What 2 Watch 4
All 11 Big West teams will reach the midway mark of the league slate with at least nine games in the 20-game schedule already in the books for each side. The standings got tighter after the two previous conference unbeatens - UC Irvine (17-3, 8-1 BW) and UC San Diego (13-6, 8-1 BW) - both had streaks halted to keep four squads within one game of each other. This week tips off with the Tritons at UC Santa Barbara (15-3, 7-2 BW) and the Anteaters taking on the current hottest team at Hawai’i (10-9, 4-5 BW) as the Rainbow Wahine enter as winners of their last four contests. Another game to watch on the slate is when the Gauchos head to Cal State Fullerton (11-9, 7-3 BW) for a Saturday matinee as the Titans occupy fifth in the standings.
Every Big West home contest appears on ESPN+ throughout the season. Check listings for specific game information.
The Big West in the Rankings
Four Big West schools are listed in the latest College Insider Women’s Basketball Mid-Major Top 25 poll, with UC Irvine up to 12th and UC Santa Barbara holding firm to 13th with UC Irvine slipping three spots to No. 15. UC San Diego and UC Davis are both receiving votes in the last poll.
Four teams and five players find themselves in the top 10 of the NCAA Division I women’s basketball statistical rankings. Some notables include:
• UC Irvine - fourth in free throw percentage (80.6), fifth in free throws per game (18.05, 10th in field goal percentage defense (34.8)
• Cal State Fullerton - first in turnovers forced per game (28.35) and steals per game (17.1); Titan Cristina Jones rates third individually in steals per game (4.05) and second in offensive rebounds (4.4).
• UC Riverside’s Hannah Wickstrom puts up 22.3 points per game to lead The Big West and rate ninth nationally.
• UC Davis’ Megan Norris has recorded 13 double-doubles (4th), while collecting 11.9 rebounds per game (5th) and a nation’s best 9.9 defensive boards. Norris is one of 21 Division I players currently averaging a double-double on the year.
Last Week, Today
Six squads recorded at least one victory last week with four - UC Davis, Hawai’i, UC Santa Barbara and Cal State Fullerton - notching a pair. Some notable highlights include:
UC Irvine (17-3, 8-1 BW)
The Anteaters extended the program record winning streak to 16 with a win over UC Riverside on Thursday with Hunter Hernandez providing 20 points and seven rebounds. Hernandez crossed the 500-rebound career threshold in the game and stands as the 11th UCI player to cross 1,000 points and 500 boards. The senior added 20 points on 55 percent shooting in Saturday’s narrow 68-66 streak-stopping loss against UC San Diego.
UC San Diego (13-6, 8-1 BW)
Entering the week with a string of six wins, the Tritons lost by four at home to UC Davis to open the week before giving UC Irvine their first home loss of the year in Saturday’s two-point victory. Junior forward Erin Condron scored 19 points on 6-of-12 shooting from the field, seven points from the line and seven rebounds in the win against the Anteaters. Condron connects at a league-leading pace of 55.4 percent from the field on the season.
Hawai’i (11-9, 4-5 BW)
After a quiet beginning, the preseason favorite Rainbow Wahine are riding a four-game winning streak to go over the .500 mark on the season, being Cal State Bakersfield and CSUN on the mainland. Freshman Bailey Flavell led the way, averaging 19.5 points and recording a first career double-double with season highs of 22 points and 10 rebounds against the Roadrunners. Saturday, 11 of Flavell’s 19 points game in the fourth quarter as UH rallied for the win.
UC Santa Barbara (15-3, 7-2 BW)
The Gauchos posted wins at Cal Poly and against Long Beach State on the week with Zoe Borter powering the offense while averaging 17.0 points per game, highlighted by a 24-point effort against the Mustangs. Borter was 8-of-17 from the field with five triples in the latest installment of the Blue-Green Rivalry.
UC Davis (14-6, 7-2 BW)
The Aggies continue to get big production from Big West Player of the Week Megan Norris, who posted back-to-back 20-point performances punctuated by 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting (.692) and 16 rebounds in the comeback win to hand UC San Diego their first Big West loss of the year. In Saturday’s victory at UC Riverside, Norris was 8-of-10 from the field for 21 points to go along with 12 rebounds. The redshirt senior is one of 21 players to be averaging a double-double on the year. The 13 double-double tally rates fourth in the country.
Cal State Fullerton (11-9, 7-3 BW)
The Titans were powered by junior Talia Maxwell as Cal State Fullerton picked up wins at Long Beach State and against Cal Poly. Maxwell averaged 18.0 points on 55 percent shooting, 6.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 2.0 steals per game with a career-high 19 against the Beach for the Stanislaus State (D2) transfer.
