2024 Hercules Tires Big West Championship - Final
[2] UC Irvine (22-8, 16-4 Big West) vs. 
[5] UC Davis (20-13, 13-7 Big West)
Date: Saturday, March 16
Time: 3:00 p.m. (PDT)
Location: The Dollar Loan Center (5,567) - Henderson, Nevada

HENDERSON, Nev. - Second-seeded UC Irvine will face No. 5 seed UC Davis in the 2024 Hercules Tires Big West Women's Basketball Championship final on Saturday, March 16. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m. at The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada. 
 
STARTING FIVE: STORYLINES
• The Anteaters are headed back to The Big West championship game for the third time in the last four years, but are looking for their first title since 1995. UCI advanced to the final in back-to-back seasons as the No. 2 seed, falling to No. 1 UC Davis in 2021 and No. 1 Hawai'i in 2022.

• UC Irvine is on a season-long five-game win streak. All five of those victories have come by a double-digit margin. During that stretch, the 'Eaters are averaging 70.6 ppg, while holding their opponents to 54.2 ppg (+16.4). Since Feb. 29, Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba is averaging 18.0 points and 10.0 rebounds. Déja Lee has also registered 16.8 points and 3.4 steals per outing, while Diaba Konate has directed the offense with 3.8 assists per contest.

• Junior Déja Lee headlined UC Irvine's end-of-season awards as she became the first Anteater in program history to be named The Big West Player of the Year. Lee was recognized after closing out the conference season ranked second in the league in scoring (14.8 ppg), second in steals (3.1 spg), fourth in field goal percentage (46.1%), fifth in 3FG percentage (37.4%) and fifth in 3FG made (2.0/gm). She was also a first-team All-Big West selection, marking the seventh-straight year an 'Eater has made the first team. Overall, Lee has reached double figures in scoring 20 times with six 20-point performances, while she holds the single-season school record with 77 steals.

• For the first time in program history, the Anteaters have three-straight 20-win seasons. Since 2021-22, UCI owns a 68-27 (.716) record. Four of the program's six 20-win campaigns have come under the direction of eighth-year head coach Tamara Inoue.

• UCI ranks 14th in the nation in scoring defense (55.6 ppg). The 'Eaters gave up a season-high 76 points in an overtime win at Long Beach State (March 2), snapping a 60-game streak of holding their opponents to under 70. The Anteaters returned to their defensive prowess in the next game, allowing a season-low 31 in a 34-point victory at Cal Poly on March 7. UC Irvine is also 27th in all of NCAA Division I in turnover margin (4.57), 30th in steals (10.5 spg) and 39th in turnovers forced (19.1/gm).

POSTSEASON NOTABLES
The Anteaters are the No. 2 seed in The Big West Championships for the third time in the last four years, and sixth time in program history. They are 9-6 and have advanced to the championship game six times as the second seed (1984, 1985, 1997, 2021, 2022 & 2024). UC Irvine, which is playing in its 35th conference tournament, is 1-5 in its six championship game appearances with its only title coming as the No. 3 seed in 1995.

BIG WEST AWARDS
Junior Déja Lee headlined UCI's end-of-season awards as she became the Anteaters' first Big West Women's Basketball Player of the Year. Lee was also a first-team all-conference selection. Graduate transfer Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba was recognized as the Newcomer of the Year and garnered second-team All-Big West distinction. Fifth-year senior Diaba Konate was tabbed the Best Defensive Player, received an All-Big West honorable mention nod and made the All-Defensive Team for the second year in a row. Shirel Nahum also landed on the Big West All-Freshman Team.

SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Fifth-seeded UC Davis (20-13) advanced to the championship game with a 51-48 upset victory over No. 1 Hawai'i in Friday's semifinal. The Aggies also defeated No. 8 Cal State Fullerton, 81-56, in the first round and No. 4 Cal Poly, 56-48, in the quarterfinal. First-team All-Big West selection Evanne Turner leads UCD with 14.8 points per game, while Tova Sabel is also averaging 14.0 points per outing. Turner and Sabel have combined to make 156 threes on the year.

