Dec. 10, 2005

Box Score

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Guards Stephanie Cherry and Kim Sheehy each scored a team-high 16 points on Saturday afternoon, combining to make six three-pointers, as Sacramento State opened a 16-point halftime lead en route to a 78-65 nonconference women's basketball victory over UC Davis at the Hornet's Nest.

UC Davis, which had its three-game winning streak snapped, dropped to 4-4 on the season. Guard Kimberly Smith led all scorers with 19 points to pace the Aggies while Ellen Porshneva added 17 and Jessica Campbell had 10. The Hornets improved to 3-3 with the victory over their Causeway Classic rivals.

The Hornets shot 50 percent (28 of 56) from the field in the game, including 47.6 percent (10 of 21) from three-point territory. Sacramento State, which never trailed in the game, opened a 44-28 lead at halftime and didn't let UC Davis get any closer than 13 points after halftime.

"I thought they played very well on both ends of the floor," said UC Davis coach Sandy Simpson. "They were aggressive and physical with us. I don't think that we responded with how physical they were with us."

The teams were close throughout the early parts of the game with the Aggies bouncing back from a 13-6 deficit just over five minutes into the game to tie the matchup at 19-19 with 9:06 left. But Sheehy's third trey of the game gave the Hornets the lead again, 22-19. A 13-6 run by the Hornets put them up 35-25 with 2:50 left before they finished with a 9-3 rally - capped by Cindy Alldrin's long two-pointer just before the buzzer - to lead 44-28 at the break.

UC Davis, which shot 68 percent from the field in the first half of Thursday's 73-46 win against Southern Utah, converted 41.7 percent (10 of 24) in opening 20 minutes against Sacramento State. The Hornets made 51.7 percent of their tries in the first half, getting 14 points from Sheehy.

The Aggies played well defensively to start the second half, holding Sacramento State without a point for nearly four minutes. However, UC Davis was unable to gouge into the lead before Smith's layup with 16:24 remaining made it 44-30.

An 11-1 run by Sacramento State over a less than three-minute span of the second half - highlighted by a trio of three-pointers - gave the Hornets more breathing room at 61-38 after UC Davis trailed 50-37 with 13:04 to go. The Hornets twice posted 23-point leads in the second half, the final time coming at 67-44 with 7:05 left. The Aggies scored the final seven points of the game to provide the final score.

"I thought we played better the last 12 minutes," said Simpson. "We were more aggressive and played smarter but they had built a good cushion and we couldn't eat into it."

Smith had a trio of three-pointers as part of her 19-point effort while also leading the team with seven rebounds. Porshneva made nine of 10 free throw attempts to help with her 17 points while Campbell made a pair of three-pointers and had a game-high tying five assists. UC Davis shot 42.9 percent from the field for the game.

Four of Sheehy's five baskets came from three-pointers while Cherry had a pair of treys. Cherry also posted a game-high eight rebounds for Sacramento State, which outrebounded the Aggies 34-26 and had 20 assists. Lindsey Heard had 15 points off the bench for the Hornets while Alldrin had 11 points and five assists.

UC Davis will take a break from the schedule to take final exams before returning to the hardwood on Nov. 20 at Saint Mary's.