UC Irvine (6-2, 0-0 Big West) at
UC Riverside (1-5, 0-0 Big West)
Date: Thursday, Dec. 4
Time: 6 p.m. (PST)
Location: SRC Arena (3,168) - Riverside, Calif.

UC Irvine (6-2, 0-0 Big West) at
CSUN (3-3, 0-0 Big West)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 6
Time: 2 p.m. (PST)
Location: Premier America Credit Union Arena (2,300) - Northridge, Calif.

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine women's basketball begins conference play on the road as part of The Big West's Bold Week. The Anteaters are set to travel to UC Riverside for their Big West opener at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 4. UCI then makes its way to CSUN for a 2 p.m. showdown on Saturday, Dec. 6.
 
STARTING FIVE: STORYLINES
• UC Irvine is riding a season-long five-game win streak. The Anteaters enter conference play with a 6-2 (.750) overall record. They are tied for first in the Big West in total victories and tied for second in win percentage.

• Senior guards Jada Wynn and Hunter Hernandez are UCI's top-two scorers and rebounders. Wynn leads the way at 14.4 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. Hernandez, who was a preseason All-Big West selection, is second on the squad with 13.8 points and 5.8 boards per contest.

• As of Dec. 3, UC Irvine is one of the best free throw shooting teams in the nation, ranking third in all of NCAA Division I at 84%. The 'Eaters are also 19th in the country with 17.0 free throws made per game.

• In its six wins, UCI has led for nearly 232 of 240 minutes played. The Anteaters trailed in a win for the first time last Friday against Wichita State as the Shockers pulled out front for 1 minute and 16 seconds in the first quarter. In their six victories, the 'Eaters own a +17.7 scoring margin, while combining to shoot 40% overall, 34% from distance, and 87% at the free throw line. 

• The Anteaters have won their Big West opener in each of the last five seasons. Three of those conference openers were on the road, including at UCR on Dec. 28, 2023. The 'Eaters have been dominant in Big West regular-season games over the last five years with a 72-19 (.791) record since 2020-21.

SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS
UC Riverside (1-5, 0-0 Big West) closed out the month of November with its first win of the season, defeating Cal Lutheran, 64-47, last Saturday. Sophomore guard Hannah Wickstrom, who made her season debut two weeks ago, leads the Highlanders with 19.3 points and 10.7 rebounds in three games played.

A GLANCE AT THE MATADORS
CSUN (3-3, 0-0 Big West) snapped a three-game losing streak with a 106-43 victory over Life Pacific on Nov. 26. The Matadors had started the season with back-to-back wins over Bethesda and San Diego, before dropping three in a row on the road. Sophomore guard Rita Nazario is tops on the squad in scoring at 14.7 points per outing, while sophomore forward Jite Gbemuotor has pulled down a team-best 6.8 rebounds per contest.

Second-year CSUN head coach Angie Ned is a UCI women's basketball alum. Ned, who graduated in 2007, is still tied for fifth in school history with 1,333 career points.

SERIES RECORDS
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with UC Riverside, 42-30, but has won eight of the last nine. Last year, the Highlanders snapped a seven-game skid against the Anteaters with a 59-54 victory in Riverside (Jan. 4, 2025). The 'Eaters avenged that loss three weeks later with a 56-53 win at the Bren Events Center on Jan. 23.

UCI leads in its all-time series with CSUN, 33-32. The Anteaters swept the Matadors last season with a 68-39 win at home (Jan. 9) and a 100-56 victory on the road (Feb. 20). UC Irvine has won seven-straight against CSUN with its last loss coming on Jan. 23, 2020.

MID-MAJOR RANKINGS
UC Irvine was receiving votes in the latest College Insider Women's Mid-Major Poll released on Dec. 2. The Anteaters were one of three Big West schools featured in the RV section as they were joined by Hawai'i and UC Davis. Conference foe UC Santa Barbara also shot up to No. 15 in the rankings.

CHASING 1,000
Hunter Hernandez has 932 career points, putting her 68 away from becoming the 16th member of UCI 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.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine rolled to its fifth-straight win, toppling Colgate, 82-48, to close out the ZotGiving Classic last Saturday at the Bren Events Center. The Anteaters led by double digits for nearly 33 minutes, while their 34-point win was their largest margin of victory this season. UCI also set season bests in field goal percentage (50%), field goals made (31), 3-point field goals made (11), assists (24), turnovers forced (19), and steals (14). The 'Eaters capitalized on their strong defensive effort, scoring 29 points off turnovers. All 10 active players scored for UC Irvine. Jada Wynn led the way with 18 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. Wynn also had six assists and a team-best six rebounds. Hunter Hernandez and Naomy Zonzon-Huyghe added 14 and 13 points, respectively, while Nohe'alani Stores made it a quartet of Anteaters in double figures with 11 points to go along with five boards and a career-high four steals. Shirel Nahum dished out a career-best seven assists.

