Box Score SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Kasey Rieck scored 14 points to lead three Aggies in double figures, and UC Davis opened a 25-point first-half lead as it cruised to a 74-56 win over host Santa Clara in a nonconference women's basketball game on Thursday night at the Leavey Center.
The Aggies, 4-3 overall, picked up their second straight road win while moving above .500 for the third time this season. Heidi Heintz and Samantha Meggison each had 12 points for UC Davis. Lenda Gipson tallied 16 points and had seven rebounds for the Broncos who dropped their fifth straight game to fall to 1-5.
UC Davis also completed a three-game swing through West Coast Conference teams (San Francisco, Saint Mary's, Santa Clara), winning each by an average of 17.3 ppg.
UC Davis never trailed in the game, outscoring Santa Clara 23-3 over a 10-minute span of the first half to turn a 3-3 tie into a sizeable 26-6 lead with 8 minutes, 8 seconds remaining. The lead continued to swell, reaching 36-11 with 4:41 left in the half before settling at 40-18 at intermission.
The Aggies took the big lead on the heels of good rebounding, solid defense and effective shooting. They outrebounded an opponent (42-33 overall) for the first time this season, grabbing nine offensive boards in the first half while picking up six steals on 10 Broncos turnovers.
Heintz and Meggison provided much of the offensive punch over the first 20 minutes, each scoring 10 points. Meggison's scoring came mostly from the free throw line where she made 7 of 10 while earning several trips to the stripe from hustle rebounding. Heintz had six boards in the first 20 minutes, half of them from the offensive glass.
UC Davis swelled the lead to as much as 29 points twice in the second half and it remained at least 20 points until the Broncos were able to bring it to 18 in the final minute of the game.
The Aggies shot 43.9 percent from the field overall but were especially effective inside the three-point line where they made 17 of 29 (.586). Heintz finished with a game-high seven rebounds while also dishing out a game-best four assists. Four different UC Davis players had blocks.
Alyssa Shoji made a trio of three-pointers and had 14 points for Santa Clara while Kathy Willinsky had 11 off the bench. Ashley Armstrong and Emily Richard tied Gipson with six rebounds.
UC Davis will return to action on Saturday when it hosts Denver at The Pavilion. The scheduled tipoff is 3 p.m.
