Northern Arizona (1-2) at
UC Irvine (1-2)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 15
Time: 3:30 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's basketball returns home for a non-conference game against Northern Arizona on Saturday, Nov. 15. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. at the Bren Events Center.
 
STARTING FIVE: STORYLINES
• UC Irvine ranks second in the Big West and 28th in the nation with 18.0 free throws made per game. At Arizona, the Anteaters drew 32 fouls and got to the line 33 times. They were also 23-of-28 at the charity stripe in their season-opening win over San Diego. Individually, Jada Wynn is among the top-15 in the nation in both free throws made (13th, 19) and free throws attempted (14th, 25). Wynn started the season with a streak of 12 consecutive foul shots made before her first miss in the second quarter at UA.

• The Anteaters return seven letterwinners, but only one starter, from last year's squad that went 21-10 overall and 15-5 in the Big West (2nd). UCI's lone returning starter is fifth-year senior Hunter Hernandez, who is a two-time first-team All-Big West selection, and was named to the 2025-26 All-Big West Preseason Team. Through the first week of the season, the 5-foot-9 guard leads UC Irvine and ranks among the top-10 in the conference in points per game (13.3 ppg) and free throw percentage (91.7%). Hernandez reached double figures in scoring in her first two outings with a season-best 23 points at Arizona.

• The six other returners combined for two starts last year. One went to Summah Hanson, who was named the 2024-25 Big West Best Sixth Player. Hanson appeared in all 31 games, averaging 8.6 points and 5.4 rebounds in 18.7 minutes per contest. In addition, the 6-foot-3 forward was tops on the squad in free throw percentage (89.7%). She is currently sidelined with an injury. Shirel Nahum also made one start in 29 appearances last year. Daniela Falcon Hernandez and Lauryn Madsen played in 22 and 23 games, respectively, in their first collegiate seasons. Falcon Hernandez and Madsen have started all three games this year, while Nahum started the first two. 

• Sophomore Lauryn Madsen has been the Anteaters' biggest threat from the perimeter as she leads the team in 3-pointers made (9) and 3-point percentage (42.9%). She knocked down four triples for a career-high 12 points against both San Diego and Idaho State. All nine of her field goals and 21 of her attempts have come from beyond the arc this season.

• UC Irvine is looking to continue the most successful stretch in program history. The Anteaters have reached 20+ wins and placed among the top-two in the Big West regular season standings in each of the last four years. Since 2021-22, the 'Eaters are 91-40 overall, and 61-15 in conference play. In the past three seasons, UCI won a Big West Championship (2023-24) and the program's first Big West regular season title (2022-23).

SCOUTING THE LUMBERJACKS
Northern Arizona (1-2) picked up its first win of the season earlier this week as it defeated NAIA member Embry-Riddle (AZ), 100-59, on Tuesday, Nov. 11. Redshirt freshman Naomi White leads the Lumberjacks and ranks 15th in all of NCAA Division I with 23.7 points per game. She is shooting 45% from the field and 56% from beyond the arc. White is also tops on the squad in assists (9) and steals (10), and is tied for the team high in rebounding at 6.0 boards per outing. Laura Dinkins, a former assistant coach at Big West member Long Beach State, is in her first year at the helm of the NAU program.

SERIES RECORD
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with Northern Arizona, 3-2. The two teams last met on Dec. 15, 2015, when the Lumberjacks ran away with a 71-55 win in Irvine. The Anteaters' last victory over NAU came on the road in 1999.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine closed out its first road trip of the season with a 61-49 loss to Idaho State Wednesday at Reed Gym. The Anteaters never led and struggled to get into an offensive rhythm until the fourth quarter when they shot 60% from the field and outscored the Bengals, 17-8. Sophomore Lauryn Madsen made four threes for a team-high 12 points. She was the only 'Eater to reach double figures in scoring. Sophomore Naomy Zonzon-Huyghe had a season-best nine points on 4-of-5 shooting. Freshman Ameerah Grant also scored the first points of her collegiate career, finishing with seven. Grant was 4-for-4 at the free throw line and dished out a team-best four assists. Freshman Nohe'alani Stores pulled down a season-best nine rebounds.

PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
UCI was picked second in The Big West Preseason Coaches' Poll for the third-straight year. The Anteaters received four first-place votes and 90 total points in a narrow race with Hawai'i, which won the 2024-25 Big West regular-season title. The Rainbow Wahine (91) also received four first-place votes and came in one point ahead of the 'Eaters. UC Davis was picked third with 83 points (one first-place vote), while UC San Diego had two first-place nods but took fourth with 77 points. UC Santa Barbara (61) rounded out the top five. Hunter Hernandez was named to the All-Big West Preseason Coaches' Team. Hernandez is the conference's only returning All-Big West first-team selection. She averaged 13.1 points and 5.5 rebounds last year.

MID-MAJOR RANKINGS
UC Irvine was receiving votes in the College Insider Women's Mid-Major Poll released on Nov. 11. Fellow Big West member Hawai'i came in at No. 20, while non-conference opponent Bowling Green was also featured in the RV section.

20-20 VISION
Last year, the Anteaters went 21-10 for their fourth-straight 20-win season. Since 2021-22, UCI is 91-40, marking the best four-year stretch in program history. Prior to that, the 'Eaters recorded 20+ victories in 1983-84 and 1984-85. They then went through a 34-year drought until head coach Tamara Inoue led UC Irvine to 20 wins in her third season at the helm (2018-19). Her squad also went 21-12 in 2021-22, finished with a school-record 25 victories in 2022-23, and went 23-9 in 2023-24.

DEFEND THE BREN
Since 2017-18, UCI is 82-26 (.759) at the Bren Events Center. Last year, the 'Eaters went 12-2 at the Bren, tying the single-season school record for home wins. The Anteaters have 15 home contests in 2025-26.