WINNING FORMULA
UC Irvine has led for 231:57 of 240 minutes played in its six wins this season. The only time the Anteaters trailed was for one minute and 16 seconds in the first quarter against Wichita State. In their six victories, the 'Eaters own a +17.7 scoring margin, while they are shooting 40% from the field, 34% from distance, and 87% at the free throw line. UCI has also outrebounded its opponents, 236-199 (+6.2), and owns a +5.0 turnover margin. 

DEFENSIVE IDENTITY
UCI ended each of the last three seasons ranked among the top-15 in the nation in scoring defense. The Anteaters were 10th in 2024-25 (54.3 ppg), 14th in 2023-24 (55.7 ppg), and seventh in 2022-23 with a school-record 53.2 points allowed per game. After a slow start defensively this year where the 'Eaters gave up more than 60 points in three-straight games for the first time since January 2022, they have locked in, holding each of their last four opponents to 55 points or less. UC Irvine currently ranks first in the Big West in scoring defense (58.8 ppg).

BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE
As of Dec. 3, UC Irvine ranks first in the Big West and third in the nation in in free throw percentage (84%). The Anteaters have fewer than five misses from the charity stripe in six of their eight games. Individually, Jada Wynn (13th, 42) and Hunter Hernandez (30th, 37) are among the top-30 in all of NCAA Division I in free throws made. Hernandez (86%), Shirel Nahum (86%), Wynn (84%), and Naomy Zonzon-Huyghe (80%) are all shooting 80% or better with a minimum of 10 attempts at the charity stripe.

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.

COMING INTO HER OWN
After averaging 3.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 1.1 assists at Texas Tech, Jada Wynn is putting up career numbers as an Anteater. She has started every game and leads the team in scoring (14.4 ppg), rebounding (8.6 rpg), and assists (3.9 apg). The 6-foot-1 guard owns six double-figure scoring games and two double-doubles, while pulling down at least six boards in all eight outings. She also dished out 6+ assists on four occasions. Wynn was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Great Alaska Shootout (Nov. 21-22) after averaging 17.0 ppg, 10.5 rpg, and 3.0 apg in wins over Bowling Green and St. Thomas.

TAKING THE LEAD
Fifth-year senior Hunter Hernandez is averaging 13.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per outing. The 5-foot-9 guard, who is UCI's only returning starter from last year, has 48 career double-figure scoring games including seven 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.

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 career-high 23 points (3-6 3FG, 8-8 FT). Over the last three games, Nahum has started to settle in as a primary playmaker with 14 assists against just three turnovers. She dished out a career-best seven dimes in last Saturday's win over Colgate. On the season, Nahum is averaging 8.0 points and 3.0 assists per outing.

STATEMENT DEBUT
Freshman Nohe'alani Stores has reached double figures in scoring in five of her eight outings, and ranks fourth on the team with 8.6 points per game. Stores is also tops on the squad in field goal percentage (62.2%). 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), Colgate (11), 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 a win over Bowling Green on Nov. 21. Madsen was the first Anteater to knock down five threes in a game since March 2, 2024. The Warden, Washington, native also buried four triples against Wichita State (14 points), vs. San Diego (12 points), and at Idaho State (12 points).  Madsen currently leads the Big West in threes made (21) and attempted (58). Only two of her 23 field goals and four of her 62 attempts have been from two-point range this season. In 30 career games played, Madsen has a triple in 21 of them, and drained multiple treys seven times. For the season, the 5-foot-11 guard is averaging 9.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.3 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 is coming off a season-best 13-point performance in last Saturday's 82-48 win over Colgate. She went 5-of-7 from the floor and 3-for-4 from beyond the arc. The 5-foot-9 guard has been efficient all season long, shooting 61.8% (21-34) overall and 50% (7-14) from distance. Zonzon-Huyghe came to UCI after an impressive year at Arizona Western College where she was an NJCAA second-team All-American.

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 167-118 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.

DEFEND THE BREN
Since 2017-18, UCI is 84-26 (.763) 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 4-0 with a +18.3 scoring margin at the Bren. They have 11 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.

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.

20-20 VISION
Last year, the Anteaters produced their fourth-straight 20-win season (21-10). Back in 1983-84 and 1984-85, the 'Eaters recorded consecutive 20-win campaigns, before a 34-year drought. Head coach Tamara Inoue then led UCI to 20 victories in her third season at the helm (2018-19). Her squad also went 21-12 in 2021-22, had a school-record 25 wins in 2022-23, and went 23-9 in 2023-24.

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.

UP NEXT
UC Irvine begins its final stretch of non-conference games when it welcomes future Big West member California Baptist to the Bren Events Center for a 2 p.m. showdown next Saturday, Dec. 13.