Tipping Off
National Notables
Multiple Big West teams are locking down in various statistical categories, in this year’s defensive-minded run of play. Five squads are in the national top 10 in at least one facet of the game with Cal Poly (3fg pct. defense) Hawai’i (fg pct. defense, scoring defense), Long Beach State (rebounding), UC Davis (def. rebounds, fg pct. defense) and UC Santa Barbara (free throw pct.).
UC Santa Barbara stands second in free throw percentage (82.5), UC Davis (33.6) and Hawai’i (33.8) are third and fifth in field goal percentage defense, respectively, and UH is back in the Top 10 in blocks average (5.6).
Five in the 1K Club
In Cal Poly’s win at Long Beach State senior Annika Shah became the latest player in the 1,000 point club, now standing at 1,016 in the fourth year for the Mustangs.
Shah joins a pair from Hawai’i in Lily Wahinekapu (1,391) and Daejah Phillips (1,213), Toval Sabel of UC Davis (1,352) and Alyssa Marin of UC Santa Barbara (1,085). On the horizon and lurking in the 900s is reigning Big West Player of the Year Déja Lee of UC Irvine (980).
What 2 Watch 4
Some of the league’s top teams are facing off against each other, making for a robust set of games across The Big West. Highlighting Thursday’s slate is the latest edition of the Black & Blue Rivalry as Long Beach State (11-7, 7-2 BW) travels to UC Irvine (13-6, 7-2 BW) with both squads knotted as league leaders.
The third team at the top is Hawai’i (13-6, 7-2 BW) who is taking a seven-game winning streak on the road, first meeting up with UC San Diego (10-11, 6-3 BW) who is one game back from the Rainbow Wahine before a date with Cal State Fullerton.
On Saturday, The Anteaters are at UC Davis (12-7, 6-3 BW) in another clash between top squads. Also on the docket is the first Play 4 Kay game of the month as the Beach hosts UC Santa Barbara to tip off February.
All 10 Big West matchups can be seen on ESPN+.
Last Week, Today
The standings margin is razor thin after last week’s results as teams prepare for the second half of The Big West slate. Hawai’i continued their winning ways against two of the league’s top contenders in UC Davis and UC Irvine to string together seven consecutive victories.
UH is now tied at the top with UCI and Long Beach State, who both split their weekend. Another squad making a charge up the table is UC San Diego, winners of their last four, including two lopsided victories last week. Cal State Fullerton notched a pair of road wins, taking down Cal State Bakersfield and coming back for a 62-61 win at UC Santa Barbara.
All told, seven teams finished on the high side of the scoreboard, with four taking all of their matchups on the week, including Cal Poly’s road win at Long Beach State on Spectrum SportsNet in their lone contest.
Team Tidbits - Around the League
Cal Poly
In the Mustangs’ lone game of the week, Annika Shah became the 16th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career points. The senior poured in a game-high 24 in a 78-71 victory at Long Beach State in a nationally-televised Spectrum SportsNet matchup.
Shah is leading the The Big West in three-point field goals per game (2.95), good for 15th in the nation.
Cal Poly cracked the national top 10 in three-point percentage defense, allowing opponents to just shoot 24.6 percent from beyond the arc. In last week’s win, the Beach were 3-of-20 from distance (.150).
Cal State Bakersfield
Roadrunner Ary Dizon leads the conference in blocked shots, averaging 2.32 per game with 44 total. Dizon’s denials average is good for 14th in NCAA Division I. The redshirt senior from Tampa, Fla., has finished with at least one block a game on 17 out of 19 tries this season, recording multiples on 13 occasions.
First-year head coach Ari Wideman was tapped to lead the Roadrunners and holds the distinction of being the first Black, female head coach in the 50-plus year history of CSUB athletics. Wideman and fellow first year head coach Angie Ned of CSUN made history back on Jan. 11 in what is thought to be the first ever matchup of two Black female head women’s basketball coaches in the league.
Cal State Fullerton
The Titans enjoyed their first victorious efforts in Big West action with a two-win week as Aaliyah Stanton led the way. The sophomore guard averaged 18.5 points and 2.5 steals per game on the weekend and has a current streak of 13 games with double figure points. Both wins featured second-half comebacks as Cal State Fullerton overcame an eight-point deficit in the fourth quarter at Cal State Bakersfield and a nine-point halftime spread at UC Santa Barbara.
Eva Levingston is leading the conference in rebounding with 8.26 per game with five double-double outings, also tops in the conference.
The Titans secured the program’s 13th 100-point game with a 100-40 win over Bethesda to close out non-conference play on Dec. 29, 2024. It was the first triple-digit scoring output since 2010.
CSUN
CSUN junior Erika Aspajo is leading the conference in assists per game, with 4.92 per game in 12 games played. Aspajo also paces the squad in scoring (10.92 ppg) and steals (1.92 spg).
Big West and UC Irvine alumna Angie Ned was tapped to lead the Matadors program in the spring of 2024 and the first-year head coach garnered back-to-back victories to open the tenure.
Hawai’i
The Rainbow Wahine are riding a league-high seven-game streak after downing UC Davis and UC Irvine. Freshman center Ritorya Tamilo posting a career first double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds to go along with three blocked shots in a defensive battle with the Anteaters.
