2025–26 UC Irvine Anteaters women's basketball team

2025–26 UC Irvine Anteaters women's basketball
2025–26 UC Irvine Anteaters women's basketball
Great Alaska Shootout champions
Conference	Big West Conference
Record	11–2 (2–0 Big West)
Head coach	Tamara Inoue (10th season);
Associate head coach	Cecilia Russell-Nava (10th season)
Assistant coaches	Tyler Ellis (7th season); Derek Wynn (4th season); Lauren Saiki (1st season);
Home arena	Bren Events Center; (Capacity: 5,000)

2025–26 Big West women's basketball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
UC Santa Barbara	2	–	0	1.000	10	–	1	.909
UC Irvine	2	–	0	1.000	11	–	2	.846
Cal State Fullerton	2	–	0	1.000	5	–	6	.455
UC Davis	1	–	0	1.000	8	–	4	.667
UC San Diego	1	–	0	1.000	6	–	5	.545
Cal State Northridge	1	–	1	.500	5	–	6	.455
UC Riverside	1	–	1	.500	2	–	9	.182
Hawai'i	0	–	2	.000	6	–	5	.545
Cal State Bakersfield	0	–	2	.000	5	–	7	.417
Cal Poly	0	–	2	.000	2	–	9	.182
Long Beach State	0	–	2	.000	0	–	10	.000

† 2026 Big West tournament winner As of December 21, 2025

The 2025–26 UC Irvine Anteaters women's basketball team will represent the University of California, Irvine in the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. They will play their home games at the Bren Events Center in Irvine, California as a member of the Big West Conference. The Anteaters will be led by 10th-year head coach Tamara Inoue.

Previous season

The 2024–25 Anteaters team finished 21–10, including a 15–5 conference record. They were ousted in the Big West tournament final by UC Davis, losing 56–63. They did not receive a bid to the WBIT, as conference regular season champion Hawai'i did.

Offseason

Preseason Polls

The Big West Media Poll was released on October 13, 2025. This is the inaugural media poll for the Big West Conference, conducted by the UCSD Guardian. It was sent out to student journalists and radio broadcasters from other member schools across the conference.^[1] The Big West Coaches' Poll was released on October 16, 2025. This is the third consecutive year UC Irvine is predicted to finish second in the Big West Conference.^[2]

Media Poll
Pos.	Team	Points
1	Hawai'i	83 (5)
2	UC Irvine	80 (3)
3	UC Davis	68 (1)
4	UC San Diego	62
5	UC Santa Barbara	54
6	Long Beach State	44
7	UC Riverside	42
8	Cal Poly	34
9	Cal State Fullerton	16
10	Cal State Bakersfield	8
11	Cal State Northridge	4

Coaches' Poll
Pos.	Team	Points
1	Hawai'i	91 (4)
2	UC Irvine	90 (4)
3	UC Davis	83 (1)
4	UC San Diego	77 (2)
5	UC Santa Barbara	61
6	Long Beach State	57
7	UC Riverside	51
8	Cal Poly	34
9	Cal State Northridge	27
10	Cal State Fullerton	20
11	Cal State Bakersfield	14

Roster

2025–26 UC Irvine Anteaters women's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Year	Previous school	Hometown
PG	1	Ameerah Grant	5 ft 4 in (1.63 m)	Fr	Brown Deer High School	Brown Deer, WI
G	2	Haley Hernandez	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	Jr	Archbishop Mitty High School	San Jose, CA
G	8	Kianna Wormly	5 ft 7 in (1.7 m)	Fr	Vista Ridge High School	Cedar Park, TX
F	9	Daniela Falcón Hernández	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	So	Utah	Las Palmas, Spain
G	10	Lauryn Madsen	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	So	Warden High School	Warden, WA
PG	12	Shirel Nahum	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	Jr	Wingate Academy	Ra'anana, Israel
F	13	Nohe'alani Stores	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	Fr	Mater Dei High School	East Palo Alto, CA
F	14	Summah Hanson	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	Jr	Sacramento State	Brisbane, Australia
G	20	Hunter Hernandez	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	Sr	Archbishop Mitty High School	San Jose, CA
PG	21	Despoina Baltzi	5 ft 8 in (1.73 m)	Fr	Fryganiotis Schools	Rhodes, Greece
G	22	Reese Noa	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	So	North Torrance High School	Harbor City, CA
G	23	Jada Wynn	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	Sr	Texas Tech	Yorba Linda, CA
G	24	Naomy Zonzon-Huyghe	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	So	Arizona Western College	La Roche-sur-Yon, France

Head coach

Tamara Inoue (Long Beach State)

Assistant coach(es)

Cecilia Russell-Nava (New Mexico State)
Derek Wynn (Cal State Fullerton)
Tyler Ellis (New Mexico State)
Lauren Saiki (UC Irvine)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: October 16, 2025

