Dec. 30, 2006
Box Score
IRVINE, Calif. - Laura Thomas scored a team-high 12 points on Saturday afternoon as UC Davis, which scored the game's first 14 points, downed host UC Irvine in a nonconference women's basketball game after the Anteaters nearly erased a 17-point deficit in the second half.
UC Davis, which has won four of its past five games, improved to 6-8 while UC Irvine dropped to 2-11. Stephanie Duda posted game-highs with 20 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Anteaters, who had an opportunity to win the game at the buzzer but Miranda Forry's three-pointer was off the mark.
Freshman Anna Harp and guard Kirsten Commins each scored 11 points for the Aggies while Haylee Donaghe had 10. Annie Mai added 11 points for UC Irvine while Forry tallied 12.
Donaghe scored the first eight points of the game for UC Davis as the Aggies held the Anteaters to just two shot attempts in the first four minutes while opening up a 14-0 lead. Angie Ned's three-pointer with just under five minutes gone were UC Irvine's first points.
The Anteaters cut the deficit to 19-13 midway through the half but a 15-4 run by UC Davis gave it 34-17 lead with 2:13 to go. Thomas had a three-pointer to help highlight the surge. The Aggies led 37-22 at halftime.
Genevieve Costello's three-pointer with 17:35 left in the second half gave the Aggies a 43-26 lead, their second 17-point lead after the break. However, the Anteaters rallied, cutting the lead to single digits around the 14-minute mark on Forry's jumper in the key, then getting to within 46-42 with 11:39 to go on a trey by Keyonna Johnson.
Guard Lindsey Jones's three-point play with 7:16 remaining put UC Davis back up by 11 at 55-44 but an 8-0 run by UC Irvine made it 55-52 less than two minutes later. The Anteaters cut the deficit to two with 49 ticks left and then to just 63-62 after a pair of free throws by Mai with 10 seconds left. Costello then made one of two charity shots with seven seconds left, setting up the Anteaters' game-winning attempt.
UC Davis, which shot 46 percent in the first half, made just 37 percent after halftime. It was also just 2 of 12 from three-point. The Aggies held a decisive advantage at the free throw line, making 26 of 37 attempts. UC Irvine was 8 of 11.
UC Davis will return home to begin a three-game homestand, opening on Friday with a 7 p.m. game against South Dakota State.
