One of the best aspects of playing in the Big West Conference is it doesn’t really matter what happened during the regular season.
If a program’s primary objective is to qualify for the NCAA Tournament, then the season really begins this week at the Big West Tournament in Henderson, Nevada.
The UC Irvine women’s basketball team didn’t fare as well as it hoped over the past 2½ months, but as the Anteaters prepare to defend their tournament title at Lee’s Family Forum, they feel like they’re in the right spot at the right time.
“It’s not who’s the best team, it’s about the team that’s firing at the same time,” UCI coach Tamara Inoue said. “I’m hoping it’s us.”
The four-day, eight-team tournament begins with two first-round games on Wednesday afternoon, including a matchup between sixth-seeded Long Beach State and seventh-seeded UC Riverside at 2:30 p.m.
UCI (21-9 overall, 15-5 Big West) is seeded second after finishing as the runner-up to Hawaii (22-8, 16-4) in the regular-season standings for the second consecutive season. The top two seeds earned double byes into the semifinals, so the Anteaters won’t play until Friday at 2:30 p.m.
“I’m excited about the tournament,” Inoue said. “I think we have some good things going.”
The Anteaters avoided Hawaii during last season’s tournament because the Rainbow Wahine were upset by UC Davis in the semifinals.
UCI, meanwhile, knocked off Long Beach State, 69-57, in the other semifinal and then suffocated UC Davis, 53-39, to capture its first tournament championship since 1995.
Deja Lee, the reigning 2024 Big West Player of the Year, returned this season, as well as fellow seniors Nikki Tom, Nevaeh Dean and Amelia Scharpf.
UCI also welcomed back Hunter Hernandez and Olivia Williams, both of whom missed all of last season with knee injuries, and landed prized transfer Summah Hanson, the Big Sky Freshman of the Year at Sacramento State last season.
Hernandez regained her role as the team’s leading scorer (13.0 ppg), which she held at the time she was injured two years ago, followed by Lee (10.5), Hanson (8.7) and Williams (7.7).
The Anteaters displayed some weaknesses early on, however.
They suffered their first hiccup on Jan. 4, losing a five-point game at Riverside when they shot 4 for 19 from 3-point range.
UCI dropped its first matchup against Hawaii on the road on Jan, 25, but was still tied with the Rainbow Wahine heading into another road test at UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 13.
The Anteaters had not lost to the Gauchos in five years, but that streak ended with a 62-52 defeat.
UCI lost to Hawaii again on Feb. 15, this time at home while shooting 4 for 29 from 3-point range. That loss dropped the Anteaters two games back of first place, but back-to-back losses by the Rainbow Wahine to UCR on Feb. 27 and UC Davis on March 1 opened the door for the Anteaters to slide back into a tie for first place.
They just needed to beat Long Beach State on March 1, but a 6-for-32 shooting performance from 3-point range derailed those hopes and UCI lost, 73-52.
“We’re still learning how to be champions,” Inoue said. “Our biggest goal here, it’s just bringing that championship mentality. … We had our opportunities to be co-champion with (Hawaii) and we blew it. So, it’s OK, we’ve just got to get ready for the tournament.”
UCI closed its regular season with two impressive wins, beating UC Davis, 55-53, on a last-second shot by Tom last Thursday, and then running over UCSB, 62-49, ending the Gauchos’ hopes for a first-round bye.
The Anteaters shot 30% from 3-point range against UC Davis and 35.7% against UCSB, including 7 for 9 in the decisive third quarter.
“The way we were moving the ball as a team, hitting those shots, we had a lot of synergy that I think we’ve been working towards over the course of our season,” Lee said. “Things just kind of fell into place at the right time, so we’re taking all this energy and we’re going to put it into Henderson.”
Long Beach State (16-13, 12-8) has struggled to find consistency throughout the season. LBSU won its first five Big West games, but a four-game losing streak midway through conference play dropped it into the middle of the pack.
The win against UCI earlier this month showed LBSU is capable of beating any team in the tournament, however. Long Beach was seeded seventh last season when it knocked off sixth-seeded UCSB in the first round and upset third-seeded Riverside in overtime in a quarterfinal.
UCR (16-14, 12-8) won its last four games, including a 10-point win against visiting Hawaii on Feb. 27, and enters the tournament riding the longest winning streak of any Big West team.
—– 2025 BIG WEST WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT —–
All games at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nev., all times are PT
First Round – Wednesday
Noon – No. 5 seed UC Santa Barbara (18-12) vs. No. 8 seed Cal Poly (13-17)
2:30 p.m. – No. 6 seed Long Beach State (16-13) vs. No. 7 seed UC Riverside (16-14)
Quarterfinals – Thursday
Noon – No. 4 seed UC San Diego (17-15) vs. UCSB-Cal Poly winner
2:30 p.m. – No. 3 seed UC Davis (19-11) vs. LBSU-UCR winner
Semifinals – Friday
Noon – No. 1 seed Hawaii (22-8) vs. UCSD-TBD winner
2:30 p.m. – No. 2 seed UC Irvine (21-9) vs. UC Davis-TBD winner
Final – Saturday
3 p.m. – Championship game, ESPN+
