UC Irvine (19-8, 14-4 Big West) at
Cal Poly (16-11, 12-6 Big West)
Date: Thursday, March 7
Time: 6 p.m. (PST)
Location: Mott Athletics Center (3,032) - San Luis Obispo, Calif.

Cal State Fullerton (10-19, 6-12 Big West) at
UC Irvine (19-8, 14-4 Big West)
Date: Saturday, March 9
Time: 2 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.
Mobile Ticketing & Clear Bag Policy

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's basketball closes out the regular season this week, starting with a road trip to San Luis Obispo where it will face Cal Poly at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 7. The Anteaters then return to the Bren Events Center for their regular-season finale and Senior Day against Cal State Fullerton at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 9. The senior ceremony will take place after the game.
 
STARTING FIVE: STORYLINES
• The 'Eaters (14-4) are still in the hunt for a regular-season championship as they are second in The Big West standings, sitting one game behind Hawai'i (15-3). UC Irvine needs some help as it can only claim the outright title with two wins and two UH losses. If the Rainbow Wahine lose two and UCI splits, or if the 'Bows split and the Anteaters win two, they would be co-champs with Hawai'i taking the No. 1 seed via the head-to-head tiebreaker.

• With a win on Thursday, the Anteaters would clinch a top-two seed and a spot in the semifinals of next week's Big West Championships. They would also secure their third-straight 20-win season for the first time in program history.

• As of March 6, UCI ranks 23rd in the nation in scoring defense (56.5 ppg). In their last outing, an OT win at Long Beach State on March 2, the 'Eaters gave up 70+ points for the first time since March 11, 2022, ending a 60-game streak. 

• Déja Lee has reached double figures in scoring in 13 of 17 conference games played, including in each of the last four. She finished with a career-high 29 points at LBSU on March 2. In Big West play, Lee ranks second in the league at 15.2 ppg.

• Since 2020-21, UCI has not lost more than four conference games in a season, combining for a league-leading 55-14 (.797) record during that stretch. 

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
Cal Poly (16-11, 12-6 Big West) won both its games last week, defeating UC Santa Barbara, 73-64, and Cal State Bakersfield, 74-56. Natalia Ackerman and Annika Shah lead the Mustangs with 12.6 and 12.5 points per outing, respectively. Ackerman is also tops on the squad with 8.6 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per contest.

SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with Cal Poly, 37-30, but has won the last six contested games. The first meeting of the 2024 season series scheduled for Feb. 1 was canceled due to illness among players in the CP program. Per Big West bylaw 4.3.3, it was declared a forfeit with UCI receiving a win and Cal Poly incurring a loss in the conference standings. The two teams last squared off in San Luis Obispo with the Anteaters taking the 68-55 victory on Feb. 9, 2023. 

SCOUTING THE TITANS
Cal State Fullerton (10-18, 6-12 Big West), which is still battling for the eighth and final spot in the Big West Championships, earned a split last week, falling to Long Beach State, 74-59, before upsetting UC Santa Barbara on the road, 78-65. Gabi Vidmar leads the Titans in scoring (11.3 ppg), while Hope Hassmann is averaging 10.8 points and 3.0 assists. Ashlee Lewis has also pulled down a team-best 8.3 rebounds per outing.

SERIES RECORD
UCI leads in its all-time series with Cal State Fullerton, 48-40. The Anteaters won the first meeting of the year, defeating CSF, 68-44, in Fullerton. Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba led the Anteaters with 18 points, while Déja Lee and Diaba Konate had 11 and 10, respectively. Nevaeh Parkinson also finished with a game-high 10 rebounds. Gabi Vidmar paced Fullerton with 14 points.

LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
Since 2020-21, UC Irvine owns a league-leading 55-14 record (.797) in regular-season conference games. During that stretch, the Anteaters have not lost more than four Big West games in a season. Last year, they went 16-2 to win the first Big West regular-season championship in program history. Their 16 conference victories were also a school record.

20-20-20
The Anteaters are one victory away from their third-straight 20-win season, a feat that has not been accomplished 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 2018-19, 21 in 2021-22 and a school-record 25 victories in 2022-23.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine saw a late lead slip away but came storming back in overtime for an 86-76 win against Long Beach State last Saturday at the Walter Pyramid. The Anteaters held a five-point advantage with just under two minutes remaining in regulation when the Beach went on a 7-0 run to go up, 69-67. After both sides made 1-of-2 at the free throw line, Déja Lee drove to the basket for the game-tying layup with seven seconds on the clock. Nikki Tom set the tone in the extra period, drilling two of her three triples in the first couple minutes to put the 'Eaters on top, 78-72. UCI stayed out front by at least three the rest of the way. Lee finished with a career-high 29 points on 9-of-14 shooting, including a 5-for-6 performance from beyond the arc. Lee also had four rebounds, five assists and four steals. Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba registered her second-straight double-double with 20 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Tom added 11 points, while Diaba Konate had seven points and five assists.

