Jan. 26, 2008

Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. - Sparkle Anderson's put-back in the lane with 1.3 seconds remaining on Saturday night lifted Cal Poly to a 62-61 win over UC Davis in a Big West Conference women's basketball game played before 647 fans at The Pavilion, capping a night in which the senior guard scored 18 points and had a game-high eight assists.

The defeat was the second one in a row at home for UC Davis which fell to 10-9 overall and 4-3 in the Big West Conference. Heather Bates had a trio of three-pointers and scored 18 points for the Aggies while Haylee Donaghe had 17 and Paige Mintun added 10.

Cal Poly improved to 8-12 overall and 5-2 in the Big West Conference. Kristina Santiago had 11 points for the Mustangs while center Megan Harrison tallied 10.

Cal Poly rallied from a 61-58 deficit in the final minute, getting a bucket in the key from Anderson with 45 seconds left to make it 61-60 and then earning the ball back after UC Davis wasn't able to inbound the ensuing possession within the required five seconds. The Mustangs missed three shots in the final 13 seconds, the first one resulting in a jump ball that stayed with Cal Poly while the third one - from the baseline - eventually found its way to Anderson in the key which she put back in for the winning points.

UC Davis called a timeout to set up for a final play but was unable to get off a shot attempt.

The loss broke a third-place tie between the teams in the league standings behind leader UC Santa Barbara and second-place UC Riverside.

"There's still a lot of games left and I know we are capable of accomplishing some great things," said UC Davis coach Sandy Simpson.

Cal Poly forged a 35-27 halftime lead, turning 13 turnovers by UC Davis into 14 points and capitalizing on 37.5 percent (9 of 24) by the Aggies. UC Davis led 7-4 in the early going but the Mustangs strung together eight straight points - four of them by forward Rebecca Tratter - to take a 12-7 advantage with 11:14 to go.

A pair of free throws from guard Anna Harp with just under nine minutes remaining tied the game at 16-16 while a three-pointer from Haylee Donaghe put the Aggies in front 19-16. However, Anderson and Kristina Santiago each scored four points during a 9-2 Cal Poly run as the Mustangs went in front 28-21. A three-pointer from Bates made it a three-point Aggie deficit with 1:18 remaining but Anderson's trey highlighted a 5-0 surge to end the half as Cal Poly took the eight-point lead into the break.

The Mustangs went 10 of 10 from the line in the first half to help their cause while also shooting a sizzling 57.1 percent (12 of 21) from the field. UC Davis picked up eight early steals, including four from Bates and three from Kirsten Commins.

Trailing 38-31 early in the second half, UC Davis surged to within a point at 38-37 after a layup from Jessica Campbell. UC Davis wasn't able to catch the Mustangs over the next six minutes but tied the game at 48-48 after a rare five-point play from Bates who made a trey from the corner and was fouled after the shot. She made the resulting free throws to knot the game with 9:42 remaining.

The teams were tied four more times - the last time at 57-57 with 2:21 left - before Donaghe's layup gave UC Davis a two-point lead. Her two free throws with 45 seconds remaining made it 61-58, setting up the exciiting finish.

Cal Poly shot 47.9 percent for the game while UC Davis hit 44.4 percent of its tries. Bates added five rebounds and five steals to her totals while Donaghe hit 5 of 9 shots to help with her 17. Mintun posted seven boards to with her double-digit effort.

UC Davis will be off for a week before hosting Pacific next Satruday at 4:45 p.m. in the first game of a doubleheader with the Aggie men's team. The UC Davis men will host Pacific at The Pavilion beginning at 7 p.m.