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Hunter Hernandez leads UC Irvine women into Big West Tournament

March 11, 2026

IRVINE — The UC Irvine women’s basketball team has been here before.

Regular-season champions, top-seeded in the Big West Conference Tournament and a double-bye into the semifinals.

The Anteaters just haven’t been led by a natural scorer like Hunter Hernandez in a long time.

The Big West Player of the Year enters the eight-team field in Henderson, Nevada, playing at her highest level since she first took the court at UCI in late 2021.

The 5-foot-9 senior guard from San Jose is averaging 19.5 points per game, the second-best mark in the conference and the highest average by a UCI player since Jordan Sanders finished at 20.3 ppg in 2018-19.

Hernandez tied the program’s single-game record by scoring 41 points in an 85-65 victory at Cal Poly last Thursday, and then became UCI’s all-time single-season scoring leader (603) while totaling 24 points and playing all 40 minutes in a 70-58 road win against UC Davis in the regular-season finale on Saturday.

Those efforts earned Hernandez her fifth Big West Player of the Week award of the season.

“My confidence is at an all-time high right now,” Hernandez said. “I’ve done a lot of work over the last five years, and I spent a lot of time reflecting, kind of touching back on all that training that I’ve done. So, when I’m taking these shots, I feel confident, I know it’s going to go in. So, that’s something that’s kind of different than it has been in the past, or even earlier this season.”

The win on Saturday locked up UCI’s second Big West regular-season title in the past four seasons, set a program single-season record for wins, and earned the Anteaters (26-5 overall, 17-3 Big West) a double-by into Friday’s semifinals.

The eight-team tournament opens with a pair of first-round games on Wednesday. Fifth-seeded Cal State Fullerton (17-13, 13-7) will take on eighth-seeded Cal State Northridge (10-19, 6-14) at noon, and seventh-seeded UC Riverside (10-20, 8-12) will face sixth-seeded UC Santa Barbara (20-9, 12-8) at 2:30 p.m.

The Anteaters are averaging 71.7 points per game this season, well above the 60.1 they averaged last season while going 21-10, including 15-5 in the Big West.

UCI coach Tamara Inoue credits the arrival of senior guard Jada Wynn, a former Troy High standout who transferred from Texas Tech, with helping uncork the offense.

Wynn, whose father, Derek Wynn, has been an assistant coach at UCI the past four seasons, is averaging 15 ppg and was named Big West Newcomer of the Year on Tuesday.

“Jada Wynn coming in has really helped because (Hernandez) would get double- and triple-teamed,” Inoue said. “Well, now with Jada, they can’t really do that anymore.”

Hernandez made the Big West All-Freshman Team in her first season at UCI, and was leading the Anteaters in scoring her sophomore year when she sustained a torn ACL on Feb. 15, 2023.

She missed out on celebrating the program’s first-ever regular-season title that season, and sat out the following year as well, watching from the bench as the Anteaters won the Big West Tournament and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in program history.

“Seeing that, it was really motivating for me because it’s such an amazing experience,” Hernandez said. “I got to experience it by being on the team, but it’s not really the same as getting to play in that environment. So, seeing them be able to do that was really cool, and I want to be able to do that myself and contribute in my own way as well.”

Hernandez is a throwback player in many ways, relying on a mid-range game of pull-up jumpers and fadeaways.

“Mid-range is a lost art in this game and it’s one of the most deadly shots that she has,” Inoue said.

She also regularly lowers her shoulders and forces contact, one of the reasons she’s attempted the most free throws in the conference (140) and capitalized with the third-best percentage (82.9).

She won’t shy away from a 3-pointer either, averaging nearly five attempts per game and making them at a 36.3% clip.

Hernandez will likely get her share of isolations in Henderson.

“When we need something, we’re probably going to have to do that, but she plays better, the team plays better, but especially her, when we’re more as a team, moving the ball,” Inoue said. “And then when she sees the opening, she’s good at reading that herself.”

Hernandez said she’ll be ready to make the big shot when the time comes.

“I’ve been doing this so long, so I do feel pressure, but it’s a little bit more excitement,” she said. “I feel really confident, and I know that I have a lot of teammates I can fall back on and rely on. So, taking those shots that I have throughout the whole year, and all the reps that we’ve put in, I think are feeling really good. Obviously, things are going to amplify and get turned up in the tournament, but we’re well prepared for this.”

Hernandez’s younger sister, Haley, is a reserve guard for the Anteaters and Haley’s twin, Maya, is the second-leading scorer for Loyola Marymount (14.6 ppg), which lost in the West Coast Conference Tournament semifinals on Monday after winning the program’s first regular-season title in 22 years.

“As a family, we’re experiencing a lot of success this year,” Hernandez said. “To see (Maya) experience success like that too, it’s great because, obviously, I know what it feels like. Irvine has always been a winning program, but it’s great to see that. And having (Haley) on the team, it’s so much support. She’s my biggest supporter on the team.”

—– 2026 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 Cal State Fullerton (17-13) vs. No. 8 seed Cal State Northridge (10-19)

2:30 p.m. – No. 6 seed UC Santa Barbara (20-9) vs. No. 7 seed UC Riverside (10-20)

Quarterfinals – Thursday

Noon – No. 4 seed Hawaii (20-10) vs. Fullerton-CSUN winner

2:30 p.m. – No. 3 seed UC Davis (22-9) vs. UCSB-UCR winner

Semifinals – Friday

Noon – No. 1 seed UC Irvine (26-5) vs. Hawaii-TBD winner

2:30 p.m. – No. 2 seed UC San Diego (22-8) vs. UC Davis-TBD winner

Final – Saturday

3 p.m. – Championship game, ESPN+

Orange County Register

News Details

Hunter Hernandez leads UC Irvine women into Big West Tournament

—– 2026 BIG WEST WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT —–

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