SERIES RECORD
UCI trails in its all-time series with UC Davis, 34-13. The two teams split the season series as the Anteaters fell on the road (Jan. 6), 60-57, before bouncing back with a 79-61 victory at home on Jan. 20. The 'Eaters and Aggies have met six times in the Big West Championships with UCD holding a 4-2 advantage. Their last postseason meeting came in the 2022 semifinals where UC Irvine pulled out an 84-75 overtime win.

SEMIFINAL RECAP
Second-seeded UC Irvine received a double-bye into Friday's Big West semifinal where it defeated No. 7 seed Long Beach State, 69-57. The Anteaters were able to tame a hot LBSU team that had averaged 86.5 points in its first two tournament games. Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba led the 'Eaters with a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds. Déja Lee added 12 points and three steals. Nevaeh Dean and Nevaeh Parkinson were a force down low. Parkinson finished with eight points and eight boards, while Dean had eight points, five rebounds and two blocks. Diaba Konate and Amelia Scharpf each dished out a game-high four assists without committing a turnover.

TRENDING UP
The Anteaters are on a season-long five-game win streak. All five of those victories came by double digits as they own a +16.4 scoring margin since Feb. 29. Their biggest win of the season came last Thursday, March 7, when the 'Eaters routed Cal Poly, 65-31 on the road. UCI is also 8-0 when scoring more than 70 points this season. Five of those 70+ point performances came in Big West play including a season-high 86 in an overtime win at Long Beach State on March 2.

SHARP SHOOTER
Over the last seven games, Déja Lee has made 18 threes  (2.6/gm) and registered a 45% clip from beyond the arc. She tied her career high with five triples (on six attempts) at Long Beach State on March 2. Her 52 3-pointers on the year rank 10th in single-season school history.

20-20-20
The Anteaters have secured their third-straight 20-win season for the first time in program history. UCI finished with 20+ wins in 1983-84 and 1984-85 before a 34-year drought. Head coach Tamara Inoue then led the 'Eaters to 20 wins in her third season at the helm (2018-19). Her squad also went 21-12 in 2021-22, and finished with a school-record 25 victories in 2022-23. 

DEFENSIVE MINDED
The 'Eaters rank 14th in all of NCAA Division I with 55.6 points allowed per game. They have held 21 of their 30 opponents to 60 points or less and have given up fewer than 10 points in a quarter 24 times. At Cal Poly, UCI held the Mustangs to a season-low two points in the third period and 31 points for the game. The Anteaters also rank among the top-40 in the nation in turnover margin (27th, 4.6), steals (30th, 10.5 spg) and turnovers forced (39th, 19.1/gm).

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
UC Irvine has outscored its opponents in bench points by a 12.1 margin. Their 26.2 bench points per game rank 14th in all of NCAA Division I. Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba (11.8 ppg) and Nevaeh Parkinson (8.4 ppg) have led the charge as they are second and third on the team in scoring in a reserve role. Sidi Baba made her first start of the year in the regular-season finale and was back in the first five in Friday's Big West semifinal.

ON THE REBOUND
The Anteaters have won the rebounding battle 18 times (16-2). Over the last 10 games, they hold a +8.8 margin on the glass. The 'Eaters set season highs in total (52) and offensive boards (31) at Cal State Bakersfield on Feb. 17. They also held a double-digit advantage vs. Long Beach State (40-30), at Cal Poly (42-28), vs. CSUN (51-32) and vs. UC Santa Barbara (43-25) during that stretch. Since Feb. 8, Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba is averaging 8.5 rebounds per game. She pulled down a season-high 15 boards at CSUB.

STEALING THE SHOW
Déja Lee (77), Diaba Konate (62) and Nikki Tom (57) have accounted for over 60% of UC Irvine's steals. They each have at least three games with 5+ steals this season. Lee had a career-high six takeaways at UC Davis (Jan. 6) and at UC San Diego (Jan. 18), while Konate also had six vs. Long Beach State (Jan. 25). Lee's 77 steals on the year are a single-season school record.