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 5, 2025* 11:00 am, ESPN+	San Diego	W 72–54	1–0	17 – Wynn	8 – Madsen	7 – Wynn	Bren Events Center (1,204) Irvine, CA
November 9, 2025* 1:00 pm, ESPN+	at Arizona	L 61–75	1–1	23 – Hu. Hernandez	9 – Wynn	3 – Madsen	McKale Center (5,268) Tucson, AZ
November 12, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+	at Idaho State	L 49–61	1–2	12 – Madsen	9 – Stores	4 – Grant	Reed Gym (807) Pocatello, ID
November 15, 2025* 4:00 pm, ESPN+	Northern Arizona	W 90–75	2–2	23 – Nahum	11 – Tied	6 – Wynn	Bren Events Center (560) Irvine, CA
November 21, 2025* 6:15 pm, GNAC Network	vs. Bowling Green ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout Semifinals	W 75–50	3–2	15 – Madsen	12 – Wynn	6 – Wynn	Alaska Airlines Center (2,001) Anchorage, AK
November 22, 2025* 8:30 pm, GNAC Network	vs. St. Thomas ASRC/ConocoPhillips Great Alaska Shootout Championship Game	W 63–55	4–2	20 – Wynn	9 – Wynn	4 – Nahum	Alaska Airlines Center (2,101) Anchorage, AK
November 28, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+	Wichita State Zotgiving Classic	W 58–52	5–2	20 – Hernandez	8 – Wynn	3 – Tied	Bren Events Center (340) Irvine, CA
November 29, 2025* 4:30 pm, ESPN+	Colgate Zotgiving Classic	W 82–48	6–2	18 – Wynn	6 – Wynn	7 – Nahum	Bren Events Center (541) Irvine, CA

December 4, 2025 6:00 pm	at UC Riverside Big West Bold Week	W 77–40	7–2 (1–0)	16 – Hernandez	13 – Wynn	4 – Wynn	SRC Arena (115) Riverside, CA
December 6, 2025 2:00 pm	at Cal State Northridge Big West Bold Week	W 72–46	8–2 (2–0)	31 – Hernandez	12 – Wynn	2 – Wynn	Premier America Credit Union Arena (359) Northridge, CA

December 13, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+	California Baptist	W 77–57	9–2	27 – Hernandez	11 – Wynn	4 – Tied	Bren Events Center (441) Irvine, CA
December 16, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+	at New Mexico State	W 83–66	10–2	19 – Grant	8 – Hanson	5 – Hernandez	Pan American Center (344) Las Cruces, NM
December 18, 2025* 6:00 pm, ESPN+	at UTEP	W 93–72	11–2	36 – Hernandez	7 – Wynn	7 – Wynn	Don Haskins Center (905) El Paso, TX

January 1, 2026 2:00 pm	Cal State Bakersfield						Bren Events Center Irvine, CA
January 3, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+	Cal State Fullerton						Bren Events Center Irvine, CA
January 8, 2026 6:00 pm	at Long Beach State Black and Blue Rivalry						Walter Pyramid Long Beach, CA
January 10, 2026 2:00 pm	Hawai'i						Bren Events Center Irvine, CA
January 17, 2026 2:00 pm	UC Davis						Bren Events Center Irvine, CA
January 22, 2026 6:00 pm	UC Riverside						Bren Events Center Irvine, CA
January 24, 2026 2:00 pm	UC San Diego						Bren Events Center Irvine, CA
January 29, 2026 9:00 pm	at Hawai'i						Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, HI
February 5, 2026 6:30 pm	at Cal State Bakersfield						Icardo Center Bakersfield, CA
February 7, 2026 2:00 pm	UC Santa Barbara						Bren Events Center Irvine, CA
February 12, 2026 6:00 pm	Cal Poly						Bren Events Center Irvine, CA
February 14, 2026 2:00 pm	Cal State Fullerton						Titan Gym Fullerton, CA
February 19, 2026 6:00 pm	Long Beach State Black and Blue Rivalry						Bren Events Center Irvine, CA
February 21, 2026 4:00 pm	at UC San Diego						LionTree Arena San Diego, CA
February 26, 2026 6:00 pm	Cal State Northridge						Bren Events Center Irvine, CA
February 28, 2026 2:00 pm	at UC Santa Barbara						The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, CA
March 5, 2026 6:00 pm	at Cal Poly						Mott Athletics Center San Luis Obispo, CA
March 7, 2026 2:00 pm	at UC Davis						University Credit Union Center Davis, CA

*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Source^[3]

Rankings

Ranking movements
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP
Coaches

References

^ "UC Irvine (men's), Hawai'i (women's) favorites in inaugural Big West Basketball Preseason Media Poll".
^ "Hawai'i Selected as Preseason Favorites for 2025-26 Women's Basketball Title". bigwest.org. October 16, 2025. Retrieved October 17, 2025.
^ "2025-26 Women's Basketball Schedule". UCI Athletics. Retrieved October 17, 2025.

[1] "UC Irvine (men's), Hawai'i (women's) favorites in inaugural Big West Basketball Preseason Media Poll".

[2] "Hawai'i Selected as Preseason Favorites for 2025-26 Women's Basketball Title". bigwest.org. October 16, 2025. Retrieved October 17, 2025.

[3] "2025-26 Women's Basketball Schedule". UCI Athletics. Retrieved October 17, 2025.

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