Nov. 13, 2008
The UC Davis women's basketball team will look to build upon a remarkable inaugural season last year at the NCAA Division I level when the Aggies open the 2008-09 season at Southern Utah on Friday, welcoming back key parts to last year's success while mixing in several talented newcomers to the lineup.
The Aggies debut season at Division I was a memorable one, resulting in a 19-12 overall record, a 12-4 mark and second-place finish during the Big West Conference regular season and a berth in the conference tournament championship. UC Davis, which lost in the tournament final but still earned a spot in the Women's National Invitational Tournament, was just the second team in league history to make it to the championship and advance to the postseason in just their first year of membership.
Building upon that success is the goal this season with two starters, including All-Big West second-team honoree Haylee Donaghe, returning. Sophomore post Paige Mintun is also back into the starting lineup and will be joined by senior point guard Genevieve Costello. Junior Ashley Curry rounds out the Aggie quartet returning. Another letterwinner, guard Anna Harp, will redshirt this year due to injury.
Head coach Sandy Simpson, who owns a 195-115 overall record as he enters his 12th year, said that despite seven underclassmen on this year's squad, the Aggies are picking up where they left off.
"This team is practicing like a veteran team," he said. "We're not seeing the kind of mistakes you would normally see from a group learning, especially the offensive side of it. So, we're really encouraged by that. They make good decisions. The new players have just a good sense for the game and so a lot of things that you can't teach they already have."
UC Davis' returners will be joined by redshirt freshmen posts Lauren Juric and Lisa Peterson and wing Samantha Meggison, along four true freshmen including guard Hana Asano, and wings Vicky Deely, Kasey Riecks and Cortney French. With six players at least six feet tall, the Aggies will also feature one of their bigger lineups as they try to improve numbers from last year that had them outrebounded by nearly six boards per game.
UC Davis has caused fits for opponents with their Princeton-style offense that relies on good passing and cutting, but has also been effective with three-point shooting when forced to play from the perimter. Defensively, a swarming zone has created numerous turnovers from opponents while often keeping them from getting rhythm with their half-court sets.
The Aggies' returning group is led by Donaghe, a 5-10 standout who has two years of athletic eligibility remaining after being granted an NCAA clock extension in October. Donaghe enjoyed a breakout year in 2007-08, averaging 12.3 ppg and 3.7 rpg, while shooting 46 percent from the floor. Her ability to find her way to the basket proved pivotal for UC Davis but it is her defense which has helped make her an effective all-around player for the Aggies. Donaghe averaged 2.7 steals per game, 35th-best in Division I.
With the graduation of all-conference first-team pick Jessica Campbell (15.3 ppg, 4.4) and inside-outside threat Heather Bates (10.3 ppg, 5.5 rpg) Heather Bates, Donaghe will likely draw the attention of the opponents' attention.
She'll be joined in the starting lineup by Costello who came off the bench in all 31 games last year while posting averages of 4.5 points and 1.4 assists. She also contributed 23 three-pointers and shot a team-best 91 percent from the line. Costello highlighted her junior season with a memorable night at Cal State Northridge last February when she scored a career-high 21 points, including the Aggies' final 14 before intermission.
Mintun, a 6-2 sophomore post, missed most of her true freshman season two years ago with injury and was sidelined for seven games in 2008-09. But she returned to start 13 of the team's final 14 games and will keep that starting spot to begin this year. Mintun had a team-best 28 blocks last season and enjoyed a career night against national runner-up Stanford when she tallied 14 points and had six rebounds. Her athleticism in the paint will be key to UC Davis' inside attack.
The starting lineup will likely be completed at the beginning of the year by first-year players Juric and Deely. The 6-2 Juric, from Bear River High School in nearby Grass Valley, brings both an inside and outside presence to the lineup. She gained valuable experience redshirting last season, opening this year's two-game exhibition schedule by hitting all three of her trey attempts during the Aggies' 118-44 rout of the Australian Showtime on Nov. 6. Juric, a second-team selection to the Sacramento Bee All-Metro squad, averaged 16.9 and 8.2 rpg during her senior season at Bear River.
Deely enters her true freshman season at UC Davis after an amazing prep career in which she scored 2,547 points, grab 1,176 rebounds and earn a pair of MVP honors from the Marin County Athletic League. She was also named the Napa County Player of the Year four times. Deely, a six-foot wing, is another player who can score close to the hoop or from long distance.
UC Davis will look to the remainder of its squad to give it the depth necessary to compete in the Big West Conference where it was picked in the preseason to finish third by the league's head coaches.
Curry, a 6-1 junior post, saw limited action last season while missing 15 midseason games because of injury. She has come back stronger this season and will give the Aggies depth on the inside as she enters her third season in the program. Redshirt freshman Lisa Peterson has also come back strong, Simpson said, and will also add to UC Davis' inside game with her 6-2 frame. Peterson was a Sacramento Bee All-Metro first-team selection in 2007 after averaging 18.6 ppg and 10.6 rpg at El Camino High School.
The third redshirt freshman, 5-11 Samantha Meggison, brings a year of experience with the Aggies' program into her first season of collegiate competition. Meggison received All-CIF Southern Section accolades as a senior in 2007 after scoring 14.3 ppg and dishing out 4.1 assists and will give Simpson another valuable option at the wing position.
UC Davis will welcome three talented true freshmen to its roster this season with all showing signs of being key contributors to the Aggies' fortunes. Guard Hana Asano brings many of the same tools that have made Costello successful and will provide valuable time at the point. The 5-6 Asano was a first-team All-CIF Southern Section honoree for three years at South Torrance High School who was also twice named MVP of the Pioneer League. She compiled 303 assists over her final two prep seasons.
Cortney French, a 5-11 wing made four three-pointers during UC Davis' two exhibition wins and will provide another long-range weapon for the Aggies who last year canned 163 from beyond the arc. French, from St. Mary's High School in Stockton, was a Tri-City Athletic League first-team pick as senior, a year after averaging 13.5 ppg when she also earned all-league honors.
Kasey Riecks, a 6-0 win from Placer High School, adds all-around versatility to UC Davis. She scored at a 14.3 ppg clip and averaged 5.7 rpg as a senior last year while also contributing 78 stels and 27 blocks. Her standout season earned her Sacramento Bee All-Metro honorable mention.
UC Davis will face another challenging schedule in 2008-09, opening with seven of its first 10 games on the road including a matchup for the second straight year at perennial power Stanford. A home game on Dec. 3 against Pac-10 foe Arizona State also highlights the pre-conference slate with the home-opener set for Nov. 25 against San Francisco.
The 16-game Big West schedule begins on Jan. 4 against Cal State Northridge and features eight games on Hamilton Court. UC Riverside, which was two-time defending league champion before being knocked off by the Aggies in the Big West Tournament last season, was the coaches' pick to finish first this year. UC Santa Barbara, which downed UC Davis to earn the league's automatic NCAA Tournament berth, was voted second.
Pacific, Cal Poly, Cal State Fullerton, Long Beach State, UC Riverside and Cal State Northridge round out the preseason poll. The Big West looks once again to be a challenging race with improved teams and standout players. Donaghe was recognized as among the league's top players heading into the season by being named to the All-Big West Preseason Team.