DÉJA VU
Junior Déja Lee has six of UCI's 10 20-point performances this season. Lee led all scorers with 20 points against CSUN on Feb. 29, before dropping a career-high 29 (5-6 3FG) two days later at Long Beach State. In those two games, she shot 52% from the field and a blistering 57% (8-14) from beyond the arc. The 5-foot-9 guard also finished with 23 points at Pepperdine (Nov. 7) and vs. St. Thomas (Nov. 24), 22 vs. Cal State Bakersfield (Dec. 30) and 21 at Hawai'i. Against the Rainbow Wahine, she scored all 13 of the Anteaters' third-quarter points. Lee, who was named the Big West Player of the Week on Jan. 1, ranks first on the team in scoring (13.7 ppg) and steals (2.6 spg), and is second in assists (2.2 apg). She upped her numbers in Big West play, sitting among the top-five in the conference in scoring (2nd, 14.8 ppg), steals (2nd, 3.1 spg), FG% (4th, 46%), 3FG% (5th, 37%) and 3FG made (5th, 2.0/gm). Overall, Lee has 35 career 10+ point games and eight 20-point efforts.

POWER 5 IMPACT
Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba, a graduate transfer from Miami, is averaging 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds in 25 games played. Sidi Baba has accounted for five of the Anteaters' six double-doubles this year. In Friday's semifinal win over Long Beach State, she put up a career-high 22 points to go along with 10 rebounds. Two weeks ago, she went back-to-back with 20 points/12 rebounds at LBSU (March 2) and 14 points/12 boards vs. CSUN (Feb. 29). The 6-foot-1 guard/forward also had 12 points and a season-high 15 rebounds at Cal State Bakersfield (Feb. 17). Sidi Baba's first double-double of the season came in the non-conference finale against Colorado State where she had 19 points/11 rebounds. She added 20-point games at Texas Tech (21) and in a Senior Day victory over Cal State Fullerton (20). On the year, Sidi Baba has 17 double-figure scoring games, including in each of the last eight outings.

GIVE AND TAKE
Senior Diaba Konate is tops on the squad in assists (112) and second in steals (62). She dished out a season-best nine dimes against UC San Diego on Feb. 24, and had a UCI career-best six steals in a win over Long Beach State on Jan. 25. In Big West games, Konate was first in the conference in assists (3.7 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.65), while she was eighth in steals (2.1 spg). In her collegiate career at both Idaho State and UC Irvine, Konate has amassed 1,299 points, 427 rebounds, 496 assists and 277 steals.

IRON WOMAN
Junior Nikki Tom has played in every game since her arrival at UC Irvine in 2021-22. She leads the team with 95 consecutive appearances and 2,770 minutes in an Anteater uniform. Her streak of 70 consecutive starts came to an end on Senior Day (March 9). This season, Tom is averaging 6.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.9 steals per outing. She is also tops on the squad with an 86.0 free throw percentage (49-57). The Fresno native has nine 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 2022-23 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 6.7 rebounds per game, while shooting 52.9% from the field. She has led UCI on the glass 15 times this season and has pulled down 10+ boards on six occasions, five of which came in Big West play. She recorded her first double-double of the year with 12 points and 10 rebounds at Cal Poly on March 2, while she tied her season high with 11 boards vs. CSUN (Feb. 29). Earlier in the year, Parkinson went 8-of-11 from the floor for a career-high 17 points vs. Seattle U (Nov. 11).

FRESH TAKE
Shirel Nahum ranks among The Big West's top-10 freshmen in scoring (5.5 ppg), rebounding (2.3 rpg), assists (1.1 apg), steals (0.8 spg) and minutes (20.4 mpg). Nahum has six 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 eight 3-pointers this season (36%). Against Eastern Washington on Nov. 20, the 6-foot-2 forward 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 (Feb. 10), 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 61 of 62 games played at UC Irvine.

LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
Since 2020-21, UC Irvine owns a league-leading 57-14 record (.803) in regular-season conference games. During that stretch, the 'Eaters have not lost more than four Big West games in a season. Last year, they went 16-2 to win the first regular-season championship in program history. 

100 AND COUNTING
Eighth-year head coach Tamara Inoue ranks second among the program's all-time winningest coaches with 139 career victories. She is 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 UCI to the program's first Big West regular-season title (2022-23), three of the Anteaters' four national postseason tournament 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).

UP NEXT
The winner of the 2024 Hercules Tires Big West Championship final will earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.