UC Irvine (15-7, 10-3 Big West) at
Cal State Bakersfield (8-15, 5-9 Big West)
Date: Saturday, Feb. 17
Time: 2 p.m. (PST)
Location: Icardo Center (3,497) - Bakersfield, Calif.

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's basketball is on the road for its lone game this week, traveling to Cal State Bakersfield for a 2 p.m. Big West showdown on Saturday, Feb. 17.
 
STARTING FIVE: STORYLINES
• UC Irvine has won six of its last seven contests. The Anteaters are second in The Big West standings with their 10-3 record putting them a half-game back of league-leading Hawai'i (11-3). UCI is also a half-game ahead of UC Santa Barbara (10-4) in third and 1.5 games in front of UC Davis and Cal Poly, which are tied for fourth at 9-5. Eight teams will qualify for the 2024 Hercules Tires Big West Championship with the top-two seeds receiving a double-bye into the semifinals. 

• UCI has a streak of 56 consecutive games holding its opponent to under 70 points. The last time the 'Eaters gave up 70+ was in an overtime win against UC Davis in the 2022 Big West quarterfinals (March 11, 2022). This year, the Anteaters rank first in the conference and 15th in the nation in scoring defense (55.1 ppg). On Feb. 8, they allowed a season-low 38 points in a win over UC Santa Barbara. It was the first time UC Irvine gave up fewer than 40 in a game since a 57-39 win at Cal State Fullerton on Jan. 11, 2023.

• In last week's 2-0 homestand, the Anteaters outrebounded their opponents by a +13.0 margin. They won the battle on the boards 43-25 vs. UCSB and 36-28 against UC Riverside. In the win over the Highlanders, senior Nevaeh Parkinson pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds for her fourth double-digit effort of the season and 10th of her UCI career. She is averaging a team-high 6.4 rpg on the year. Junior Nikki Tom also grabbed a season-best eight boards vs. the Gauchos and had six against UCR. 

• As she has done all season long, junior Déja Lee led the 'Eaters in every other category last week, registering a team-best 12.0 points, 3.0 assists and 3.5 steals per game. She did not commit a turnover in 64 minutes played for a 6.0 assist-to-turnover ratio. Lee has swiped 3+ steals in eight of her last nine outings and is averaging 4.0 takeaways per contest during that stretch. In Big West play, the 5-foot-9 point guard ranks second in the conference in steals (3.2 spg), third in scoring (14.1 ppg) and third in field goal percentage (49%), while she is also among the top-10 in assists (8th, 2.5 apg), 3FG% (9th, 35%) and 3-pointers made (10th, 1.7/gm).

• Since 2020-21, UCI has not lost more than four conference games in a season, combining for a league-leading 51-13 (.797) record during that stretch. Last year, the 'Eaters went 16-2 to win the program's first Big West regular-season title.

SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS
Cal State Bakersfield (8-15, 5-9 Big West) is coming off a 61-50 victory at CSUN on Thursday, Feb. 15. Julia Riley went a perfect 7-of-7 from beyond the arc for a game-high 21 points. On the season, Shaunae Brown leads the Roadrunners and ranks second in The Big West in scoring at 15.1 points per contest. Jordan Olivares has also averaged 12.6 ppg, while putting up a team-best 5.7 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.7 steals per outing.

SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with Cal State Bakersfield, 13-10. The Anteaters have won six of the last seven including a 71-48 victory in the first meeting of the regular-season series back on Dec. 30, 2023, at the Bren Events Center. UCI shot 53% from the field and went 7-of-16 from beyond the arc while holding a lopsided 37-19 advantage on the boards. Déja Lee led all scorers with 22 points. Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba also had 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Julia Riley paced the Roadrunners with 17 points behind a 5-of-8 performance from distance.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine outscored UC Riverside, 19-8, in the fourth quarter to pull away with a 62-53 victory last Saturday at the Bren Events Center. It was a tightly-contested game through the first 30 minutes with seven lead changes and six ties. The Highlanders held a two-point edge heading into the final period, but the Anteaters opened the frame on a 14-3 run to go up by nine with under two minutes remaining. UCI held UCR to 1-of-17 shooting in the quarter and did not allow the one field goal until there was just 20 seconds on the clock. Déja Lee finished with a team-high 15 points, six assists, four steals and had no turnovers. Nevaeh Dean also reached double figures in scoring with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Nevaeh Parkinson pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds, while Nikki Tom had eight points and six boards.

MID-MAJOR POLL
The Anteaters were receiving votes in the latest College Insider Women's Mid-Major Poll released on Feb. 13. They have been featured in the RV section in 12 of the 15 weekly rankings (including preseason).

DEFENSIVE MINDED
The 'Eaters rank 15th in all of NCAA Division I with 55.1 points allowed per game. They have held 16 of their 22 opponents to 60 points or less and have given up fewer than 10 points in a quarter 17 times. UCI is also among the top-40 in the nation in steals (27th, 10.8 spg), turnover margin (32nd, 4.4) and turnovers forced (40th, 19.6/gm).

