday, Dec. 19
Time: 6 p.m. (PST)
Location: Matthew Knight Arena (12,364) - Eugene, Ore.

UC Irvine women's basketball wraps up a season-long seven-game road stretch with its non-conference finale at the University of Oregon on Thursday, Dec. 19. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Matthew Knight Arena.

STARTING FIVE: STORYLINES
• UC Irvine held each of its last two opponents to under 50 points. In their Big West opener, the Anteaters allowed a season-low 40 in a 25-point victory at Cal State Bakersfield (Dec. 5). They also held Oregon State to 48 in their most recent outing on Sunday, Dec. 15. In their 2-0 start to the month of December, the 'Eaters have limited their adversaries to 44.0 ppg on 33.7% shooting and a 23.3% (7-30) clip from beyond the arc.

• UCI is wrapping up a season-long seven-game road swing. After playing their first four games at home, the Anteaters began a 46-day stretch where they will have played seven road games with trips to Philadelphia, Albuquerque, Denver, Bakersfield, Corvallis and Eugene. Following a two-week layoff over winter break, UC Irvine returns to the Bren Events Center for its Big West home opener against Cal Poly on Jan. 2. The 46 days in between home games is the second-longest among NCAA Division I teams this year, behind only Columbia (47).

• Three 'Eaters enter Thursday's contest averaging double figures in scoring. Junior Hunter Hernandez leads the way at 14.0 points per outing, which ranks fourth in The Big West. Hernandez has a pair of 20-point performances this season including a career-high 29 in a win over William & Mary on Nov. 11. Sophomore Summah Hanson is also among the top-10 in the league at 12.6 ppg. Senior Déja Lee, the 2023-24 Big West Player of the Year, rounds out the trio at 10.1 ppg.

• Seniors Déja Lee and Nikki Tom are both on pace to break the all-time school record in steals. They are currently tied for eighth with 171 career takeaways, which puts each of them 25 behind Andee Ritter who amassed a program-best 196 steals from 2015-19. Lee is also tied for eighth in school history with 113 career 3-pointers made, and is 118 points away from becoming UCI's 15th 1,000-point scorer.

• UC Irvine has claimed back-to-back Big West championships, winning the tournament in 2023-24 and the first regular-season title in program history in 2022-23. Last year, the Anteaters earned a No. 13 seed in their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1995. They also finished with 20+ wins for the third consecutive season.

SCOUTING THE DUCKS
Oregon (8-3, 0-1 Big Ten) is coming off a 98-36 rout of Air Force on Tuesday. The Ducks won their first six games of the season including a 76-74 victory over then No. 12 Baylor. They are 2-3 since Nov. 25. Deja Kelly is tops on the squad with 11.3 points, 3.5 assists and 1.7 steals per outing. Peyton Scott is also averaging 11.2 ppg, while 6-foot-8 center Phillipina Kyei owns a team-best 5.6 rebounds per contest. Kelly Graves is in his 11th season at the helm for Oregon. He has led the Ducks to five NCAA Tournaments with two Elite Eight appearances and a trip to the Final Four in 2019.

SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with Oregon, 5-1. The two teams have faced each other only twice in the last 40 years as four of the six meetings came between 1981-84. UCI's lone win was on Nov. 30, 1984, when it defeated UO, 58-56, in Irvine. The Ducks have won the last two at home with an 89-77 victory on Nov. 25, 2011, and a 115-69 triumph on Dec. 21, 2018.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine defeated Oregon State, 60-48, Sunday at Gill Coliseum. It was the Anteaters' second victory, and first since December 3, 1999, in their all-time series with the Beavers. UCI led by as many as 26 in the fourth quarter before OSU used a late 17-3 rally to close the gap to 12. The 'Eaters held Oregon State to 3-of-17 shooting from beyond the arc. The home team did not connect from downtown until there was 1:22 left in the game. Déja Lee and Hunter Hernandez tied for the game high with 11 points each. Lee added four assists and two steals, while Hernandez pulled down four rebounds. Olivia Williams finished with eight points and a career-high tying seven boards. Summah Hanson chipped in seven points and five rebounds, and Nikki Tom recorded five boards, two assists and two steals. Nevaeh Dean went 2-for-2 from distance for six points.

