Nov. 15, 2009

Box Score

PULLMAN, Wash. - Kiki Moore scored 17 points, offsetting a game-high 19 points from UC Davis junior Paige Mintun, and host Washington State held off a late charge by the Aggies to post a 64-54 nonconference women's basketball victory on Friel Court on Sunday afternoon.

UC Davis finished its trip to the Pacific Northwest with a 1-1 record while the Cougars improved to 1-0. April Cook added 14 points for Washington State while Heidi Heintz pitched in with 10 points for the Aggies.

The Aggies were held to just 26 percent shooting in the second half and fell behind by 12 points after leading by eight in the first half, but still managed to climb to within 48-44 with 8 minutes remaining. A six-point run by the Cougars opened it up again to 10 points but UC Davis made a final rally, cutting the deficit to just 60-54 with 1:03 to go after a layup from Lauren Juric.

However, Kiki More picked a steal from Heintz, converted it into a transition basket and Washington State went on for the 10-point win. The Cougars applied full-court pressure for most of the game, helping force 21 turnovers by the Aggies, and pushed the ball up the court. That helped them hold a 20-2 advantage in fast-break points.

"I didn't think the tempo is what hurt us," said Aggie coach Sandy Simpson. "I thought were a little bit passive defensively in the first half but were better in the second half. We were too cautious against their pressure in the backcourt, they put us on our heels a little bit and used it to their advantage.

"We'll learn from this and be a lot more aggressive," he added.

The game was tied three times in the first half before Mintun canned a three-pointer to kick-start an 11-3 run that pushed the Aggies in front 25-17 with 7:56 left in the half. But Ireti Amojo had five points during a 10-0 Cougar run that took less than two minutes to give Washington State the lead. The Cougars went on to lead 37-31 at the break.

UC Davis was held without a point for nearly seven minutes to start the second half, getting on the scoreboard on Juric's trey to get within 43-34 after the Cougars had gone up by a dozen. Good defense helped the Aggies slice the deficit to 43-38 after two free throws from Heintz midway in the half, and later climbed to within four after Juric's layup at the 8-minute mark.

Washington State, picked to finish sixth in the Pac-10 this year, held a 43-33 advantage on the boards, including grabbing 18 offensive rebounds. The Cougars also posted 13 steals.

Mintun was 6 of 13 from the field and made 6 of 7 from the line for her 16 points, adding four assists and two blocks. Heintz added five assists to her 10 points. UC Davis was 3 of 13 from three-point territory and shot 35.2 percent for the game overall.

UC Davis will return to their court on Tuesday when it hosts San Francisco in its home-opener at The Pavilion at 7 p.m.