2025 Hercules Tires Big West Championships, presented by Credit Union 1
Semifinals
[2] UC Irvine (21-9, 15-5 Big West) vs. 
[3] UC Davis (20-11, 13-7 Big West)
Date: Friday, March 14
Time: 2:30 p.m. (PDT)
Location: Lee's Family Forum (5,567) - Henderson, Nevada

HENDERSON, Nev. - UC Irvine women's basketball will be looking to defend their title at the 2025 Hercules Tires Big West Championships, presented by Credit Union 1, this weekend at Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada. The second-seeded Anteaters are set to open the tournament against No. 3 seed UC Davis in the semifinals at 2:30 p.m. on Friday, March 14. The game will feature two of the conference's three 20-win teams and is a rematch of last year's championship game.

STARTING FIVE: STORYLINES
• UCI occupied two spots on the six-member All-Big West First Team with senior Déja Lee and junior Hunter Hernandez both earning their second career first-team nods. In conference games, Hernandez led the Anteaters in scoring (12.6 ppg) and rebounding (5.8 rpg). Lee also put up 10.7 points, 4.2 boards, 1.4 steals and a team-best 3.1 assists per outing. This is the eighth consecutive year the 'Eaters have been represented on the first team. Sophomore Summah Hanson was named the Big West's Best Sixth Player as she came off the bench in all 20 league games, averaging 7.0 points and 5.2 rebounds.

• The Anteaters' 21 overall victories are tied for the third most in program history. This is their fourth-straight 20-win season as they had 23 last year, a school-record 25 in 2022-23 and 21 in 2021-22. Five of UCI's seven 20-win campaigns have come under ninth-year head coach Tamara Inoue. The 'Eaters had 20+ victories in 1983-84 and 1984-85 before a 34-year drought. Inoue then led her squad to 20 wins in her third season at the helm (2018-19).

• UC Irvine ranks seventh in the country in field goal percentage defense (.352) and 10th in scoring defense (54.0 ppg). The 'Eaters were even better in Big West play where they allowed a league-leading 51.7 ppg. They held their opponents to under 50 in 11 of 20 conference games.

• Since 2020-21, UCI has compiled a conference-best 72-19 (.791) record in Big West regular-season games. The Anteaters have placed among the top-two in each of the last six seasons with the program's first and only Big West regular season title to date coming in 2022-23.

• The 'Eaters are 2-0 against UC Davis when playing at Lee's Family Forum, formerly The Dollar Loan Center. Friday's semifinal will be a re-match of last year's Big West championship game. On March 16, 2024, No. 2  seed UC Irvine defeated the fifth-seeded Aggies, 53-39, to win its second conference tournament title and first since 1995. UCI also squared off against UCD in the semifinals in 2022, and claimed an 84-75 overtime victory in Henderson.

POSTSEASON NOTABLES
The Anteaters are a No. 2 seed in The Big West Championships for the fourth time in the last five years, and eighth time in program history. They are 10-6 and have advanced to the final six times as the two-seed (1984, 1985, 1997, 2021, 2022 & 2024). UC Irvine, which is making its 36th appearance in the conference tournament, won the Big West Championship title as the No. 2 seed last year and as the No. 3 seed in 1995.

BIG WEST AWARDS
Senior Déja Lee and junior Hunter Hernandez both earned their second career first-team All-Big West nods, while sophomore Summah Hanson was named the conference's Best Sixth Player. UC Irvine was the only school to receive multiple selections on the six-member first team.

SCOUTING THE AGGIES
No. 3 seed UC Davis (20-11, 13-7 Big West) defeated No. 7 UC Riverside, 61-50, on Wednesday to advance to its ninth Big West semifinal in the last 10 years. The Aggies are tops in the conference and second in the nation in field goal percentage defense (.330). Tova Sabel, a first-team All-Big West selection, leads UCD in scoring (15.2 ppg), while second-team honoree Megan Norris is averaging 11.1 points and 7.6 rebounds. Sabel (35) and Norris (52) have also combined for 87 blocks.

SERIES RECORDS
UC Irvine trails in its all-time series with UC Davis, 34-16, but has won the last four. The 'Eaters swept the regular-season series against the Aggies for the first time since 2014. They also defeated UCD, 53-39, in last year's Big West Championship game. UC Davis holds a slight 4-3 edge in postseason meetings.

