Riverside, CA—The UC Riverside Women's Basketball Team (6-17, 3-6) plays in the annual Play4Kay Game this Thursday as the Highlanders host UC Santa Barbara (8-13, 5-4). Tip-off is slated for 7:00 p.m. at SRC Arena.
GAME NOTES
PLAY4KAY
The matchup between the Highlanders and the visiting UC Santa Barbara Gauchos on February 8th, 2018 marks the annual Play4Kay game in support of Breast Cancer Awareness and the Kay Yow Cancer Research Fund. This year's Pink Game also takes place during National Girls & Women in Sports Week.
CAL POLY RECAP
UC Riverside dropped its 4th straight game at Cal Poly last Saturday, despite a career-high 22 points from redshirt sophomore Jannon Otto. The Highlanders jumped out to a 16-7 lead to start the game before the Mustangs took the lead in the second quarter with a 14-0 run of their own. Cal Poly would take advantage of UCR's game-high 24 turnovers by scoring 50 total points in the second half alone to seal a 91-73 victory.
UC SANTA BARBARA: THE SERIES
The Highlanders trail in the all-time series with the Gauchos, 24-27. Following five straight UCR wins from 2014-2016, UCSB was the victor in two of three contests last season. The most recent was an 81-71 Gaucho win in the Big West Tournament Quarterfinals on Mar. 8, 2017. In that game, Michelle Curry and Malou Thiebaut De Kergret finished with 22 and 19 points, respectively.
HOLT HITS 1K
With a career-high 33 points against UC Irvine on Jan. 25, Lauren Holt became the second Highlander this season to surpass 1,000 career points. Holt scored 344 points at Portland State from 2013-15 and is at 692 points and counting as a Highlander since 2016. Holt will be honored for this achievement before the matchup with UC Santa Barbara on February 8th.
CONSISTENT CASH
Lauren Holt has scored in double-figures in 16 consecutive games, which is a feat that has only been accomplished by 5 other Highlanders in the Division I era. During conference play, she has only improved upon her top-10 marks for scoring and three-pointers, currently sitting 5th in points per game (18.7) and 4th in threes (18). She has also been on the court more than any other Big West player, averaging 37.7 minutes per game.
CHEF CURRY
Michelle Curry has been doing it all through six conference games, ranking 6th in the Big West in steals (1.7 spg), 4th in free throws (5.2 per game), 4th in assists (3.5 apg), and 5th in scoring (15 ppg). With 19 points at South Dakota on Dec. 19, Curry became the 18th 1,000-point scorer in program history. She has scored in double-figures in 26 of her last 30 games dating back to last season.
BIG WEST LEADERS
During conference play, UC Riverside is 3rd in field goals (577), 2nd in assists (15.7 apg), and 2nd in blocks (4.4 bpg). The Highlanders have been at their most efficient when scoring in close, but have been less effective with their outside shot. For the year, they sit dead last of the Big West in three-point makes (83), attempts (344) and percentage (.240).
ADD 'EM UP
Michelle Curry has reached several significant milestones this season, including joining the program's 1,000-point club and cracking the all-time top-10 in career assists, free throws made and offensive rebounds. She currently sits No. 12 in points (1,149), No. 9 in assists (297), No. 7 in free throws (290), and No. 9 in offensive rebounds (192).
BIG WEST SUCCESS
The Highlanders are off to a 3-6 start to Big West play, making them 28-13 (.700) in conference games since the 2015-16 season. That year, UCR became just the second Big West team ever to go undefeated in conference, posting a perfect 16-0 mark.
WOAH, EWODO!
Sophomore forward Marina Ewodo has made the most of her additional playing since becoming a regular fixture in the starting lineup in mid-December. Over her last 14 outings, she has recorded seven of her eight career double-digit scoring games, while notching her first two career double-doubles. Among players with 13 or less starts this season, she leads the Big West with 23 blocks.
FREE THROW DISPARITY
UC Riverside has struggled to keep opposing teams off the free throw line this season, currently allowing 24.5 free throw attempts and 16.6 free throw makes per game. Those marks would rank 1st and 2nd, respectively, in program history. The Highlanders have attempted less free throws this season (369) than their opponents have made (381).
HOWEVER...
Despite that wide free throw disparity, UCR has improved since the start of Big West play. The Highlanders currently rank 3rd with a conference free throw percentge of .731, thanks in large part to their conference opener against Cal Poly on Jan. 4 when they went 24-of-32 (.750) to set a pair of new season-highs.
OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
UC Riverside defeated UNLV, 95-88 on 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.
DOUBLE-DOUBLE TROUBLE
There are three Highlanders with a double-double this season: Skyler Lewis (4), Michelle Curry (2), and Marina Ewodo (2). No other Big West team had more than two players with a double-double entering the week.
SHE DID WHAT?
Redshirt sophomore forward Skyler Lewis has four of UC Riverside's eight double-doubles this season, tied for 4th 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.
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. Stanford scored just 53 points—a mark which ranks as the second-fewest points allowed by the Highlanders against a top-25 team in the team's Division I era (2001-Pres). 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.
R' HOUSE
UC Riverside has won .708 of its home games since the start of the 2014-15 season, going 34-14 at SRC Arena. Through nine home games this season, the Highlanders are 4-5.
ROADS OF THE RECENT PAST
The Highlanders have 30 regular season games on their schedule this year, 18 of which will be played on the road. Since 2015-16, UCR has a .420 record in contests played outside of SRC Arena, going 21-29 in away and neutral games combined. The Highlanders will be on the road for 5 of their next 7 contests.
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.
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 her debut season. That mark stands at No. 6 in program history for a single season, while her career 35.2 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.
