Riverside–The UC Riverside Women's Basketball Team begins defense of its 2016 Big West regular season championship Saturday, when they host UC Irvine at 5 pm PT in the SRC Arena.
The Highlanders went 16-0 in conference play last season, but were upset in the semifinals of the Big West tournament. Their perfect run through league competition was the first by any team in the conference since UC Santa Barbara ran the table in the 2001-02 season.
In the Highlanders' non-conference finale, they got career-highs from Malou De Kergret (16) and Skyler Lewis (14), but fell, 71-55, to Penn, who drained 12 three-pointers Monday evening (
box score /
recap).
Réjane Vérin averages team-highs of 16.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 1.1 blocks per game. The senior form Guadeloupe has tallied 19 assists and just four turnovers over her last four games–a 4.75-to-1 assist to turnover ratio.
Point guard Simone DeCoud is second on the squad at 12.7 points, and 6.8 rebounds, and nabs a team-best 2.0 steals per contest.
Lauren Holt, who missed the last game with an illness, rounds out a trio of Highlanders scoring in double figures on the season at 11.6 a night. She has connected on eight of her last 18 three-point attempts, 42.8 percent.
The Highlanders lead the league with 16.6 assists per game, and 36.3 percent shooting from long distance.
UC Irvine dropped its Big West at home to UC Davis, 89-48, Thursday night. Sabrina Engelstand led the team with 16 points in the loss as the only 'Eater in double figures. They were held to 32.1 percent shooting, and outrebounded 52 to 29.
The Anteaters have a pair of six-game losing streak this season. They ended the second one last week with a, 92-61, victory over DII Concordia at the Bren Events Center. UC Irvine started off the season 0-6, before knocking off Nevada for their first win of the year.
Shereen Sutherland's 12.0 points and 6.9 rebounds a game pace the 'Eaters, who also get 11.2 points a game from Engelstand, and 10.3 from Andee Ritter.
Ritter leads the Big West in steals averaging 2.3 a game, just ahead of teammate Brooke Bayman at 2.0 per contest in third.
The Highlanders and Anteaters have three opponents in common this season– LMU, CSU Bakersfield, and USC. UC Irvine lost all three games to that trio, while UC Riverside beat the Lions and Roadrunners, and fell to USC.
Saturday's match-up will mark the second year in a row that UCR has opened conference play at home against UC Irvine. Last year's season opener, which also took place on January 7 (Thursday), saw the Highlanders cruise to a, 93-69, victory (
box score /
recap).
