Nov. 13, 2009

Final Stats

SEATTLE, Wash. - Sophomore Kasey Riecks had career-highs with five three-pointers and 21 points on Friday night, and the UC Davis women's basketball team scored the first 16 points of the second half to open a 30-point lead, as the Aggies posted a 71-49 nonconference win over Seattle University at the Connelly Center.

UC Davis won its season-opening game for the seventh time under 13th-year head coach Sandy Simpson. Junior Paige Mintun added 16 points and a game-high tying six rebounds for the Aggies while guard Hana Asano dished a career-high nine assists and had no turnovers. Junior Heidi Heintz had 12 points and a game-best four steals.

The Redhawks, currently in the second-year of a four-year reclassification to NCAA Division I, were paced by 13 points from forward Ashley Brown while forward Maggie McCarthy pitched in with 12.

UC Davis led 33-19 at halftime but scored the first 16 points after the break to widen its lead to 49-19. Seattle did not seriously threaten the rest of the way.

Riecks, an All-Big West Freshman team selection last year, canned her first three-pointers on her way to breaking her previous best of four in a game which she made against Cal Poly in February. Her 21 points eclipsed the 17 she tallied against Cal State Fullerton in January.

"She looked very steady and poised out there," said Simpson. "She stepped up when she got the open looks."

The teams exchanged leads three times in the opening minutes before Heintz hit a layup to put the Aggies in front 6-5. Riecks' first three-pointer made it 11-7while two more helped push the lead to 17-11. Seattle rallied to within a point at 17-16 with 8 minutes, 17 seconds left in the half but back-to-back treys by Mintun and Asano re-opened it to 23-16 and helped UC Davis take its 14-point lead at intermission.

"I think the first 10 minutes or so tonight you kind of saw what most coaches see in the first 10 minutes of the season," said Simpson. "I saw some adrenaline-fueled turnovers and a little bit of jittery play. But I thought we settled down defensively in the latter part of the first half. Kasey Riecks kind of kept us in it with her first-half shooting."

A pair of three-pointers from Cortney French and another from Heintz helped fuel a 16-0 start to the second half for the Aggies who went up 49-19 just over four minutes in. Seattle got to within 50-32 midway through the second half but UC Davis pushed the lead back to as many as 28 points the rest of the way

"Overall, I was pleased," Simpson said. "There's certainly a lot to get better at but for the first night out there were a lot of good things, too."

UC Davis shot 47.1 percent from the field, including a sparking 55 percent (11 of 20 ) from beyond the arc. Juric tied Mintun with six steals while Mintun contributed four assists. Brown and McCarthy each had two three-pointers for Seattle while guard Cassidy Murillo finished with six assists.

UC Davis remains in the Pacific Northwest when it visits Pac-10 member Washington State for a 2 p.m. game on Sunday.