MID-MAJOR POLL
UCI has been receiving votes in all seven of the 2024-25 College Insider Women's Mid-Major Polls. The last time the 'Eaters were in the top-25 was in the final poll of the 2023-24 season when they were ranked 23rd. 

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
UC Irvine was picked second in The Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll. The defending Big West Champion Anteaters earned five of the 11 first-place votes and 95 total points in a narrow race with Hawai'i, which won the 2023-24 Big West regular season title. The Rainbow Wahine (96) received six first-place votes to come in one point ahead of the 'Eaters. Reigning Big West Player of the Year Déja Lee was named to the All-Big West Preseason Team. Lee was also included on the World Exposure Report's Top-50 Mid-Major Players to Watch list.

LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
UC Irvine has become a powerhouse in The Big West under ninth-year head coach Tamara Inoue. The Anteaters placed among the top-two in the conference in each of the last five years, including the first regular-season title in program history in 2022-23. Since 2020-21, UCI has not lost more than four conference games in a season, combining for a league-leading 58-14 (.806) record during that stretch. The 'Eaters also advanced to the championship game of the Big West tournament three times in the last four years.

DEFENSIVE IDENTITY
UCI ended each of the last two seasons ranked among the top-15 in the nation in scoring defense. In 2023-24, the Anteaters allowed 55.7 points per game, which was 14th in all of NCAA Division I. In 2022-23, the 'Eaters were seventh in the country with a program-record 53.2 points allowed per contest. This year, they have held seven opponents to 60 points or less, including a season-low 40 at Cal State Bakersfield. As of Dec. 16, the Anteaters rank second in The Big West and 47th in the nation in scoring defense (55.7 ppg).

THE TRAVELING ANTEATERS
After playing their first four games of the season at home, the 'Eaters are on the road for the remainder of the calendar year. They have a 46-day stretch where they play seven games with trips to Philadelphia, Albuquerque, Denver, Bakersfield, Corvallis and Eugene. Following its final non-conference game at the University of Oregon on Dec. 19, UCI has a two-week layoff over winter break. The Anteaters then return home to resume Big West play against Cal Poly on Jan. 2. The 46 days in between home games is the second-longest stretch among NCAA DI teams this year, behind only Columbia (47).

SLOW DECEMBER
UC Irvine will play three of its 30 regular-season contests this month, marking the fewest number of games in December in the program's NCAA Division I Championship era (since 1981-82). The Anteaters opened Big West play at Cal State Bakersfield on Dec. 5. Following finals week, they traveled to the Pacific Northwest for a pair of non-conference games at Oregon State (Dec. 15) and Oregon (Dec. 19). UCI is then off until resuming conference action at home against Cal Poly on Jan. 2.

100 AND COUNTING
Ninth-year head coach Tamara Inoue ranks second among the program's all-time winningest coaches with 147 career victories. She is only 11 wins behind 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 UCI to a pair of Big West Championships, four of the Anteaters' five national postseason appearances, their first victory in a national postseason tournament (WNIT), four of their six 20-win campaigns and school records in both overall (25) and conference wins (16).

CHASING 1,000
Senior Déja Lee has 882 career points, putting her 118 away from joining the 1,000-point club. If she accomplishes the feat, she would be the first Anteater to do so since Stephanie Duda in 2008.

MAKING IT COUNT
Sophomore Summah Hanson is tops in The Big West and 11th in the nation in free throw percentage (92.3%). Hanson has missed only three free throws on 39 attempts this season. She made her first 12 of the year from the charity stripe and recently saw a streak of 16 consecutive FTs made come to an end with her first miss since Nov. 21 at Oregon State (Dec. 15).

