NCAA First Round: Tournament Central
March 22, 2024 | Women's Basketball
Photo Galleries: Travel Day | Practice Day | Shootaround | UCI vs Gonzaga
Press Conferences: Practice Day | Postgame
Quotes: Friday | Saturday
NCAA First Round - Final Score: Gonzaga 75, UC Irvine 56
Ticket & Watch Party Info | Broadcast Info
SPOKANE, Wash. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team is preparing for its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 29 years.
The 13th-seeded Anteaters will face host and No. 4 seed Gonzaga at McCarthey Athletic Center on Saturday, March 23. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. with the game airing on ESPN2.
"It's been a great journey so far, the NCAA has done a phenomenal job of taking care of our team," head coach Tamara Inoue said in Friday's press conference. "It's been a long time (for our program), and the first time for me as a head coach, so we're just really thrilled to be part of this experience. And what better time for women's basketball than it is now."
After a morning practice at the Bren Events Center, the 'Eaters hit the road, arriving in Spokane, Washington, on Thursday afternoon.
They got their first look at McCarthey Athletic Center on Friday with a 90-minute practice. Déja Lee, Nikki Tom and head coach Tamara Inoue also spoke with media in a press conference before practice.
On Saturday, UC Irvine faced Gonzaga, which was ranked 16th in the AP Poll and 13th in the USA Today Coaches Poll, in front of a sold-out crowd of 6,000 at the McCarthey Athletic Center. The Anteaters got out to a strong start, going up by 11 with 1:56 remaining in the first quarter. The Zags closed the gap to seven by the end of the period and took their first lead in the second. GU held a narrow five-point advantage at the half before outscoring UCI, 45-31, over the final 20 minutes.
Press Conferences: Practice Day | Postgame
Quotes: Friday | Saturday
NCAA First Round - Final Score: Gonzaga 75, UC Irvine 56
Ticket & Watch Party Info | Broadcast Info
SPOKANE, Wash. - The UC Irvine women's basketball team is preparing for its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 29 years.
The 13th-seeded Anteaters will face host and No. 4 seed Gonzaga at McCarthey Athletic Center on Saturday, March 23. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. with the game airing on ESPN2.
"It's been a great journey so far, the NCAA has done a phenomenal job of taking care of our team," head coach Tamara Inoue said in Friday's press conference. "It's been a long time (for our program), and the first time for me as a head coach, so we're just really thrilled to be part of this experience. And what better time for women's basketball than it is now."
After a morning practice at the Bren Events Center, the 'Eaters hit the road, arriving in Spokane, Washington, on Thursday afternoon.
They got their first look at McCarthey Athletic Center on Friday with a 90-minute practice. Déja Lee, Nikki Tom and head coach Tamara Inoue also spoke with media in a press conference before practice.
On Saturday, UC Irvine faced Gonzaga, which was ranked 16th in the AP Poll and 13th in the USA Today Coaches Poll, in front of a sold-out crowd of 6,000 at the McCarthey Athletic Center. The Anteaters got out to a strong start, going up by 11 with 1:56 remaining in the first quarter. The Zags closed the gap to seven by the end of the period and took their first lead in the second. GU held a narrow five-point advantage at the half before outscoring UCI, 45-31, over the final 20 minutes.
Takeoff to touchdown ???? #RipEm | #TogetherWeZot pic.twitter.com/MBVJEdr1B7
— UCI Women's Basketball (@UCIwbb) March 22, 2024
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| NCAA FIRST ROUND - SPOKANE, WASH. | |
| UC IRVINE ANTEATERS | GONZAGA BULLDOGS |
| Record: 23-8 | Record: 30-3 |
| Conference: 16-4 Big West (2nd) | Conference: 16-0 WCC (1st) |
| Head Coach: Tamara Inoue | Head Coach: Lisa Fortier |
| Record at UCI: 140-105, 8th year | Record at Gonzaga: 263-62, 10th year |
| Overall: Same | Overall: Same |
| Game Notes | Game Notes |
| Roster | Roster |
| Schedule | Schedule |
| Statistics | Statistics |
RIPPING THREES 3️⃣
Wednesday, March 25
Dropped & Drained 🫢
Tuesday, March 24
𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 🤣🎙️
Wednesday, February 18
Pregame with Reese 🎙️
Wednesday, February 11
