Feb. 24, 2010
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
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Game 26
UC Davis (17-8, 9-3) at Long Beach State (12-14, 8-5)
Feb. 25, 7 p.m. Walter Pyramid (4,200) www.ucdavisaggies.com
KDVS (90.3 FM)
Game 27
UC Davis at UC Riverside (12-14, 9-4 entering)
Feb. 27, 5 p.m. Student Recreation Center (2,750) www.ucdavisaggies.com KDVS (90.3 FM)
OPENING TIPS
UC Davis plays its final two regular-season road games of the year when it completes a back-to-back series with Long Beach State on Thursday and then travels to face UC Riverside on Saturday... The Aggies are playing the same team (LBSU) in consecutive games for the first time since ending last year's regular eason at Cal State Northridge and then facing the Matadors in the first round of the Big West Tournament... The last time they faced the same school in back-to-back games in the regular season were matchups against Cal State Los Angeles during the 2003-04 campaign... The Aggies trail Cal Poly by a half-game and lead UC Riverside by the same margin... Two games separate the top four teams in the league... UC Davis has won 17 games for the third time since 2002-03... A 20-win season is in reach for the first time since 1998-99 when it went 25-4... The Aggies' 39-point lead (68-29) against Long Beach State on Feb. 18 was its largest of the year, beating a 35-point second-half lead at UC Irvine on Jan. 14.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. LONG BEACH STATE & UC RIVERSIDE
The 49ers lead the all-time series with the Aggies, 8-6 but UC Davis has won five of the past six including an 80-68 win last Thursday at The Pavilion... The series started during the 1971-72 season, was played three times and then discontinued until 2004-05... Long Beach State won the first five games before UC Davis got on the winning side... UC Davis and UC Riverside also have a series that dates back to 1971-72 but the Aggies and Highlanders have met many more times, 37 in fact, with UC Davis holding a 22-15 lead... UC Riverside holds a 7-5 advantage since the Aggies began their move to NCAA Division I in 2004-05 but UC Davis has won three of the past five including a close 54-50 win at The Pavilion on Jan. 28... The Highlanders led by as many as seven points in the first half but the Aggies rallied for a 28-27 halftime lead... The teams stayed close most of the second half but UC Davis broke a 44-44 tie with 6 minutes and led the rest of the way... W Kasey Riecks was the only Aggie in double figures, scoring 12 points... C AMBER COX had 15 points to pace UC Riverside.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE 49ERS
The Aggies' win over Long Beach State last week snapped the 49ers' three-game winning streak but LBSU rebounded to win at Pacific two days later, 87-77... It features one of the best all-around players in the league in G KARINA FIGUEROA who is averaging 18.0 ppg. (2nd), 5.0 rpg. and 5.7 assists (1st)... She has also drained 37 three-pointers (8th) and is shooting .805 from the line (6th)... ALY WADE (11.7) and LAUREN SIMS (11.7) are also scoring well while having combined for 105 treys, 60 by Sims... Wade's 6.5 rpg are best on the team and fifth-best in the conference... LBSU is averaging a league-high 7.5 three-pointers per game and is second in the Big West in scoring 68.5 ppg)... The 49ers are also very tough at home, sporting a 5-1 home mark during the Big West season.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE HIGHLANDERS
UC Riverside was just 3-10 entering Big West play but has played well since to go to 9-4 in league play and move into position near the top of the standings... A 5-0 home record during league games has helped fuel its season... ALYSSA MORRIS is averaging 13.2 ppg, fifth-best in the Big West, while also pulling down 6.5 rpg, fourth among league players... She is one of four Highlanders in double figures, a quartet that also includes RHAYA NEABORS (12.3), MARISSA RIVERA (10.9) and RHEYA NEABORS (10.0)... UC Riverside is allowing 64.5 ppg overall but just 58.5 ppg during league games, second-best in the Big West... Rheya Neabors has been effective passing the ball, ranking second in the league in assists (4.5) while her sister, Rhaya, is third in steals (2.3).
LAST GAME: UC DAVIS 80, LONG BEACH STATE 68
P Paige Mintun's season-high 22 points paced four Aggies in double figures as UC Davis took a 29-point halftime lead on its way to an 80-68 win over visiting Long Beach State... W Vicky Deely, who was 3 for 3 from three-point, scored a career-high 15 points for the Aggies while W Lauren Juric also had a trio of three-pointers and had 11 points. W Kasey Riecks added 10 points... UC Davis built its big halftime lead thanks to a strong start in which it jumped to a 22-2 lead less than eight minutes into the game... An 18-0 run fueled that fast start with Riecks and Juric hitting three-pointers and Deely making back-to-back treys... Sparked by 53.3-percent shooting from the field, the Aggies continued to build the lead the remainder of the half, going up by as many as 30 points before taking a 48-19 halftime lead... UC Davis continued to expand its lead in the second half, getting a three-pointer from Riecks with just under 13 minutes left to make it 68-29, its largest lead of the game... Long Beach State, though, pressured UC Davis and started to cut into the lead scoring 35 of the next 41 points to make it 74-64 with 2:17 to go... UC Davis, though, was able to keep the 49ers at length the rest of the way to earn its second straight victory.