SUMMAH TIME
Summah Hanson has made an immediate impact at UC Irvine as she is tops on the squad in rebounding (6.3 rpg) and second in scoring (12.6 ppg). Hanson has reached double figures in scoring in five of her last six outings with 12 at Cal State Bakersfield, 19 at Denver, 18 at New Mexico, a season-high 20 at Penn and 12 at Drexel. The 6-foot-3 forward added 10 rebounds against the Quakers for the Anteaters' first double-double of the season. She was named The Big West Player of the Week (Nov. 25) for her effort. Over the last six games, Hanson is averaging 14.5 points and 7.2 rebounds while shooting 45% from the field and 92% at the free throw line.

ON THE HUNT
Junior Hunter Hernandez has not missed a beat in her return to the court. Hernandez, who sat out the 2023-24 campaign recovering from a knee injury sustained on Feb. 15, 2023, currently leads the team in scoring (14.0 ppg) and is second in rebounding (5.1 rpg). The 5-foot-9 guard has scored 10+ points in six of her eight outings with a pair of 20-point performances. In a 72-55 win over William & Mary on Nov. 11, Hernandez poured in a career-high 29, while she also finished with 20 at Penn on Nov. 21. Hernandez added 15 points vs. Saint Mary's, 13 vs. New Mexico State, 11 at Oregon State and 11 vs. Pepperdine. 

THREE-POINT THREAT
Junior Olivia Williams is tops on the squad in 3-pointers made (16) and is tied for third in efficiency (39%). She matched her career high with four triples vs. Saint Mary's (4-6) and at New Mexico (4-7). Williams' start in the season opener on Nov. 4 was her first game since suffering a knee injury in the opening quarter at Hawai'i on Jan. 19, 2023. The 6-foot-1 guard has been finding her rhythm on the court, reaching double figures in scoring four times, including a career-high 18 points at New Mexico. She also had 15 points vs. William & Mary, 14 against Saint Mary's and 12 at Denver. 

STEADY HAND
Reigning Big West Player of the Year Déja Lee has continued to be a steady force in all facets of the game for the Anteaters as she is averaging 10.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.9 steals. Lee had a season-best 20 points at New Mexico where she was 7-for-12 from the floor and 3-of-5 from distance. The 5-foot-9 point guard also pulled down a career-high nine rebounds at Cal State Bakersfield on Dec. 5. In addition, she has dished out a season-best six assists on two occasions. Lee is tied for eighth in program history in career steals (171) and threes made (113).

DEAN DELIVERS
Graduate student Nevaeh Dean is averaging a career-best 6.0 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. She has recorded 6+ rebounds in three of her last five outings. In a 72-68 overtime win at Penn, Dean pulled down a season-high nine boards. She has also been an offensive threat, posting back-to-back double-figure scoring games for the first time in her collegiate career with 10 points vs. Saint Mary's (Nov. 16) and 11 at Drexel (Nov. 20). In those two games, the 6-foot-2 forward combined to go 10-of-18 (56%) from the field. Dean has started 73 of 74 games played in her two-plus years at UC Irvine. She transferred to UCI from Cincinnati prior to the 2022-23 season. 

IRON WOMAN
Senior Nikki Tom has played in every game since her arrival at UC Irvine in 2021-22. Her 107 consecutive appearances, 84 starts and 3,115 minutes are the most among UCI's active players. The Fresno, California, native is also among the Anteaters' top-three in assists (28) and steals (14) this season. She has 23 career double-figure scoring performances and was a 2022-23 All-Big West honorable mention selection. Last year, she led the team with an 86.0 free throw percentage (49-57), which is the seventh-best in single-season school history. 

STEALING THE SHOW
Nikki Tom and Déja Lee are tied for eighth among UC Irvine's all-time leaders with 171 career steals, which is 25 behind school-record holder Andee Ritter (196). Tom entered the program's top-10 after swiping four steals in the opener against New Mexico State. Lee, who set a single-season school record with 82 steals last year, also cracked UCI's all-time top-10 with her 160th career takeaway at Drexel on Nov. 20.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine is idle until it welcomes Cal Poly to the Bren Events Center for its Big West home opener on Thursday, Jan. 2. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m.