Let's Go Streaking
UC Irvine set a school record with a 16-game winning streak that spanned over two months of competition before a narrow loss against UC San Diego on Jan. 24 to stop the string and hand the Anteaters their first home loss of the season.
Non-Conference Notables
• UC Davis set a program attendance record in their home win against Idaho, with 5,567 fans on hand.
• Cal State Fullerton broke a 34-year-old program scoring record on Dec. 28, downing La Sierra 110-22 to best the previous high point tally (108) set on March 7 1991.
• Cal State Bakersfield’s 85 points scored in a win over Eastern Washington on Dec. 20 stands as the most points against a Division I opponent since the 2018-19 season.
• Title winners! UC Irvine won the Great Alaska Shootout with victories over Bowling Green and St. Thomas Nov. 21-22, with Jada Wynn named most outstanding player. Hawai’i took home the crown at the Bank of Hawai’i Classic on Nov. 21-23 as Ritorya Tamilo earned MVP honors. UC Santa Barbara took home the hardware at the CBU Invitational with wins over the host Lancers and Chattanooga over Thanksgiving week.
Welcome to The Big West
New head coach at Cal State Fullerton John Bonner heads to the Titans after a Division II national runner-up season with Cal State Dominguez Hills. Bonner boasts the only two 30-win seasons in Toreros’ program history including a record 36 victories in 2024-25 and was twice named CCAA Coach of the Year.
GET TOUGH!
The Big West has announced the return of its Tough Like Tammy fundraising initiative for the 2025-26 women’s basketball season and the goal of securing a $50,000 grant from the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.
The joint venture between Big West women’s basketball, the Kay Yow Cancer Fund and Big West women’s basketball analyst Tammy Blackburn, has raised more than $25,000 in support life-saving research on all cancers affecting women since its inception in 2023. The effort in 2025-26 revolves around securing a $50,000 grant to assist women in underserved communities in southern California. Currently, the Tough Like Tammy program stands over 65% of the way towards reaching the goal and fans can donate today at BigWest.org/TLT. Learn more >>>
Additionally The Big West recently announced its nation-leading nine recipients of the Kay Yow Servant Leader Award, who will be sporting a jersey patch all season long for exemplifying leadership, selflessness and service in the fight against all cancers affecting women. Meet the servant leaders >>>
Hoops in Henderson
The Big West announced an enhanced agreement with Credit Union 1, the Official Credit Union, Bank and Financial Services Partner of The Big West, to become the title partner of the 2026 Big West Basketball Championships, March 11-14, 2026, at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nev. All-Session tickets are available now! Learn more >>>
Watch Us Work
Building on one of the most successful men’s and women’s seasons since the 1990’s, The Big West has announced that more than 350 men’s and women’s basketball games will be available nationally on the ESPN family of networks and Spectrum SportsNet during 2025-26 season. All Big West men’s and women’s basketball home games and all seven games of the 2026 Credit Union I Big West Women’s Basketball Championship will stream nationally on ESPN+. Additionally, The Big West will continue its regional partnership with Spectrum SportsNet for the fifth consecutive season. Five women’s contests are part of the 14-game Spectrum SportsNet package with Long Beach State, UC San Diego, Hawai’i, UC Irvine, UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly each slated to appear. Learn more >>>
2024-25 Season Rewind
The Big West is coming off a season of parity where four teams reached the 20-win mark: Hawai’i (22-10), UC Irvine (21-10), UC Davis (21-12) and UC San Diego (20-16). The Big West Championship was won by No. 4 seed UC San Diego, who bested third-seeded UC Davis in the finale from Henderson. Regular-season champion Hawai’i was nipped at the buzzer in the semifinals, dropping their game to the eventual champions.
Winning both The Big West men’s and women’s titles to earn NCAA qualification in their first year of eligibility, UC San Diego is the first school in NCAA Division I history to accomplish that feat.
Celebrating Officials' Appreciation Week
As part of the celebration of Officials' Appreciation Week, Big West Women’s Basketball Coordinator of Officials Violet Palmer sat down with Chloe Clark to reflect on a remarkable career, to date. Palmer shared some of the steps in the journey from Compton to Cal Poly Pomona as a Division II national champion. Trading playing shoes and layup lines for the Broncos for the whistle and running the baselines on professional courts around the country, Palmer reached the pinnacle of the profession and is now training others to follow in those footsteps. Read more >>>
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