TRENDING UP
The Anteaters are 6-0 when scoring 70+ points this season. Three of those 70-point performances have come in Big West play including a season-high 79 in a win over UC Davis on Jan. 20. 

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
UC Irvine has outscored its opponents in bench points by a 12.7 margin. Their 26.1 bench points per game rank 24th in all of NCAA Division I. Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba (10.2 ppg) and Nevaeh Parkinson (8.4 ppg) have led the charge as they have both come off the bench in every game played, while ranking second and third on the team in scoring.

DÉJA VU
Junior Déja Lee has four of UCI's five 20-point performances this season. Lee drained a career-high 23 in the opener at Pepperdine before matching that total vs. St. Thomas on Nov. 24. The British Columbia native also dropped 22 against Cal State Bakersfield (Dec. 30) to help secure her first career Big West Player of the Week award, and most recently finished with 21 at Hawai'i. Against the Rainbow Wahine, she scored all 13 of the Anteaters' third-quarter points. Lee ranks first on the team in scoring (13.0 ppg) and steals (2.5 spg), while she is second in assists (2.5 apg). She has upped her numbers in Big West play, sitting among the top-three in the conference in steals (2nd, 3.2 spg), scoring (3rd, 14.1 ppg) and FG% (3rd, 49%). Overall, Lee has 29 career 10+ point games and six 20-point efforts.

STEALING THE SHOW
Déja Lee has recorded multiple steals on 14 occasions this season, including 3+ in eight of the last nine games. At UC Davis (Jan. 6), Lee had a career-high six steals which is tied for fourth in single-game school history. She matched that total at UC San Diego (Jan. 18).

GIVE AND TAKE
In Big West play, fifth-year senior Diaba Konate ranks first in the conference in assists (3.5 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.62), while she is fifth in steals (2.3 spg). The Paris, France, native has at least one steal in 44 of her 51 appearances as an Anteater, including a UCI career-high six takeaways against Long Beach State on Jan. 25. Last year, the All-Big West Defensive Team selection tied for eighth in single-season school history with 63 steals. In her collegiate career at Idaho State and UC Irvine, Konate has amassed 1,250 points, 415 rebounds, 463 assists and 265 steals.

POWER 5 IMPACT
Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba, a graduate transfer from Miami, is averaging 10.2 points and 5.8 rebounds in 17 games played. Sidi Baba registered the Anteaters' only double-double of the year with 19 points and a season-best 11 boards against Colorado State on Dec. 16. She was just shy of her career-high 21 points, which she set at Big 12 member Texas Tech on Nov. 29. Sidi Baba was 8-for-16 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 at the free throw line vs. the Lady Raiders. The 6-foot-1 guard/forward also reached double figures with 18 points at Cal State Fullerton, 14 at UC San Diego, 13 vs. Cal State Bakersfield, 11 at CSUN, 11 vs. Long Beach State, 10 vs. UCSB and 10 in her UC Irvine debut against St. Thomas on Nov. 24. 

IRON WOMAN
Junior Nikki Tom has played in every game since her arrival at UC Irvine in 2021-22. She leads the team with 87 consecutive appearances, 64 consecutive starts and 2,493 minutes (28.7 mpg) in an Anteater uniform. This season, Tom is averaging 6.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.0 steals per outing. She is also tops on the squad with an 87.8 free throw percentage (36-41). The 5-foot-9 guard has six double-figure scoring games with a season-high 15 points at Pacific. Tom was named to the All-Big West Preseason Coaches Team.

SPARK OFF THE BENCH
Senior Nevaeh Parkinson, the reigning Big West Best Sixth Player, has continued to provide a spark off the bench for the Anteaters. The 6-foot-3 center is averaging 8.4 points and a team-best 6.4 rebounds per game, while shooting 53.1% from the field. She has led UCI on the boards 13 times this season and has pulled down 10+ rebounds on four occasions, three of which have come in Big West play. Earlier in the year, Parkinson grabbed a season-best 11 rebounds in a win over Denver on Dec. 2. She also went 8-of-11 from the floor for a career-high 17 points vs. Seattle U (Nov. 11).

FRESH LOOK
Shirel Nahum ranks among The Big West's top-10 freshmen in scoring (5.7 ppg), assists (0.9 apg), steals (0.8 spg) and minutes played (21.0 mpg). Nahum has five double-figure scoring games with a season-high 16 points at New Mexico State on Dec. 5.

DEAN FROM DOWNTOWN
Senior Nevaeh Dean has made a career-high seven 3-pointers this season. The 6-foot-2 forward leads the Anteaters in efficiency from beyond the arc at 46.7% (7-for-15).  Against Eastern Washington on Nov. 20, she went 6-of-9 from the floor and knocked down both of her threes for a career-high 15 points. She reached double figures again vs. UC Riverside last Saturday, finishing with 13 points on 6-of-7 shooting. She made six-straight field goals before her first miss with 5:55 left in the fourth. Dean, who transferred from Cincinnati last year, has started 52 of 53 games played at UC Irvine.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine will travel to UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 22) before hosting UC San Diego (Feb. 24) in its Breast Cancer Awareness game.