Riverside, CA—The UC Riverside Women's Basketball Team (2-7) returns home from a seven-game road trip to face CSU Bakersfield (3-4) this Wednesday at 11:00 am PT at SRC Arena.
GAME NOTES
ASU CLASSIC RECAP
UC Riverside split a pair of games at the ASU Classic, downing UNLV 95-88 before falling to the host Sun Devils in the championship game, 73-48. Senior guard Michelle Curry was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 21.5 points, nine assists and six rebounds per game on 51.9 percent (14-27 FG) shooting.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
UC Riverside defeated UNLV, 95-88 on Saturday, Dec. 2, posting the third-highest scoring total in the Highlanders' Division I era. UCR shot 59.3 percent (35-59 FG) for the game and tallied 29 assists, good for the fourth-highest field goal percentage and seventh-most assists in the program's single-game history. Lauren Holt (28) and Michelle Curry (27) became the first Highlander tandem with 25 points apiece since Brittany Crain (30) and Réjane Vérin (25) at UC Davis on Feb. 20, 2016.
CHEF CURRY
Michelle Curry notched her sixth career double-double against UNLV, setting career-highs with 28 points (9-16 FG) and 12 assists. Nine of those assists came in the first half alone. Curry is the team's leadings scorer (13.8 ppg)—having scored at least 15 points in six of her last seven appearances—and ranks second in the Big West in free throws made (29).
CASHING OUT
One week after being named to the Nugget Classic All-Tournament Team, redshirt senior guard Lauren Holt stayed hot on the offensive end, putting up a career-high 28 points (10-16 FG) and a season-high five assists against UNLV. Holt now has eight 20-point performances since the start of last season—most of any current Highlander—and has 12 of UCR's 28 three-pointers this season.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE
Redshirt sophomore forward Skyler Lewis just missed out on what would have been her fourth double-double of the season at Arizona State on Dec. 3, finishing with eight points and 10 rebounds. She is tied for first in the Big West in double-doubles (3) and ranks third in rebounds (8.4 rpg).
ADD 'EM UP
With 12 assists and and an 8-for-9 (.889) free throw mark against UNLV, Curry moved into UCR's top-10 all-time for both categories. She now has 257 career assists, surpassing Valerie Ruiz (250) and Alonda Varisco (250) for No. 10 all-time. Curry also has 243 career free throws, moving past Tracy Gossett (233) and Crystal Harris (236), for No. 9 all-time. Curry needs just 27 more points to become the program's 18th 1,000-point scorer.
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 fewer free throws this season (100) than their opponents have made (118).
SETTING THE TONE
The first quarter has been a predictor of UC Riverside's success early in the season. In six of their seven losses, the Highlanders faced a double-digit deficit in the opening ten minutes. However, they have gone 2-0 when holding the lead after one.
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.
SHE DID WHAT?
Redshirt sophomore forward Skyler Lewis has three of UC Riverside's four double-doubles this season, tied for most in the Big West. 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
The Highlanders rank third in the Big West in opponent field goal percentage (.397) and second in opponent three-point percentage (.280). 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.
BLOCK PARTY
The Highlanders rank third in the Big West in blocks per game (3.8 bpg), thanks in large part to the frontcourt duo of Skyler Lewis (1.1 bpg) and Marina Ewodo (0.9 bpg), who rank 9th and 11th, respectively, in the conference.
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 .477 record in contests played outside of SRC Arena, going 21-23 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 non-conference road matchups include 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).
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.
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 35.9 three-point percentage as a Highlander ranks fifth all-time.
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. Two of the program's six 30-point quarters have come this season.
To view this game's complete Game Notes in PDF form, click here.
