March 9, 2009

UC Irvine Big West Tournament Central

ANTEATERS MEET TITANS AT BIG WEST TOURNAMENT: Seventh-seeded UC Irvine (7-22, 4-12) will face six-seed Cal State Fullerton Wednesday (Mar. 11) at approximately 2:30 p.m. at the Anaheim Convention Center.

LONG TIME NO SEE: The Anteaters beat the Titans, 67-59 last Saturday at the Bren Center to qualify for the Big West Tournament. UCI’s 67 points was the third highest offensive output this season. UCI shot a season-high 51 percent from the floor (24-47) and out-rebounded the Titans 43-29. All eight Anteaters that played scored at least four points and grabbed at least three rebounds.

Sophomore Kim Barnes poured in a career-high 18 points in 20 minutes of action. Kelly Cochran pulled down a game and season-high 13 rebounds to go with 12 points. Ka’Jahna Johnson added a career-high eight points. Toni Thomas paced the Titans with 14 point followed by Megan Richardson with 11 points.

The Titans won the first meeting of the year 76-49 in the Big West opener. It was the largest margin of victory for the Titans in the all-time series.

In the first meeting, Rebecca Maessen scored a game-high 17 points, the only Anteater to reach double-figures. Toni Thomas and Lyndsey Grove scored a team-high 14 points to lead Cal State Fullerton, while Ashley Ritchie added 10 points off the bench. Ten of the 14 Titans that saw action scored at least two points. The Titan bench scored 50 points, while the Anteaters had just 18 from non-starters.

AT THE TOURNAMENT: UCI is 11-19 all-time at the Big West Tournament, going 2-7 since the tournament has been held in Anaheim. This will be the fourth meeting against Cal State Fullerton in the post-season with UCI holding the slight 2-1 edge. The last meeting between the two schools was an Anteater victory, 69-67 in the semifinals of the 1995 tournament which UCI went on to win.  The Anteaters have lost in the first round the last three years.

ON THE RECORD: UCI is 7-22 overall and ended the regular season with a 4-12 Big West record, a one game improvement over last year’s league total.

The Anteaters are 5-10 away from the Bren Center and just 2-11 at home this year. They are 0-1 on a neutral court this season.

MAESSEN NAMED ALL-BIG WEST HONORABLE MENTOIN: Junior guard Rebecca Maessen earned All-Big West Honorable Mention distinction this season.

Maessen leads the Anteaters with a 12.9 scoring average. She is ranked seventh in the Big West in scoring, ninth in three-point field goal percentage (.363)), ninth in three-pointers made (1.32) and 10^th in offensive rebounds (1.86).

COCHRAN COMES ALIVE: Forward Kelly Cochran has averaged 12.3 points and 9.3 rebounds over the last three games. In that span, she is shooting .545 (12-22) from the floor and has swatted five blocks. For the year, the senior is averaging 6.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. She recorded her first double-double of the year with 12 points and 13 rebounds against the Titans. The 13 boards were the second most for the Anteaters this season.

ISHIZAKI DOTS THREE-POINT LISTS: Kirian Ishizaki is tied for 10^th place on UCI’s all-time three-pointers made list with 73 and is eighth in three-pointers attempted with (245).

ON THE BOARDS: UCI out-rebounded the last four opponents and have been better on the glass nine of the last 12 games. The Anteaters are averaging 35.1 rebounds per game overall.

SHARING THE ROCK: UCI had a season-high 15 assists versus Cal State Fullerton last Saturday. The Anteaters have

averaged 12.0 assists over the last three games, but rank last in the Big West with a 9.4 average overall.