Dec. 29, 2009

Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. - Ashley Sweat scored a game-high 25 points and Kansas State canned a season-high 13 three-pointers as the Wildcats women's basketball team beat UC Davis 73-59 in a nonconference matchup at The Pavilion on Tuesday night.

UC Davis lost its second straight game, ending the pre-Big West Conference portion of its schedule with a 7-5 record. Cortney French came off the bench to nail a career-high five three-pointers, finishing with 15 points to lead the Aggies. Heidi Heintz and Samantha Meggison each had 11.

Kansas State, which advanced to the second round of last season's NCAA Tournament, improved to 7-6. Besides Sweat - a candidate for the Wooden Award and on the Naismith Trophy watch list - the Wildcats picked up double-digit scoring from guards Brittany Chambers and Taelor Karr who each had 12 points, and Kari Kincaid and Shalin Spani who finished with 11 each.

UC Davis led briefly in the first half in its first-ever meeting with Kansas State but the Wildcats made eight three-pointers before the break - including three from Kincaid - to open a 36-27 halftime lead. They finished the game making 13 of 25 (52 percent) from beyond the arc, beating the 12 they had against Hawaii earlier this month and bettering the already impressive 40 percent they averaged coming in.

Karr was 4 of 5 from long distance while Kincaid and Spani each had three. Chambers added two for the Wildcats who made several treys from well back of the line.

"I'm not sure we've ever faced a team that had the number of three-point shooters that Kansas State has," said UC Davis coach Sandy Simpson. "It's tough enough to guard three or four shooters on the line but when they make them from behyond that, it stretches your defense."

Kansas State made its first two three-pointers, jumping to a 6-2 but UC Davis used an early 5-0 surge, capped by a three-pointer in the corner from Kasey Riecks to take a 9-8 lead about six minutes in. An 11-3 run by Kansas State later in the half, highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers frm Karr and Kincaid, staked it to a 26-16 advantage.

The Wildcats' lead was as large as 12 points before UC Davis got it to single digits after 20 minutes. Two free throws from Sweat with 12:59 left in the game made it 49-34 before the Aggies scored nine of the next 11 points to strike to within 51-43 midway through. That was as close as Kansas State let UC Davis get the rest of the way.

French was a bright shooting spot for the Aggies, canning five three-pointers for the first time in her career. They eclipsed her previous best of four treys which she had done three times. She was 5 of 7 from beyond the arc overall. Heintz was 5 of 10 from the field while Meggison was 4 of 6.

Guard Hana Asano had six assists and just one turnover, continuing a run where she has committed just two turnovers in her last 91 minutes of court time. She also had a team-high five rebounds on Tuesday.

Sweat finished 11 of 18 from the floor for Kansas State which shot 46 percent overall. It also held a 38-29 advantage on the boards, getting a game-high nine from Branshea Brown.

UC Davis played its fourth game without leading scorer Paige Mintun who was sidelined with a foot injury.

The Aggies, picked to finish second in the Big West this season, open league play on Satur