LAST TIME OUT
UC Irvine closed out the regular season with a 62-49 win over UC Santa Barbara last Saturday at the Bren Events Center. The Anteaters caught fire in a 27-point third quarter where they went 7-of-9 from beyond the arc. Five of those triples came in the final three minutes as UCI quickly saw a two-point lead balloon to 14 by the end of the period. Déja Lee was the only 'Eater to reach double figures in a balanced scoring effort as she had a game-high 13 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists, while committing only one turnover. Lauryn Madsen went 3-for-6 from distance for nine points. Hunter Hernandez added seven points, eight boards and a career-high tying five assists. UCI finished with 16 assists on 21 made baskets and scored 29 points off 15 Gaucho turnovers.

DEFENSIVE IDENTITY
For the third-straight year, UCI is ranked among the top-15 in the nation in scoring defense. As of March 12, the Anteaters are 10th at 54.0 points allowed per game, while they also rank seventh in field goal percentage defense (35.2%). UCI has held its opponent to 60 points or less in 21 of its 30 games. In 2023-24, the 'Eaters closed out the campaign 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.

SETTING THE STANDARD
UC Irvine's "fab five" of Déja Lee, Hunter Hernandez, Amelia Scharpf, Nikki Tom and Olivia Williams came in together as freshmen in 2021-22 and proceeded to lead the Anteaters to the best four-year stretch in program history. Since their arrival, the 'Eaters have had four consecutive 20 win seasons (90-37 overall record), two WNIT bids with a first-round victory in 2023, and their first NCAA appearance in 29 years. They have hung two banners with a Big West regular-season championship in 2022-23 and a conference tournament title in 2023-24. Graduate student Nevaeh Dean has also been part of the success over the last three years, joining the team as a sophomore transfer prior to the historic 2022-23 campaign. Hernandez and Williams have one more year of eligibility after redshirting last season while working their way back from knee injuries.

LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
UC Irvine has become a powerhouse in The Big West. The 'Eaters have six consecutive top-two Big West finishes, 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 defending champion Anteaters have also advanced to the Big West finals three times in the last four years.

THE GOAT
Tamara Inoue has cemented her legacy as the most accomplished head coach in program history. On Feb. 27, Inoue earned her 159th career victory to pass Dean Andrea, who spent 13 years at the helm from 1979-1991, as UCI's all-time winningest head coach. Inoue has also 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 school records in both overall (25) and conference wins (16).

STEALING THE SHOW
Senior Nikki Tom broke the all-time school record that was set by Andee Ritter in 2019 with her 197th career steal, which came just one minute and 19 seconds into a 62-34 win over Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 27. Two days later, Tom had four takeaways at Long Beach State to make her the first 'Eater to surpass 200 career steals. 

1K FOR DJ
Senior Déja Lee became the 15th member of UC Irvine's 1,000-point club on a free throw with 17 seconds left in a 52-49 win at UC Davis on Feb. 1. She has since moved up to No. 10 in program history (1,095). Lee is the first 'Eater to accomplish the feat with all 1,000 points coming at UCI since Stephanie Duda in 2008. Transfers Diaba Konate '24 and Naomi Hunt '23 both scored 1,000 points in their collegiate careers that included three seasons at previous institutions. 

CONSISTENCY IS KEY
The Anteaters have used the same starting lineup in all but three games this season. Nevaeh Dean, Hunter Hernandez, Déja Lee, Nikki Tom and Olivia Williams have taken the court as the first five 27 times and UCI is 20-7 in those contests. Hernandez is the only one to have missed a start as she did not play in losses at New Mexico (Nov. 27) and at Denver (Nov. 30) due to an injury, and came off the bench last Saturday, March 8, to allow Amelia Scharpf to start on Senior Day.

CAN'T GUARD THEM ALL
Seven 'Eaters, including all five starters, have knocked down 15+ 3-pointers this season. Olivia Williams leads the way with a team-high 39 threes. Déja Lee also has 34 and Hunter Hernandez has 32. Nevaeh Dean (15) and Nikki Tom (15) round out the starting five, while Summah Hanson and Lauryn Madsen have buried 23 and 18 triples, respectively, off the bench. UCI made a season-high 14 3-pointers in a 100-56 win at CSUN on Feb. 20, while seven of their 10 triples in last Saturday's victory over UC Santa Barbara came in a 27-point third quarter.

