Saturday, November 4
Riverside, CA
6:00 PM
UC Riverside
vs
California Baptist University (Exhibition)
Photo by: Carlos Puma
Women's Basketball Hosts California Baptist University Saturday For Final Preseason Game
11/3/2017 4:58:00 PM | Women's Basketball
| 2017-18 Women's Basketball Exhibition #2 Highlanders vs Lancers |
| Saturday, November 4 @ 6Â pm PT |
| at SRC Arena |
| Â Live Stats |
Riverside—The UC Riverside Women's Basketball Team closes out its 2017 preseason schedule with a home exhibition against California Baptist University this Saturday, November 4. Tip-off at the SRC Arena is set for 6 pm PT.
GAME NOTES
ONE DOWN, ONE TO GO
The Highlanders defeated Cal State San Marcos 67-64 in their first exhibition game on October 25, using a 9-0 run to hold off a late surge by the Cougars. UC Riverside had three double-digit scorers on the day, led by seniors Lauren Holt and Michelle Curry, who scored 18 and 15 points respectively, while combining to shoot 12-for-24 on the night. Junior forward Malou Thiebaut De Kergret added 13 points on 6-of-16 from the field.
After a sluggish start for both teams, UC Riverside got hot out of the halftime break, knocking down 10-of-20 from the field en route to 22 third quarter points. The Highlanders had a dominant night on the glass, enjoying a 21-6 advantage on offensive rebounds and outrebounding the Cougars 53-34 overall. Redshirt sophomore forward Skyler Lewis nabbed 16 boards to lead the way.
LOOK BACK TO LAST YEAR
UC Riverside qualified for postseason play for the third consecutive season in 2016-17, after posting a 16-15 overall record and 9-7 Big West mark to take the No. 5 seed into the Big West Tournament. The Highlanders went on to defeat UC Irvine 92-60 in the Big West Tournament First Round, setting a new program postseason record for single-game points, and ending a five-year drought with their first playoff win since 2011.
SOCRATES, PLATO, ARISTOTLE, MARGARITIS
The tournament win over UC Irvine was Head Coach John Margaritis' 200th victory with the program, making him just the fourth Big West coach ever to reach 200 wins. Now entering his 14th season with the team, Margaritis will look to add to his six combined NCAA Tournament and WNIT appearances, three Big West Tournament titles and two Big West Conference regular season titles—all of which are program records.
FOUR IN, FOUR OUT
After the departure of four players from last year's roster—including leading scorers Réjane Vérin and Simone Decoud—the Highlanders bring four new faces to the court for 2017-18. They are redshirt freshman Halle Sam-Boudreau (Oak Hills HS), and true freshmen Tianna Eaton (Rowland HS), Keilanei Cooper (Vista Murrieta HS), and Daphne Gnago (Insep Scolarité, France).
WHO STEPS IT UP?
The Highlanders will need to replace a large chunk of their scoring this season, as Vérin and Decoud's 29.4 combined ppg last year accounted for nearly 40 percent of the team's total offense. Current senior guards Lauren Holt (12.1 ppg) and Michelle Curry (10.7 ppg)Â were the team's third and fourth-leading scorers, respectively, last season. Both Holt and Curry were named Big West Honorable Mention following the 2016-17 campaign.
BEGINNING AT HOME
This Saturday, the Highlanders play the second of four straight home games to begin the year. Following this weekend's preseason finale, UC Riverside will then open its 2017-18 regular season against Loyola Marymount on Friday, Nov. 10, and USC on Monday, Nov. 13.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Despite the early home games, the Highlanders will play ten of their first 13 regular season games on the road. Notable non-conference road opponents include Stanford (Nov. 17), Fresno State (Nov. 19), UCLA (Nov. 28), UNLV (Dec. 2), and Iowa State (Dec. 17). In 2016-17, UC Riverside had an 8-5 record in home games, compared to 7-9 on the road.
PRESEASON POLL
Coming off a year in which UC Riverside had the fourth-best overall record in the conference at 16-15, the Highlanders were predicted to finish 5th in this year's Preseason Coaches Poll, and 6th in the Media Poll.
Â
| 2017-18Â Preseason Coaches Poll | ||
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1 | UC Davis (6) | 77 |
| 2 | CSUN (2) | 69 |
| 3 | UC Santa Barbara | 63 |
| 4 | Hawai'i | 49 |
| 5 | UC Riverside | 46 |
| 6 | Cal Poly (1) | 44 |
| 7 | Long Beach State | 25 |
| 8 | UC Irvine | 24 |
| 9 | Cal State Fullerton | 9 |
| ( ) First-place votes | ||
| 2017-18Â Preseason Media Poll | ||
| Rank | Team | Points |
| 1 | UC Davis (16) | 166 |
| 2 | CSUN (2) | 148 |
| 3 | UC Santa Barbara | 112 |
| T4 | Hawai'i | 98 |
| T4 | Cal Poly | 98 |
| 6 | UC Riverside | 91 |
| 7 | Long Beach State (1) | 81 |
| 8 | UC Irvine | 37 |
| 9 | Cal State Fullerton | 24 |
| ( ) First-place votes | ||
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UCR Athletics Director Introductory Full Press Conference
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