Hawai’i’s defense has been stout all season, as the Rainbow Wahine allow just 52.6 points per game which is fifth in the nation. Holding opponents to 33.2 percent shooting stands in second in NCAA Division I, trailing Middle Tennessee by 0.1.
On Dec. 16, the Rainbow Wahine routed Arkansas-Pine Bluff 56-15. The 15 points was the least amount UH has ever allowed against a Division I opponent, obliterating the previous mark of 31 by UTEP on Jan. 7, 1999. The last time the ‘Bows won by such wide a margin was nearly 24 years ago, when UH defeated Detroit, 97-53, on Dec. 18, 2000.
Long Beach State
LBSU split the weekend, first closing out CSUN before falling to Cal Poly in a matchup highlighted on Spectrum SportsNet. Senior Savannah Tucker led the beach with 26 points, six rebounds and three assists in the win over the Matadors.
The senior from Fresno, Calif., plays a conference-high 36.86 minutes per game, eighth in the country, while providing 15.83 points per game to lead The Big West.
Earlier this season, Lovely Sonnier was named a Kay Yow Servant Leader Award winner, one of 14 student-athletes recognized across the country, and is wearing a special jersey patch this season. Along with serving as the team ambassador for The Big West’s Tough Like Tammy campaign, Sonnier volunteers at Miller Children’s Hospital, Los Altos Parks and Rec and Jefferson Elementary School in her free time.
LBSU picked up a 122-49 win over Bethesda on Dec. 30, the highest point tally in 37 years and the first three-digit output since 2006.
UC Davis
In the Aggies’ lone game last week, out in Hawai’i, Tova Sabel led the defensive slugfest with 11 points and six rebounds.
Megan Norris tops the conference in field goal percentage at .451 (78-for-173). Defensively, UCD allows teams to connect on just 33.7 percent of their attempts from the field, which is fifth in the country.
UC Davis posted their first Power 4 win since 2021 by knocking off Arizona State, 57-50, on Dec. 15.
UC Irvine
The Anteaters slit the weekend with narrow margins in both contests. Deja Lee recorded 10 points, five rebounds and five assists in a 56-53 win over UC Riverside, followed by a game-high tying 13 in a 46-42 loss at Hawai’i.
Summah Hanson connects at a Big West-best 89.8 percent from the free throw line, going 53-for-59 through 19 games, good for 23rd nationally.
UC Riverside
The Highlanders split contests with UC Irvine and Cal State Bakersfield, pushing the Anteaters to the brink in a 56-53 loss at UCI to open the weekend. Seneca Hackley put in a season-high 18 points in the loss. In Saturday’s 60-48 win at Cal State Bakersfield, the graduate student led the team with 17 points and eight rebounds, including 10 points in the comeback third quarter.
Esther Matarranz crashes the offensive glass at a conference-leading rate of 2.79 per game, and 7.32 total rebounds a game stands in fifth in The Big West.
UC San Diego
Big West Player of the Week Sumayah Sugapong averaged 22.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals as the Tritons downed UC Santa Barbara and CSUN on the road. The sophomore collected a game-high 21 points at UCSB before tallying 23 points in 22 minutes against the Matadors.
Sugapong leads The Big West in steals per game (2.48) with teammate Sabrina Ma in second with 2.14 per game. Sugapong is second the conference in assists per game (3.95) with a league-best 2.58 steals per game with teammate Ma right behind with 2.26. UCSD averages 11.8 steals per night, good for 22nd in the country.
Sugapong set UC San Diego’s Division I single-game steals record with seven in a loss at Stanford earlier this season.
UC Santa Barbara
UC Santa Barbara dropped a pair of home games at the hands of UC San Diego and Cal State Fullerton.
Alyssa Marin fell to second on The Big West’s scoring lists at 15.53 points per game and has recorded two 31-point games on the season. Jessica Grant is the conference leader in three-point field goal percentage, swishing 41.3 percent of the attempts from distance.
The Gauchos lead the league and are second in NCAA Division I in free throw percentage at .828. The team was 20-of-23 (.869) from the line last week including a 13-of-14 effort in the narrow loss to the Titans.
The Gauchos are under the direction of new head coach Renee Jimenez. Coming to UCSB from Division II Cal State San Marcos, Jimenez and the Cougars reached the DII Final Four a year ago.
The Big West + Spectrum SportsNet
The Big West announced a slate of 16 men’s and women’s basketball contests to air on Spectrum SportsNet during the 2024-25 season.
The package includes five women’s games featuring six squads, all set for the New Year.
Cal Poly hosted Hawai’i on Jan. 4, and the Rainbow Wahine took the contest, 62-50. The Mustangs proved victorious at Long Beach State on Jan. 25, 78-71, and head to UC Riverside on Feb. 22 in the Spectrum schedule. On March 1, UC Irvine plays at Long Beach State and March 8 has the Anteaters hosting UC Santa Barbara to round out the regular season on the home of the World Champion LA Dodgers.
All Spectrum SportsNet contests can also be seen live on ESPN+, and on-demand for 30 days. Check local listings for channel availability in your area. |
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