UC Irvine On The Road This Week
Feb. 10, 2010
UCI ON THE ROAD THIS WEEK: The UC Irvine women’s basketball team (8-15, 5-5) will travel to Cal State Fullerton Wednesday (Feb. 10) for a 7:00 p.m. game at Titan Gym then head to UC Davis Saturday (Feb. 13) for a 7:00 p.m. at the Pavilion.
VERSUS THE OPPONENTS: UCI trails both Cal State Fullerton (29-28) and UC Davis (1-13).
Cal State Fullerton is 10-13 overall and tied with UCI in the Big West standings at 5-5. The Anteaters and Titans met 11 days ago with UCI winning 73-65. Mikah Maly-Karros recorded a game-high 28 points and 14 rebounds in 28 minutes of action, while guards Jade Smith-Williams and Rebecca Maessen each added 14 points. Smith-Williams also totaled a game-high nine assists, which ties her career-high. Cal State Fullerton was led by Jasmine Scott with 18 points and six rebounds followed by Lyndsey Grove with 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds.
The teams combined for 59 fouls with UCI going 35-45 from the free throw line and the Titans hitting 24-30. It was the second highest made and attempted from the charity stripe by the Anteaters this year.
The Aggies, who have won the last eight straight against UCI, are 15-7 overall and 7-2 in the Big West. The Aggies will host Pacific Thursday before entertaining the Anteaters. UCI’s lone win against UC Davis came on Jan. 4, 2006 when the Anteaters topped the Aggies, 79-72 in Davis.
UC Davis dealt UCI its worst Big West loss of the season with a 77-44 victory in Irvine. Davis is the only Big West team UCI has not held a second half lead. Maessen was the only Anteater player in double-figure points with 11. Maly Karros was held to a season-low four points.
UC Davis had a balanced attack as all 10 players scored at least two points and grabbed at least one rebound. Kasey Riecks led all players with 17 points followed by Haylee Donaghe with 12 points and Cortney French with 10 points. For the game, UC Davis’ bench out-scored UCI’s 33-12. The Aggies were 8-16 from three-point range and 25-32 from the free throw line. UCI managed just one three (1-11) and only got the line 12 times (9-12).
LAST TIME OUT: Last week, UCI dropped its only game in a 78-72 overtime non-conference loss to Cal State Bakersfield. The Roadrunners hit the three-pointer with 40 seconds to go in regulation to tie the game and force overtime where the Roadrunners out-scored UCI 13-7. Bakersfield hit 9-12 from the free throw line, while UCI managed seven points on 3-8 shooting from the floor and hit just one of two free throws.
Mikah Maly-Karros posted her 10th double-double of the year with a game-high 24 points and a career-tying 17 rebounds. The sophomore forward also had four blocked shots before fouling out of the game with 2:25 to play in regulation. Guard Rebecca Maessen had 18 points, including 15 in the first half and six rebounds. Freshman Jazmyne White pulled down 11 rebounds, while freshman Cheyenne Cathey had a career-high eight points off the bench.
NO NOT THE ROAD: The Anteaters average 63.2 points at home compared to just 59.6 on the road where they are 2-9 this year. UCI is 6-6 at home this year, winning six of their last eight games in Irvine.
PUTTIN IT IN THE HOOP: The Anteaters have averaged 71.5 points per outing over the last three games. UCI is averaging 61.5 points per game overall this year after managing just 49.5 a year ago. UCI has scored more than 60 points 14 times this year, while only doing it six times over 30 games in 2008-09.
MALY-KARROS LEADS: Sophomore Mikah-Maly Karros leads the Big West and ranks 21st in the nation in double-doubles with 10. She leads UCI with an 18.9 scoring and 12.0 rebound average. She holds the Big West top mark for points (35), rebounds (17), field goals attempted (25), free throws made (16) and attempted (23) in a game. Maly-Karros does not show up in the Big West overall statistics until she plays in 75% of the teams games, but she ranks second in scoring in league games only with a 18.5 mark and leads the conference in rebounding with a 12.2 average.
AT THE LINE: Both Mikah-Maly Karros (91) and Jade Smith-Williams (90) are nearing the Top 10 in UCI season free throws made. Currently Maree Vincent (2000-01) holds the 10th spot with 102. In league-only games, UCI ranks second among Big West teams with a .729 mark behind Cal State Fullerton (.744).
PROTECTING THE ARC: UCI leads the Big West in three-point defense holding opponents to a .304 mark. On the flip side, UCI is the worst three-point shooting team, making just .270 (70-259).
ON THE BOARDS: UCI has out-rebounded the last six opponents and have controlled the glass in nine of the last 11 games. The Anteaters average 37.6 rebounds as opponents grab 39.1 caroms per game. In Big West games only, UCI ranks first in offensive rebounds, pulling down 16.70 per game.
BIG WEST CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Feb. 8)
TEAM BIG WEST OVERALL
Cal Poly 8-2 .800 15-7 .682
UC Davis 7-2 .778 15-7 .682
UC Riverside 7-3 .700 10-13 .435
Long Beach State 5-4 .556 9-13 .409
Cal State Fullerton 5-5 .500 10-13 .435
UC Santa Barbara 5-5 .500 8-14 .364
UC Irvine 5-5 .500 8-15 .348
Cal State Northridge 1-9 .100 3-17 .150
Pacific 1-9 .100 3-18 .143