NEW LOOK
UC Irvine has a new look in 2025-26. Five members of the core group that led the 'Eaters to four-straight 20-win campaigns graduated after last season. UCI reloaded with a young squad that features eight underclassmen, including five who are in their first NCAA Division I season.

LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
UC Irvine has become a powerhouse in The Big West under 10th-year head coach Tamara Inoue. The Anteaters placed among the top-two in the conference in each of the last six years, including the first regular-season title in program history in 2022-23. Since 2020-21, UCI has not lost more than five conference games in a season, combining for a league-leading 72-19 (.791) record during that stretch. The 'Eaters also advanced to the championship game of the Big West tournament three times in the last five years, winning it all in 2023-24.

DEFENSIVE IDENTITY
UCI ended each of the last three seasons ranked among the top-15 in the nation in scoring defense. The Anteaters closed out the 2024-25 campaign at No. 10 with 54.3 points allowed per game, while they were also fifth in field goal percentage defense (35.4%). UC Irvine held its opponents to 60 points or less in 21 of its 31 contests. In 2023-24, the 'Eaters ranked 14th in all of NCAA Division I in scoring defense (55.7 ppg). In addition, their school-record 53.2 points allowed per game in 2022-23 was seventh-best in the country.

CHASING 1,000
Senior Hunter Hernandez has 862 career points, putting her 138 away from becoming the 16th member of UC Irvine women's basketball's 1,000-point club. If she accomplishes the feat, it would be the second-straight season an Anteater reached the 1K milestone as Déja Lee did it in 2024-25.

THE GOAT
Tamara Inoue has cemented her legacy as the most accomplished head coach in program history. On Feb. 27, 2025, Inoue earned her 159th career victory to surpass Dean Andrea (1979-1991) as UCI's all-time winningest head coach. Inoue owns a 162-118 career record in her nine-plus seasons at the helm. She has led UC Irvine to a pair of Big West Championships, four of the Anteaters' five national postseason appearances, their first victory in national postseason tournament (WNIT), five of their seven 20-win campaigns, and single-season school records in both overall (25) and conference (16) wins.

TAKING THE LEAD
Fifth-year senior Hunter Hernandez is averaging a team-best 13.3 points through the first three games of the season. She is 5-of-13 from beyond the arc and 11-of-12 at the free throw line. UC Irvine's only returning starter, Hernandez was also tops on the squad in both scoring (13.1 ppg) and rebounding (5.5 rpg) last year. The 5-foot-9 guard has 43 career double-figure scoring games including six 20-point performances. In addition, she owns five career double-doubles. Hernandez is a two-time first-team All-Big West selection (2024-25 and 2022-23), while she made the All-Freshman Team in 2021-22. She missed the 2023-24 season recovering from a second ACL injury.

SHARPSHOOTER
Sophomore Lauryn Madsen set career highs in both points (12) and rebounds (8) in the season-opener against San Diego. Madsen went 4-for-8 from beyond the arc in the Anteaters' 72-54 win over the Toreros. The Warden, Washington, native matched that offensive output at Idaho State where she also buried four triples for 12 points. All nine of her field goals and 21 of her attempts have been from 3-point range this season. In 25 career games played, Madsen has knocked down a three in 16 of them, and drained multiple threes five times. The 5-foot-11 guard graduated from Warden High School as the program's all-time leading scorer.

STATEMENT DEBUT
Freshman Nohe'alani Stores made a statement in her collegiate debut. The 6-foot-2 forward tied for the team lead with 17 points (7-8 FG), while pulling down five rebounds in the Anteaters' 72-54 win over San Diego. She also grabbed a team and season-best nine boards at Idaho State. Through three games, Stores is tops on the squad in field goal percentage at 72.7% (8-11).

FAMILY TIES
Senior Jada Wynn returns home for the final season of her collegiate career. After spending the last two years at Texas Tech, the Yorba Linda native is back in Orange County and ready to play in front of her family. One family member will be on the bench as Jada is the eldest daughter of UCI assistant coach Derek Wynn. She brings a wealth of experience after helping the Lady Raiders advance to the quarterfinals of the WBIT in 2024-25. She was also a member of Colorado's NCAA Sweet 16 team as a freshman in 2022-23. In her UC Irvine debut, Wynn had 17 points (9-9 FT) and a career-high seven assists. Through the first three games, Wynn is averaging 11.3 points to go along with a team-best 7.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

FRENCH CONNECTION
Sophomore Naomy Zonzon-Huyghe (La Roche-sur-Yon, France) joins the Anteaters in 2025-26, making it the fourth year in a row UCI women's basketball has had a native of France on their roster. Zonzon-Huyghe is coming off a season-best nine-point performance where she went 4-of-5 from the field in her first career start at Idaho State. She has also had a steal in all three games and currently leads the team with five. Zonzon-Huyghe came to UCI after an impressive year at Arizona Western College where she was an NJCAA second-team All-American, first-team all-conference, and first-team all-region selection. She averaged 15.6 points and 7.1 rebounds in 27 games played for the Matadors last season.

ON POINT
Junior Shirel Nahum has taken on the starting point guard role after the graduation of two-time first-team All-Big West selection and 2023-24 Big West Player of the Year Déja Lee. Nahum earned Big West All-Freshman Team honors two seasons ago and has extensive international experience. Most recently, she helped Israel to a sixth-place finish at the 2025 FIBA U20 Women's EuroBasket. In 2023, she was the fifth-leading scorer at the FIBA U18 Women's European Championship (17.0 ppg).

UP NEXT
The Anteaters are back on the road next week, traveling to Anchorage for the ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout, Nov. 21-22. UCI is set to open the tournament against Bowling Green.