Nov. 12, 2006

Box Score

Spokane, Wash. - Genevieve Costello's three-point attempt was blocked by Rachel Kane as time expired as the Gonzaga Bulldogs held on to defeat the UC Davis Aggies, 73-70, in front of 1,108 fans at the McCarthey Athletic Center on Sunday afternoon.

Five different players scored in double figures for the Aggies as they stormed back from 14 points down in the first half to pull within one of the Bulldogs. Freshman Haylee Donaghe was the high scorer for UC Davis with 17 points while Stephanie Hawk led Gonzaga with a game-high 24 points.

The Aggies finish their season-opening road trip through Washington at 0-2 while Gonzaga jumps to 2-0.

Along with her team-high 17 points, Donaghe also led all players with seven steals. Costello recorded 15 points and a team-best four assists while Heather Bates, Paige Mintun and Kirsten Commins each scored in double figures in a balanced UC Davis attack. All but two Aggies scored in the contest.

Along with her game-high in points, Hawk finished with game-best totals of seven assists and four steals. Michelle Elliot and Katy Ridenour where the only other Bulldogs with double figure points as they scored 14 and 11, respectively.

Gonzaga got off to a hot start and outscored the Aggies 8-0 in the first 90 seconds of the game. Another 8-0 run later in the half gave the Bulldogs a 14-point lead at 26-12 with just over seven minutes remaining in the half.

UC Davis fought back and outscored the Bulldogs by nine points to pull within five, 36-31, at the half.

Two-straight field goals by Mintun to start the second half closed the deficit to one. The Aggies were never able to close the gap any further as both teams battled back and forth throughout the half.

Trailing by five with under a minute to go, Commins made a layup with 18 seconds remaining to cut the lead to three points. A missed free throw by the Bulldogs left the door open in the waning seconds of the game. Costello's three-point attempt was blocked as the buzzer sounded to end the game.

"We started off slow and fought back, but we were never able to take the lead," said head coach Sandy Simpson. " It was a seesaw battle the entire second half. We kept hanging around and we were able to keep them off balance. I think this was a big step for a young team like ours to get experience against a tough veteran team like Gonzaga."

UC Davis outscored Gonzaga 39-37 in the second half.

The Aggies travel down to Southern California next Friday for a game with San Diego State at 7:00 p.m.