Feb. 14, 2009

Final Stats

FULLERTON, Calif. - Freshman guard Freshman guard Hana Asano scored 11 points and UC Davis shot 52.4 percent from the field as the Aggies broke a fifth-place tie in the Big West Conference with Cal State Fullerton, beating the host Titans 60-47 on Saturday afternoon.

The Aggies, who snapped a two-game losing streak with a 56-24 win at UC Irvine on Thursday, won their second straight to improve to 9-14 overall. UC Davis is 5-7 in the Big West. Cal State Fullerton, which was led by 13 points from Megan Richardson, dropped to 7-16 overall and 4-8 in the league.

The victory also delivered head coach the 204th win of his career, putting him just one behind Jorja Hoehn who had a program-best 205 in her outstanding Aggie career that ended in 1998.

The Aggies' defense continued to be a key as it held an opponent to 16 or fewer points in the first half for the third consecutive game. Opponents averaged just 13.0 points over the first 20 minutes during that stretch, including only seven by UC Irvine on Thursday.

On Saturday, UC Davis took a 26-16 halftime lead by limiting the Titans to just 23.3 percent from the floor in the first half and only 28 percent from the game. Cal State Fullerton struggled from behind the arc, making just 2 of 19 (10.5 percent) three-point attempts.

The Aggies also put the clamps down on forward Toni Thomas, the Titans' leading scorer who was held without a field goal and to just four points. Guard Lauren Chow, who came into the game with 42 three-pointers, was also just held to four points.

"I think what we're doing best right now is we're very aware of the other teams' most potent scorers," said Simpson. "We're doing a good job of being aware where those players are, contesting all shots and making them earn their points. When they make their baskets, they're earning them."

The lead changed hands five times, all of them occuring early in the game, before UC Davis scored six straight points to forge a 10-5 lead. The lead was just 17-14 with 7 minutes, 4 seconds left in the half before the Aggies closed on a 9-2 run - getting four points from Asano including a trey - to lead 26-16 at halftime.

A 13-3 surge over the first five minutes of the second half made it 39-19 before Richardson made a three-pointer and had five points to help the Titans close to within 13 with 12:35 left. However, freshman Cortney French responded with a long three-pointer as UC Davis scored the next seven points to re-open the lead to 20 points at 46-26 midway. The Titans didn't get closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

Asano was the only UC Davis player to score in double figures but eight of the nine Aggies that played found their way into the scoring column. Samantha Meggison and Lauren Juric each had nine points while Paige Mintun had eight points and six rebounds. Meggison led the team with seven boards while UC Davis held a 37-30 rebounding advantage overall.

"It's always nice to get wins on the road," Simpson said. "I think it's always nice to get those road wins so that you feel comfortable away from your home facility."

UC Davis will play three of its final four Big West games at home, opening the stretch with a 7 p.m. game on Thursday against Cal Poly. The Aggies will host league-leader UC Santa Barbara on Saturday at 4:45 p.m.