RIECKS COMING ON STRONG OVER PAST TWO MONTHS
W Kasey Riecks had 18 three-pointers over UC Davis' first 14 games but has been on a tear over the past 11, canning 24 treys and shooting .414 from beyond the arc... Since Jan. 7, she has made at least two treys in nine games and has made three in five games, including four straight during mid-January... Riecks has scored in double-figures eight times, including tying her season-high with 21 against Cal State Bakersfield on Jan. 18 when she was 8 of 9 from the field overall... Most of her early season production from long distance came in the season-opener at Seattle when she had five three-pointers... Rieck's strong start to 2010 has helped push her season average to 11.8 ppg.
BEST IN BIG WEST ON THE ROAD
UC Davis has eight wins on the road this season, best in the Big West... The Aggies' five losses are also a conference-best... No other league team has more than five road wins... UC Davis had 10 wins away from The Pavilion in 2007-08 which included three neutral-site games.
PLENTY OF BLOCKS THE LAST TWO GAMES
The Aggies have 10 blocks the last two games (five each), their best back-to-back efforts since having four, eight, and then four more against Creighton, Saint Mary's and Santa Clara early in the season... UC Davis is sixth among Big West teams, averaging 2.7 pg.
HEINTZ NAILS FROM THE LINE
W Heidi Heintz leads the Big West with a free throw percentage of .865 which also ranks her 24th nationally... Heintz, who has made 77 of 89 attempts, is threatening the school record of .894 set by Jessica Campbell in 2005-06... UC Davis is shooting .865 (32 of 37) from the line during the past two games including a 12-of-12 performance against Long Beach State.
SEASON-HIGHS AGAINST LONG BEACH STATE
UC Davis had a season-high 48 points (led 48-19) in the first half against the 49ers last year, eclipsing the 40-point barrier for the sixth time... Four of those have come in the opening 20 minutes... The 39-point lead (68-29) in the second half last week was also a season-high for the Aggies.
STARTING FIVE CONSISTENCY
Despite its depth and ability to use its entire roster every game, UC Davis has still been consistent with its starting lineup... The Aggies have gone with the same quintet in 19 of 25 games with four players - W Heidi Heintz, W Haylee Donaghe, G Hana Asano and W Kasey Riecks - starting all of them... P Paige Mintun - who missed four games because of injury and was eased back into the lineup - has started 21... W Lauren Juric started both games Mintun missed and then two more upon her return.
UC DAVIS ADDS TO WIN TOTAL
By beating Long Beach State last week, UC Davis posted its second-highest win total (17) since the 2002-03 campaign... It had 19 during its inaugural NCAA Div. I year in 2007-08.. The Aggies were 17-10 in 2002-03... They have nine seasons with at least 11 wins since having a streak with at least 22 victories snapped in 1998-99, also their last 20-win campaign.
TOP 10 UPDATES
W Haylee Donaghe has 209 career steals and is tied for fourth all-time at UC Davis with G NICOLE DUBRIEL (1994-98)... Her four steals against the 49ers last week pushed her past KRISTIN COOLIDGE (208, 1996-2000) who was fifth... Donaghe's nine steals against Pacific tied her career-high which are also No. 3 at UC Davis... P Paige Mintun's 84 career blocks have put her into the No. 5 all-time Aggie position on that chart, just in front of former teammate P Ellen Porshneva (80, 2003-06)... W Lauren Juric has 39 blocks, tied for 10th.
UC DAVIS SIGNS TWO
The Aggies announced in November the signing of BRIANNA SALVATORE and KELSEY BEARD to NCAA National Letters of Intent... Salvatore is a three-time All-Century League selection at Villa Park High School while Beard earned first-team All-Big VIII League honors at Centennial High School last year... Salvatore is a 5-foot-10 forward while Beard is a 6-3 center.
HEINTZ NAMED BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK
W Heidi Heintz, who averaged 13.3 points and was nearly perfect from the line during UC Davis' first three wins in early December, was named the Big West Conference Women's Basketball Player of the Week on Dec. 7... Heintz had a team-high 15 points and eight rebounds in UC Davis' 71-59 win at Saint Mary's on Dec. 1, followed with 12 points and a game-best seven boards in the Aggies' 74-56 victory at Santa Clara on Dec. 3, then scored 13 points during a 64-57 win over visiting Denver on Dec. 5... Heintz, who transferred to UC Davis from the University of San Francisco, shot 57.1 percent from the field and 93.8 percent (15 of 16) from the line... She is the Aggies' only Big West weekly honoree of the season so far.
SIMPSON BECOMES ALL-TIME WINS LEADER
With a 53-50 win at Cal State Northridge last Mar. 4, Head coach Sandy Simpson became the all-times win leader at UC Davis with 206... He owns a career mark in 13 seasons of 223-141 (.613)... He picked up his 200th career win on Jan. 4 with an 86-66 victory over visiting Cal State Northridge... Simpson surpassed former coach JORJA HOEHN (1988-95, 96-97) who amassed a 205-51 (.801) record during her impressive tenure... Simpson served as an assistant coach under Hoehn as well as mentor PAM GILL-FISHER (1975-79, 81-86, 87-88) who posted 164 career victories.
LIVE AUDIO, VIDEO, STATS AVAILABLE
Thursday's game will feature free live audio, stats and subscription-based live video... The features are available through the athletics website at www.ucdavisaggies.com.
