Dec. 2, 2008
Complete UC Davis Game Notes in PDF Format
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DAVIS, Calif. - The UC Davis women's basketball team will host the first nationally ranked team of its NCAA Division I era when the Aggies face No. 25 Arizona State at 7 p.m. on Wednesday on Hamilton Court, marking one of the most notable opponents to visit The Pavilion.
The Aggies bring a 3-1 overall record into the matchup after beating Santa Clara 72-64 on Monday night, a victory that gave UC Davis its sixth straight home win going back to last season. Arizona State, which beat UC Davis 77-56 in Tempe last year, is 3-2 after losing 65-60 to Florida on Saturday. Its other defeat was a tough 70-57 loss to then No. 4 Oklahoma on Nov. 21.
Arizona State has been to four consecutive NCAA Tournaments, including an Elite Eight showing in 2007, a Sweet 16 performance in 2005, and second-round appearances in 2006 and 2008. The Sun Devils finished 22-11 overall in 2007-08.
The Aggies are playing against a Pac-10 team for the fourth consecutive season and for the fourth time over the past two seasons after also facing Washington and national runner-up Stanford last season. UC Davis beat the Huskies to win the Waikiki Beach Marriott Classic at the University of Hawaii last year, part of a 5-0 start to the season. The Aggies will travel to face Stanford later this month.
UC Davis won its second straight game with its victory over visiting Santa Clara on Monday night. The Aggies were held to just two points over the game's first nine minutes and trailed 7-2 before picking up the pace to take a 28-20 halftime lead. They led by as many as 19 points in the second half before posting the eight-point win. Junior Haylee Donaghe scored a game-high 19 points while junior Paige Mintun finished with 15 points, nine rebounds, five assists, two blocks and three steals.
Arizona State features four players standing at least 6-feet, 3 inches, including 6-5 forward Becca Tobin (5.4 rpg) and 6-6 center Kirsten Thompson. Six-foot-three center Sybil Dosty has already blocked a team-high 10 shots. The Sun Devils are also using that height to help them outrebound opponents by nearly seven per game while outscoring opponents by 11.6 ppg.
Guards Briann January (13.8 ppg, 5.8 apg) and guard Dymond Simon (11.4 ppg) help comprise a formidable backcourt for Arizona State as well. Dosty is averaging 10.4 ppg to round the double-digit scorers for Arizona State.
UC Davis, which has seven underclassmen on its roster, is being led in scoring by Donaghe (12.0) and Mintun (10.3) with Mintun's 6.8 rpg best on the team. Three other players are also averaging at least 58.0 ppg for the Aggies who are scoring at just a 58.0 ppg clip but only allowing 52.8.
Wednesday's game is the final of three-game homestand for UC Davis which will play its next five on the road beginning with a matchup on Saturday at Saint Mary's.