ON THE HUNT
Junior Hunter Hernandez, who sat out the 2023-24 campaign recovering from a knee injury sustained on Feb. 15, 2023, earned her second career first-team All-Big West honor. She leads the team in scoring (13.0 ppg) and ranks second in rebounding (5.6 rpg). The 5-foot-9 guard recorded 10+ points in 21 of her 28 outings with a pair of 20-point performances. In a 72-55 win over William & Mary on Nov. 11, Hernandez poured in a career-high 29, while she also finished with 20 at Penn on Nov. 21. In addition, Hernandez has two double-doubles this season with 18 points/10 rebounds at Cal Poly (Jan. 18) and 16 points/11 rebounds against Long Beach State (Jan. 30). On Feb. 20, Hernandez was perfect from the floor, going 5-for-5 overall, 3-of-3 from deep and 2-for-2 at the free throw line for 15 points at CSUN.

STEADY HAND
Three-time All-Big West selection Déja Lee has continued to be a steady force in all facets of the game for the Anteaters as she is averaging 10.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.5 steals. Lee, who has reached double figures in scoring 19 times, had a season-best 20 points at New Mexico (Nov. 27) where she was 7-for-12 from the floor and 3-of-5 from distance. The 5-foot-9 point guard also pulled down a career-high nine rebounds at Cal State Bakersfield on Dec. 5, and dished out a season-best seven assists at CSUN on Feb. 20. Lee is second in program history in career steals (198) and ranks sixth in threes made (133).

MAKING IT COUNT
Sophomore Summah Hanson is tops on the squad in free throw percentage (90.9%). Hanson has missed only six free throws on 66 attempts this season. The 6-foot-3 forward made her first 12 foul shots of the year before sinking 16 consecutive FTs from Nov. 21-Dec. 15. Hanson was named the Big West's Best Sixth Player of the Year and earned UCI's lone 2024-25 Player of the Week award on Nov. 25, following a season-best 20-point, 10-rebound effort in an OT victory at Penn. In a win over Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 27, she recorded her second double-double with 13 points and 10 boards, while notching a career-best five blocks. Hanson enters the conference tournament ranked second on the team in rebounding (5.5 rpg) and third in scoring (8.7 ppg).

IRON WOMAN
Senior Nikki Tom has played in every game since her arrival at UC Irvine in 2021-22. Her 127 appearances, 104 starts and 3,698 minutes are the most among UCI's all-time leaders. This year, Tom ranks first on the team in steals (46) and second in assists (69). The Fresno, California, native also has three double-figure scoring games, all of which came in Big West play.

THREE-POINT THREAT
Junior Olivia Williams is tops on the squad in 3-pointers made (39) and ranks second in efficiency at 34.2%. She has knocked down multiple threes on 13 occasions with a career-high tying four vs. Saint Mary's (4-6) and at New Mexico (4-7). Williams' start in the season opener on Nov. 4 was her first game since suffering a knee injury in the opening quarter at Hawai'i on Jan. 19, 2023. The 6-foot-1 guard, who is averaging 7.7 ppg, has reached double figures in scoring 10 times, including three-straight from Jan. 2-9. She finished with a career-high 18 points at UNM on Nov. 27.

DEAN DELIVERS
Graduate student Nevaeh Dean is averaging a career-best 5.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. She has pulled down 5+ boards 15 times with a career-high 10 in a 56-49 win at UC San Diego on Feb. 8. She also has a team-leading 31 blocks. Offensively, Dean owns three double-figure scoring games with a season-best 11 points at Drexel (Nov. 20), 10 vs. Saint Mary's (Nov. 16) and 10 vs. UCSD (Jan. 11). In those three contests, the 6-foot-2 forward combined to go 15-for-25 (60%) from the field. Dean has started 93 of 94 games played in her three years at UC Irvine. She transferred to UCI from Cincinnati prior to the 2022-23 season. 

REIGNING CHAMPS
In 2023-24, UC Irvine won the second conference tournament title in program history, and first in 29 years. The second-seeded Anteaters received a double-bye into the semifinals where they defeated No. 7 seed Long Beach State, 69-57. They then took down fifth-seeded UC Davis, 53-39, in the final. The 'Eaters earned the conference's NCAA automatic bid, marking their third-straight national postseason tournament appearance, and fifth overall. UCI also made it to the 2023 WNIT (second round), 2022 WNIT (first round), 2018 Women's Basketball Invitational (first round) and 1995 NCAA Tournament (first round).

UP NEXT
The two semifinal winners will advance to the Big West championship game on Saturday, March 15. Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Lee's Family Forum.