California Irvine Athletics

WBIT Bracket

IRVINE, Calif. - UC Irvine has been selected for the 2026 Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT), and will travel to San Diego State for a first-round game on Thursday, March 19. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. at the University of San Diego's Jenny Craig Pavilion. SDSU's Viejas Arena is unavailable as it is hosting the first two rounds of the men's NCAA Tournament.
 
The Anteaters (26-6, 17-3 Big West) won their second Big West regular-season title in four years. This will be their first appearance in the WBIT, which is in its third year.
 
It has been a historic season for UCI, which set school records in both overall (26) and conference (17) wins. The 'Eaters are led by senior Hunter Hernandez, who was named the Big West Player of the Year. Hernandez is UC Irvine's all-time single-season leader with 636 total points (19.9 ppg). She has scored 20+ in each of her last four outings, including a program-record tying 41 at Cal Poly on March 5.
 
Senior transfer Jada Wynn took home Big West Newcomer of the Year honors, while Tamara Inoue collected her second career Big West Coach of the Year award. Wynn has registered 15.1 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. Wynn and Hernandez were also first-team all-conference selections.
 
San Diego State (25-5, 19-1 MWC) won the Mountain West Conference regular season championship. Stacie Terry-Hutson, who was tabbed the league's Coach of the Year, has led the Aztecs to their second-straight 25-win season. Nala Williams was named the Mountain West Player of the Year and Kaelyn Hamilton earned the Sixth Player of the Year award. Williams is averaging 10.2 points and 4.1 assists per outing, while all-conference selection Naomi Panganiban owns a team-best 14.4 points per contest.
 
This will be the 31st meeting between the two teams with SDSU holding a 21-9 advantage in the all-time series. In their most recent match-up, the Anteaters defeated the Aztecs, 55-45, at Viejas Arena in the first round of the 2023 WNIT (March 17, 2023).
 
UCI is set to make its sixth postseason appearance, and fifth under head coach Tamara Inoue. The 'Eaters previously advanced to the NCAA Tournament (1995, 2024), the WNIT (2022, 2023), and the Women's Basketball Invitational (2018).