ON THE REBOUND
The Anteaters have won the rebounding battle 15 times (13-2) this season. Over the last seven games, they have registered a +9.0 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 outrebounded Long Beach State (44-36), CSUN (51-32), UC Riverside (36-28) and UC Santa Barbara (43-25) during that stretch. Since Feb. 8, Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba is averaging 8.0 rebounds per game. She pulled down a season-high 15 boards at Bakersfield, and had 12 against both CSUN and Long Beach State. 

DEFENSIVE MINDED
The 'Eaters rank 23rd in all of NCAA Division I with 56.5 points allowed per game. They have held 18 of their 27 opponents to 60 points or less and have given up fewer than 10 points in a quarter 19 times. UCI is also among the top-40 in the nation in turnover margin (26th, 4.6), steals (30th, 10.7 spg) and turnovers forced (36th, 19.4/gm).

TRENDING UP
The Anteaters are 8-0 when scoring more than 70 points this season. Five of those 70+ point performances have come in Big West play including a season-high 86 in an overtime win at Long Beach State on March 2.

MID-MAJOR POLL
After receiving votes in the College Insider Women's Mid-Major Poll for six consecutive weeks, the Anteaters dropped out on Feb. 27. They have been featured in the RV section in 13 of the 18 weekly rankings (including preseason).

STRENGTH IN NUMBERS
UC Irvine has outscored its opponents in bench points by a 12.0 margin. Their 26.1 bench points per game rank 20th in all of NCAA Division I. Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba (10.9 ppg) and Nevaeh Parkinson (8.4 ppg) have led the charge as they both have come off the bench in every game played, while ranking second and third on the team in scoring.

STEALING THE SHOW
Déja Lee (66), Diaba Konate (62) and Nikki Tom (53) 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 66 steals on the year rank eighth in single-season school history.

DÉJA VU
Junior Déja Lee has six of UCI's seven 20-point performances this season. Last week, Lee led all scorers with 20 points against CSUN before dropping a career-high 29 (5-6 3FG) 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 (13.9 ppg) and steals (2.4 spg), and is second in assists (2.4 apg). She has upped her numbers in Big West play, sitting among the top-five in the conference in scoring (2nd, 15.2 ppg), steals (2nd, 2.9 spg), FG% (3rd, 47%) and 3-pointers made (4th, 2.0/game). Overall, Lee has 33 career 10+ point games and eight 20-point efforts.

POWER 5 IMPACT
Moulayna Johnson Sidi Baba, a graduate transfer from Miami, is averaging 10.9 points and 6.5 rebounds in 22 games played. Sidi Baba has accounted for all four of the Anteaters' double-doubles this year with 20 points and 12 rebounds at Long Beach State (March 2), 14 points/12 rebounds vs. CSUN (Feb. 29), 12 points and a season-high 15 rebounds at Cal State Bakersfield (Feb. 17), and 19 points/11 rebounds vs. Colorado State on Dec. 16. Back on Nov. 29, Sidi Baba drained a career-high 21 points at Big 12 member Texas Tech where she was 8-for-16 from the field and a perfect 5-of-5 at the free throw line. On the season, the 6-foot-1 guard/forward has 14 double-figure scoring games, including in each of the last five outings.

GIVE AND TAKE
Senior Diaba Konate is tops on the squad in assists (99) 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 play, Konate ranks first in the conference in assists (3.7 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.59), while she is seventh in steals (2.4 spg). In her collegiate career at both Idaho State and UC Irvine, Konate has amassed 1,276 points, 423 rebounds, 483 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 92 consecutive appearances, 69 consecutive starts and 2,680 minutes (29.1 mpg) in an Anteater uniform. This season, Tom is averaging 6.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 2.0 steals per outing. She is also tops on the squad with an 86.8 free throw percentage (46-53). The Fresno native has eight 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 6.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 52.1% from the field. She has led UCI on the glass 14 times this season and has pulled down 10+ boards on five occasions, four of which have come in Big West play. Most recently, she tied her season high with 11 rebounds in a 64-54 win over CSUN on Feb. 29. Earlier in the year, she 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 (5.3 ppg), rebounding (2.3 rpg), assists (1.1 apg), steals (0.8 spg) and minutes (20.2 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 eight 3-pointers this season (40%). 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 58 of 59 games played at UC Irvine.

UP NEXT
The 2024 Hercules Tires Big West Women's Basketball Championship will be contested, March 13-16, at The Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada. The first two rounds are set for next Wednesday and Thursday. The winning teams will move on to face the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the semifinals on Friday, while the championship game is slated for a 3 p.m. start on Saturday.