Jan. 25, 2010

UCI TRAVELS TO PACIFIC; ENTERTAINS FULLERTON: The UC Irvine women’s basketball team (6-14, 3-5) will travel to Pacific Wednesday (Jan. 27) for a 7:00 p.m. game at the A.G. Spanos Center before returning home to host Cal State Fullerton Saturday (Jan. 30) at 4:00 p.m. at the Bren Center.

VERSUS THE OPPONENTS: UCI trails both Pacific (31-25) and Cal State Fullerton (29-27) in the series records.

UCI defeated UOP, 68-57 in the first meeting of the year in Irvine earlier this month. The Anteaters shot 50 percent from the floor in the second half, going 13-26 from the field in the final 20 minutes and out-scoring Pacific 38-27 after being tied 30-30 at the intermission. 25 of the Anteaters’ 68 points came off of Tiger turnovers.

Guard Jade Smith-Williams led UCI with 17 points and six assists, while guards Rebecca Maessen and Keyonna Johnson each recorded 14 points, which was a career-high for Johnson. Forward Mikah Maly-Karros had 12 points and 12 rebounds off of the bench. Freshman forward Jazmyne White tied her career-high with 11 rebounds to go with seven points and four steals.   Pacific’s Christina Thompson came off the bench to record a game-high 18 points, going 6-9 from the floor and 6-11 from the line. Eliza Dy also came off the bench and added 12 points. UOP starters accounted for just 18 points, including eight by Erica McKenzie. The Tigers are 3-14 overall and 1-5 in the Big West. UOP is coming off of a 68-59 overtime loss at league-leading UC Davis.

CSUF enters the week 8-11 overall and 4-3 in the Big West. Fullerton will host Seattle in a non-conference game Wednesday before heading to the Bren Center. The teams split a pair of regular season games last year, but the Titans won a first round match-up at the Big West Tournament, 61-43.

BIG WEST CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Jan. 25)

TEAM                        BIG WEST     OVERALL

UC Davis                   5-1     .833     13-6   .684

Cal Poly                     5-2     .714     12-6   .667

UC Riverside             4-2     .667     7-12   .368

Cal State Fullerton     4-3     .571     8-11   .421

Long Beach State     3-3     .500     7-12   .368

UC Santa Barbara     3-3     .500     6-12   .333

UC Irvine                    3-5     .375     6-14   .300

Cal State Northridge  1-5     .167     3-13   .188

Pacific                                 1-5       .167  3-14       .177

NATIONAL GIRLS AND WOMEN IN SPORTS DAY SATURDAY: On Saturday, UC Irvine Athletics will hold a free health and fitness clinic for girls in celebration of the national initiative, Girls and Women in Sports Day.  The event will feature instructional clinics in soccer, golf, basketball, volleyball and cheer taught by UC Irvine's own intercollegiate athletes from 11:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. After the clinic, registrants will be treated to free admission to the women’s basketball game. The clinic will also include a free goodie bag, lunch, and a t-shirt. Registration for the event is free of charge and open to girls ages 12 and under.  Contact Edie Gobel for more information at 949-824-7587. Since its inception in 1987, National Girls and Women in Sports Day has sought to celebrate the achievements and legacy of women athletes while encouraging participation of girls and women in sports. UC Irvine Athletics continues its dedication to be a positive force within the Orange County community in helping girls and women experience sport and fitness activities.

SO CLOSE: UCI has held a second half lead in seven of its eight Big West games. Opponents have out-scored the Anteaters 770-637 in the final 20 minutes.

HOME SWEET HOME: UCI is 5-5 at home this year, but just 1-9 on the road. The Anteaters have won five of their last six games at home.

SMITH-WILLIAMS POSTS CAREER-HIGH 33 AGAINST LONG BEACH: Junior guard Jade Smith-Williams led UCI to a 68-61 victory over Long Beach State last Thursday at the Bren Center.

Smith-Williams was 9-14 from the floor, including 5-9 from three-point range and 10-10 from the free throw line for her career and game-high 33 points. The 33 points is the second most in the Big West this season.  She was clutch from the line going 8-8 from the charity stripe in the last two minutes.

The Anteaters led by 13 with 10:33 to play, but went scoreless for over five minutes and watch LBSU tie the game at 51-51. Smith-Williams stopped the draught with a pair of free throws at 5:08 to regain a 53-51 cushion and the Anteaters would never trail again, out-scoring the Forty-Niners 15-10 to end the game.

LATE SURGE LEADS HIGHLANDERS PAST UCI: UC Riverside out-scored UCI 24-4 in the final eight minutes to erase a nine-point lead and go onto a 64-53 victory.

The Highlanders shot 76 percent from the floor in the second half and scored 47 points, which is tied for second most the Anteaters have given up this season. Mikah Maly-Karros led UCI with 21 points and 12 rebounds. She was 11-13 from the free throw line. Rebecca Maessen had 13 points all in the second half, going 7-7 from the line. UCI did not hit a three-pointer for the first time this year.

MALY-KARROS LEADS CONFERENCE IN DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Sophomore Mikah-Maly Karros leads the Big West in double-doubles with seven. She leads UCI with a 16.4 scoring and 11.0 rebound average. The forward pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds versus UC Santa Barbara which is the most in the Big West this season. Maly-Karros does not show up in the Big West overall statistics until she plays in 75% of the teams games, but she ranks fourth in scoring in league games only with a 15.3 mark and leads the conference in rebounding with a 11.4 average.