ZotGiving Classic
Wichita State (1-5) at
UC Irvine (4-2)
Date: Friday, Nov. 28
Time: 2 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.

Colgate (4-1) at
UC Irvine (4-2)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 29
Time: 4:30 p.m. (PST)
Location: Bren Events Center (5,000) - Irvine, Calif.

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's basketball is set to host the inaugural ZotGiving Classic at the Bren Events Center, Nov. 28-29. The Anteaters will open the tournament against Wichita State Friday at 2 p.m. They then return to the hardwood on Saturday for a 4:30 p.m. showdown with Colgate.
 
STARTING FIVE: STORYLINES
• UCI will be competing in its second tournament. Last weekend, the 'Eaters won the Great Alaska Shootout with victories over Bowling Green and St. Thomas in Anchorage. Jada Wynn was named the Most Outstanding Player, while Hunter Hernandez earned All-Tournament Team honors.

• Wynn and Hernandez are the Anteaters' top-two scorers and rebounders. Wynn, who has a double-double in two of the last three games, leads the way at 14.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per outing. Hernandez is second on the squad with 12.7 points and 6.0 boards per game. 

• As of Nov. 26, UC Irvine is one of the best free throw shooting teams in the nation, ranking fifth in all of NCAA Division I at 84.5%. The 'Eaters are also 14th in the country with 18.2 free throws made per game.

• In its four wins, UCI has not trailed, and has led for 156 of 160 minutes (tied for four minutes). In those four games, the Anteaters own a +16.5 scoring margin. They have combined to shoot 40.4% overall, 35.2% from distance, and 88.6% at the free throw line. 

• The 'Eaters have reached 20+ wins in each of the last four years. Since 2021-22, they are 94-40 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 SHOCKERS
Wichita State (1-5) is on a five-game losing streak, most recently falling to Cal State Bakersfield, 60-55, last Saturday. Graduate transfer Jaila Harding leads the Shockers in scoring at 12.5 points per contest. Junior Jaida McDonald is averaging a team-best 5.7 rebounds per outing, while graduate transfer Taya Davis is tops on the squad with 26 assists (4.3 apg).

A GLANCE AT THE RAIDERS
Colgate (4-1) suffered its first loss of the season at Quinnipiac, 77-50, on Sunday. Junior Ella Meabon leads the Raiders with 16.4 points per game on 54% shooting. Senior Anne Bair (13.0 ppg) and sophomore Tatiana Matthews (10.8 ppg) are also averaging double figures in scoring. 

SERIES RECORDS
UC Irvine fell to Wichita State, 76-53, in the lone meeting between the two teams on Nov. 26, 2017. The game was part of the UNM Tournament in Albuquerque.

Saturday will mark the first meeting between UCI and Colgate.

HOME TOURNAMENTS
UC Irvine will be hosting a tournament at the Bren Events Center for the first time since 2021, when the Anteaters defeated Illinois State and Sacramento State in the UCI Thanksgiving Classic, Nov. 26-28. The 'Eaters are 13-15 in non-conference home tournaments.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine raced out to a 24-6 lead in the first quarter and held off a big run from St. Thomas for a 63-55 victory in the championship game of the ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout last Saturday at Alaska Airlines Center. Jada Wynn led the Anteaters with 20 points and nine rebounds. Hunter Hernandez added 15 points, six boards, and three assists, while Nohe'alani Stores finished with 10 points, going 3-for-5 from the field and 4-of-4 at the free throw line. The 'Eaters shot 40.4% from the field, 33.3% from beyond the arc, and 94.1% at the charity stripe. They also won the battle in rebounding (31-29), turnovers forced (15-8), points off turnovers (22-6), and points in the paint (32-24). Wynn was named the Most Outstanding Player, while Hernandez made the All-Tournament Team.

BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE
UC Irvine ranks first in the Big West and among the top-15 in the nation in both free throw percentage (5th, 84.5%) and free throws made (14th, 18.2/game). Jada Wynn leads the charge as she is sixth in all of NCAA Division I with 40 free throws made and 11th with 48 free throws attempted. Hunter Hernandez (88%), Wynn (83%), and Shirel Nahum (88%) are all shooting over 80% with at least 15 attempts from the foul line.

WINNING FORMULA
UC Irvine has not trailed in its four wins this season. In those games, the Anteaters own a +16.5 scoring margin, while they are shooting 40% from the field, 35% from distance, and 89% at the free throw line. The 'Eaters have also outrebounded their opponents, 161-132, and own a +3.0 turnover margin in their winning efforts. Individually, UCI had at least three players reach double figures in scoring in each of their victories (including five in back-to-back wins over Northern Arizona and Bowling Green), three of their four 20-point performances, and all three of their double-doubles.

DEFEND THE BREN
Since 2017-18, UCI is 83-26 (.761) at the Bren Events Center. Last year, the 'Eaters went 12-2 in Irvine, tying the single-season school record for home wins. This year, the Anteaters are 2-0 with a +16.5 scoring margin at the Bren. They have 13 more home games on their schedule.

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.

CHASING 1,000
Senior Hunter Hernandez has 898 career points, putting her 102 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 165-118 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 a 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 12.7 points and 6.0 rebounds per outing. The 5-foot-9 guard, who is UCI's only returning starter from last year, has 46 career double-figure scoring games including six 20-point performances. In addition, she is the team's active career double-double leader with six. 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.

FAMILY TIES
Senior Jada Wynn has returned 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 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. Through her first six games as an Anteater, the 6-foot-1 guard is tops on the squad in scoring (14.8 ppg), rebounding (9.2 rpg), and assists (3.7 apg). She had her first career double-double with 21 points and 11 boards against Northern Arizona. Wynn followed that outing with a 14-point/13-rebound effort vs. Bowling Green. Wynn also dropped 20 points in the championship game of the Great Alaska Shootout, and was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

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 had a breakout performance in a 90-75 win over Northern Arizona as she finished with a game and career-high 23 points. Three of her six field goals were from beyond the arc, while she went 8-for-8 at the free throw line. On the season, Nahum is averaging 8.5 points and 2.3 assists per outing.

STATEMENT DEBUT
Freshman Nohe'alani Stores has reached double figures in scoring in four of her six outings, and ranks third on the team with 9.7 points per game. Stores is also tops on the squad in field goal percentage (67.6%). In her collegiate debut against San Diego, the 6-foot-2 forward tied for the team lead with a season-high 17 points (7-8 FG), while pulling down five rebounds. Stores reached double figures again in wins over NAU (14), Bowling Green (13), and St. Thomas (10). She added a team and season-best nine rebounds at Idaho State. 

SHARPSHOOTER
Sophomore Lauryn Madsen registered a career-high 15 points on a 5-of-9 performance from beyond the arc in last Friday's win over Bowling Green. Madsen was the first Anteater to knock down five threes in a game since March 2, 2024. The Warden, Washington, native also had 12 points on four triples vs. San Diego and at Idaho State. She added a career-high eight rebounds against the Toreros. Sixteen of her 18 field goals and 43 of her 45 attempts have been from distance this year. In 28 career games played, Madsen has knocked down a three in 19 of them, and drained multiple treys six times. For the season, the 5-foot-11 guard is averaging 9.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 steals per contest.

FRENCH CONNECTION
Sophomore Naomy Zonzon-Huyghe (La Roche-sur-Yon, France) is in her first season with the Anteaters, making it the fourth year in a row UCI women's basketball has had a native of France on their roster. Zonzon-Huyghe had a season-best 10 points in a 90-75 victory over Northern Arizona. Over the last five games, the 5-foot-9 guard is shooting 63% (12-19) from the field and 50% (3-6) from distance. 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. 

UP NEXT
UC Irvine will begin conference play on the road as part of The Big West's Bold Week. The Anteaters make their way to UC Riverside on Thursday, Dec. 4, and CSUN on Saturday, Dec. 6.