Nov. 25, 2009

UCI STARTS FOUR-GAME HOMESTAND WITH PRINCETON: The UC Irvine women’s basketball team will begin a four-game homestand taking on Princeton Friday (Nov. 27) at 2:00 p.m. in the Bren Events Center. UCI will then entertain South Florida Monday (Nov. 30) at 5:00 p.m.

Next week, UCI will also host Fresno State Thursday (Dec. 3) and Seattle Saturday (Dec. 5) before taking a week off for finals.

CLASH OF THE CANS: UCI is offering free admission to the Princeton and South Florida games for anyone bringing two canned goods as part of UCI’s Clash of the Cans competition with Long Beach State. The competition runs from Nov. 2 through Dec. 18 and is another opportunity for bragging rights in the "Black and Blue" rivalry series which challenges each campus to donate the most food by weight to the Orange County Food Bank. For other donations, fans can pick up a "Clash of the Cans" collection bag at the main Parking office on the UCI campus or drive through any of the parking kiosks. You may also email fooddrive@pts.uci.edu to arrange for bag delivery.

VERSUS PRINCETON: This will be the first meeting between the two schools. Princeton has opened the year with a 3-0 record, the program's best start in 14 years, with wins over Stony Brook, American and Delaware. The Tigers will take on UCLA Wednesday before heading to Irvine.

VERSUS SOUTH FLORIDA: South Florida, the defending WNIT champions, is 2-2 overall and will participate in the Courtyard by Marriott L.A. Thanksgiving Classic hosted by LMU Nov. 27-28 prior to coming to the Bren Center. This will be the first meeting with the Bulls.

ANTEATERS COME UP SHORT AT CAL STATE BAKERSFIELD: The Anteaters rallied but came up short as UCI suffered a 77-75 loss against Cal State Bakersfield Monday at the Don Icardo Center.

UCI's 75 points was a season-high and the most points an Anteater team has scored since a 76-64 victory over Long Beach State on Feb. 2, 2008.

The Anteaters out-rebounded an opponent for the first time this season, topping the Roadrunners, 51-37 on the glass.

UCI was led by Kim Barnes with a career-high 20 points, while freshman Jazmyne White would also notch a career-best with 13 points off the bench. Junior guard Jade Smith-Williams added 15 points and a career-high seven assists. Rebecca Maessen and Lauren Spinazze would each record seven points. Sophomore Kiara Belen had six points in her season debut. Belen, White and Maessen each grabbed a team-best eight rebounds.

PUTTING THE BALL IN THE HOOP: UCI is averaging 59.5 points per game this year after managing just 49.5 year ago. UCI has scored more than 65 points twice this year, while only doing it five times over 30 games in 2008-09.

SMITH-WILLIAMS IMPACT: Junior transfer Jade Smith-Williams has made an immediate impact on the team, leading the Anteaters in scoring with a 14.5 point average. She also tops the squad in assists with a 5.8 mark. Smith-Williams has recorded double-figure points in each of the first four game, leading UCI in scoring on two occasions. She is second on the team in three-pointers with five and is the team’s best from the free throw line at .895.

FRESHMAN CONTRIBUTIONS: Freshman Jazmyne White and Lauren Spinazze have been solid additions to the Anteater squad. White leads the team in rebounding with a 6.0 average and is fourth in scoring with a 6.8 average. Spinazze leads the team in three-pointers with six and is third in scoring at 7.8. White has grabbed five or more rebounds in each game this year while Spinazze has recorded at least six points and at least one three-pointer in all four games.