Tempe, AZ—The UC Riverside Women's Basketball Team (1-6) plays the final two of its season-long seven game road trip at the ASU Classic this weekend, beginning with UNLV (4-1) on Saturday at 10:30 am PT.
Depending on how the first day plays out, the Highlanders will then close things out on Sunday against either Buffalo (4-1) at 11:00 am PT or tournament host Arizona State (5-2) at 1:30 pm.
GAME NOTES
PAC-12 FINALE
UC Riverside battled from start to finish on Tuesday at No. 7 UCLA, but fell to a talented Bruin team, 68-48. Senior guard Michelle Curry returned from a one-game absence to score a team-high 15 points (7-16 FG). The Highlanders held the home side under its season-averages in scoring and field goal percentage, becoming just the third team this season to keep the Bruins under 70 points.
CLEANING UP THE ACT
Two days after giving up a Division I program record 42 free throw attempts to Sacramento State, the Highlanders held UCLA to just seven free throws on 11 attempts, both season-lows for an opponent. UCR went 7-for-10 at the line itself, marking the first time it has matched an opponent in made free throws this season.
SHE'S ON THE LIST
Lauren Holt was named to the Nugget Classic All-Tournament Team this past Sunday after posting averages of 18 points, four rebounds, and 1.5 steals per game on 53.8 percent (14-26 FG) from the field and 36.4 percent (4-11 3FG) on threes. The 22 points tied a UCR career-high for Holt, making it seven 20-point performances for her since the start of last season, second only to Réjane Vérin (9).
CHEF CURRY
Michelle Curry leads UC Riverside in scoring (11.2 ppg), and free throws made and attempted (15-of-21). The Highlanders' sole win this season came in Curry's most efficient performance of the season, as she went for 15 points (7-12 FG), six rebounds and three assists in a 68-56 victory over Fresno State on Nov. 19. Curry has scored 12 or more points in 14 of her last 16 outings dating back to last season.
DEFENDING THE TOP-25
UCR has had two top-25 opponents this season: No. 14 Stanford on Nov. 17 and No. 7 UCLA on Nov. 28. After entering the game averaging 80.5 points per game, the Bruins were held to 68 points by the Highlanders. Stanford scored just 53 points—a mark which ranks as the second-fewest points allowed against a top-25 team in program history. The only time UC Riverside allowed fewer points against a nationally ranked opponent was in a 50-47 win over No. 16 Vanderbilt on Dec. 6, 2008.
FIRST QUARTER WOES
The Highlanders have had their troubles in the opening ten minutes of games, as they have entered the second quarter trailing by double-digits in five of seven games. UC Riverside avoided the early double-digit deficit at No. 7 UCLA on Nov. 28, and won its only game this season after leading Fresno State 13-11 through one on Nov. 19.
SHE DID WHAT?
Redshirt sophomore forward Skyler Lewis has both of UC Riverside's double-doubles this season, good for second-most in the Big West entering the week. Her first double-double of the season came in the Highlanders' first win at Fresno State on Nov. 19, as she put up 20 points (8-13 FG) and 15 rebounds—both career-highs—while adding season-highs of three blocks and two assists.
SKYLER'S HISTORIC STATLINE
Lewis' dominant performance against the Bulldogs was the program's 25th 15-rebound game, and its tenth 20 point-15 rebound double-double. It also made her the only Highlander not named Kemie Nkele to have a game with 20 points, 15 rebounds and three blocks.
DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE
Despite giving up 99 points to Sacramento State on Nov. 26—tied for the most points allowed in UCR's Division I era—the Highlanders still rank fourth in the Big West in scoring defense (68.6 ppg), first in opponent three-point percentage (.265), and second in opponent field goal percentage (.383). The program's all-time season-lows for opponent field goal and three-point percentage are 36.1 percent and 29.4 percent, respectively, both set in the 2006-07 season.
FREE THROW DISPARITY
UC Riverside has struggled to keep opposing teams off the free throw line this season, currently allowing 25.0 free throw attempts—which would set a new single-season record—and 16.9 free throw makes per game. The Highlanders have attempted less free throws this season (100) than their opponents have made (118).
BLOCK PARTY
The Highlanders rank third in the Big West in blocks per game (3.9 bpg), thanks in large part to the frontcourt duo of Skyler Lewis and Marina Ewodo, who are both tied for eighth in the conference averaging one swat per night. Ewodo is averaging 1.4 blocks per game through her last five outings.
R' HOUSE
UC Riverside began the year with a pair of games at SRC Arena, where it has gone 30-11 since the 2014-15 season. The Highlanders' next game will be the sixth of seven straight on the road. From Nov. 17-Dec. 22, UCR will play 11 games, only one of which will be at home.
ROADS OF THE RECENT PAST
Since 2015-16, UCR has a .488 record in contests played outside of SRC Arena, going 20-22 in away and neutral games combined.
DAZZLING DEBUT
Jannon Otto's 13 points in her UC Riverside debut are the second-most of any Highlander currently on the roster. Lauren Holt scored 22 points in her first game with the team against San Diego State on Nov. 11, 2016.
LOOK BACK TO LAST YEAR
The Highlanders qualified for postseason play for the third consecutive season in 2016-17, after posting a 16-15 overall record and 9-7 mark in Big West play to take the No. 5 seed into the Big West Tournament. UCR went on to defeat UC Irvine 92-60 in the First Round, setting a new program postseason record for single-game points, and ending a five-year drought with its first playoff win since 2011.
SOCRATES, PLATO, ARISTOTLE, MARGARITIS
Last year's Big West 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 in 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.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The Highlanders have 30 regular season games on their schedule this year, 18 of which will be played on the road. The remaining confirmed non-conference road matchups include UNLV (Dec. 2), Iowa State (Dec. 17), South Dakota (Dec. 19) and Minnesota (Dec. 22).
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 team 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).
ADD 'EM UP
Michelle Curry needs just 70 points to become the 18th player in program history to reach 1,000 career points. She is also 11 assists and 4 free throws away from cracking the program's top-10 all-time in both categories.
HOLT HAS RANGE
Lauren Holt connected on 57-of-149 three-pointers last year, making the most threes of any Highlander in their debut season. That mark stands at No. 6 in program history for a single season, while her career 36.3 three-point percentage as a Highlander ranks fourth all-time.
ALL-CONFERENCE, ALL DAY
UC Riverside had at least four players named to the various All-Big West teams for the third consecutive year last season—something it had never done before. Michelle Curry (Honorable Mention) earned her third career all-conference selection, while Lauren Holt (Honorable Mention) and Skyler Lewis (All-Freshman) were both honored in their first seasons in the conference.
TOP QUARTER SCORERS
The NCAA switched from halves to quarters in the 2015-16 season. The Highlanders' single-quarter scoring highs for team and player this season both came against Sacramento State on Nov. 26. UCR scored 31 points in the fourth quarter, including 14 points from Lauren Holt. Below are UC Riverside's top team and individual scoring performances in a quarter.
To view this game's complete Game Notes in PDF form, click here.
