March 11, 2010
UC Davis Postseason Media Guide
Big West Tournament Central
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BIG WEST TOURNAMENT
Semifinals
No. 5 seed UC Santa Barbara (15-16) vs. No. 1 seed UC Davis (20-9)
Noon • March 12 • www.ucdavisaggies.com • KDVS (90.3 FM)
Championship (if win on Friday)
1 p.m. • March 13 • www.ucdavisaggies.com • KDVS (90.3 FM)
• FSN Prime Ticket
OPENING TIPS
UC Davis looks to earn the program's first-ever trip to the NCAA Division I Tournament when the Aggies open the Big West Tournament on Friday afternoon as the No. 1 seed... The Aggies earned the Big West Conference regular-season title for the first time - and in just the school's third year in the conference - by winning two home games last weekend... With a double-bye, they won't play until the tournament semifinals, facing the lowest remaining seed... A victory in that game would send UC Davis into the championship for the second time in three years... As the No. 2 seed during its inaugural Div. I year in 2007-08, it advanced to the final against UC Santa Barbara, losing 74-59... The Aggies, who were just the second team to make it to the championship in their first year in the Big West, advanced to the Women's National Invitational Tournament (WNIT) against Gonzaga... If UC Davis does not advance to the NCAA Tournament this season, it is guaranteed a berth in the WNIT... Before moving to Div. I, the Aggies participated in 12 NCAA Div. II Tournaments, enjoying their best year in 1997 when they advanced to the Elite Eight and finished third nationally... They posted a program-best 29-3 record that year under Sandy Simpson who was serving as interim coach... Current associate head coach Jennifer Gross was an All-America honorable mention guard on that team.
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. TOURNAMENT FIELD
In descending order of seed, UC Davis owns the following all-time records against the following programs: No. 2 Cal Poly (20-17), No. 3 UC Riverside (23-16), No. 4 Long Beach State (7-8), No. 5 UC Santa Barbara (5-10), No. 6 Cal State Fullerton (5-5), No. 7 UC Irvine (15-1) and No. 8 Pacific (9-7)... In Big West Tournament action, the Aggies are 1-0 vs. UC Riverside and 0-1 vs. UCSB... They are 0-1 vs. Cal State Northridge which did not advance to this year's event.
LAST GAME: UC DAVIS 80, CAL STATE FULLERTON 52
P Paige Mintun scored a game-high 21 points and had 10 rebounds and UC Davis raced to a 21-point halftime lead on Saturday night as the Aggies claimed their first-ever regular-season Big West Conference championship with a victory over Cal State Fullerton at The Pavilion... UC Davis entered Saturday's game tied for first in the Big West with UC Riverisde but the Highlanders were upset at home by Long Beach State, 70-61, giving the Aggies the opportunity to win the title outright with a win over Cal State Fullerton... The Titans beat UC Davis 68-57 to open Big West play in early January... Behind Mintun's double-double, the Aggies controlled most of the game... W Haylee Donaghe - one of two seniors along with W Ashley Curry honored in pregame ceremonies - helped key a strong first half with 13 points while shooting a perfect 7 of 7 from the line... Mintun had 10 points before the break... UC Davis trailed 12-11 just under nine minutes into the game but a 13-2 run put it in front 24-14 four minutes later... The Aggies led 31-21 with 4:06 left in the half but went into intermission strong with another 13-2 surge that gave them a 44-23 halftime lead... UC Davis continued to play well to start the second half, scoring the first 16 points to make it 59-23 with 14:53 remaining. It held a sizeable margin the rest of the way, earning the program's first Big West regular-season title. The Aggies outscored Cal State Fullerton 42-18 in the paint.... W Heidi Heintz added 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting while Kasey Riecks added nine points... G Hana Asano posted a game-high four assists.
DIALING UP LONG DISTANCE
UC Davis enters the postseason ranked third in the Big West in three-pointers per game (6.3) and is just five away from tying its school-record 189 from 2006-07... The Aggies have spread the treys around with eight players making at least a dozen each, the largest such contingent in the Big West... They've made at least 10 in a game four different times, most recently against Long Beach State on Feb. 18... UC Davis is 39 attempts away from tying its school record 563, also from 2006-07... W Kasey Riecks (46) and W Cortney French (30) have made the most.
HEINTZ AND DONAGHE LEAD EFFORT FROM THE LINE
W Heidi Heintz continues to lead the Big West in free throws, canning .854 of her attempts this season, a mark that also ranks her 29th nationally... W Haylee Donaghe, thanks to a 9-for-9 effort against Cal State Fullerton, last Saturday has moved above 80% and is at .806... She is seventh in the Big West and 96th nationally... The pair have helped UC Davis post the third-best mark from the line in the league this season at .737... Most recently, the Aggies went 16 for 17 (.941) in a narrow loss at UC Riverside.
IF IT AIN'T BROKE
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 23 of 29 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 23... W Lauren Juric started both games Mintun missed and then two more upon her return... Despite the predominant starting lineup, that quartet has still averaged just 52% of the total playing.
PICKING UP 20 WINS AND EXTENDING THE SUCCESS
UC Davis has earned its first 20-win season as an NCAA Division I program and its first since going 25-4 in 1998-99 during its Div. II era... The last 20-win campaign capped six straight years of at least that many wins... This year is the 13th 20-win season in school history and the third for head coach Sandy Simpson... UC Davis also extended its string of double-digit wins to five straight seasons and 24 over the past 25... The Aggies have just seven losing seasons since the 1974-75 slate.
POSTSEASON HONORS
The Aggies had four honorees on this year's All-Big West awards list... P Paige Mintun earned All-Big West first-team honors for the second straight year, W Heidi Heintz was named to the second-team and W Haylee Donaghe - a second-team selection two years ago - was named honorable mention along with being tabbed the Big West Defensive Player of the Year... Additionally, Sandy Simpson was voted the Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons... He earned similar honors during the Aggies' Div. II era in the Northern California Athletic Conference and the California Collegiate Athletic Association.
STEALING AWAY
It's no secret that UC Davis has a strong defensive unit, evidenced by its Big West-leading 60.0 ppg allowed... The strength of its defense results in a multitude of steals... The Aggies lead the league with an 11.5 average, a mark that also ranks them 13th nationally... They have swiped at least 15 in nine games, including reaching a season-high 19 three times, most recently at home against Long Beach State on Feb. 18... They have posted at least 10 in 18 games.
SPEAKING OF DEFENSE
The Aggies have flirted with the 60.0 ppg. barrier in scoring defense all season and are currently right on the standard... They are 14-2 when allowing less than 60 points and have yet to give up more than 76 (Stanford, Cal State Bakersfield)... UC Davis has also held five teams below 50 points, winning all five... They were even better during the Big West season, allowing just 58.9 ppg., third-best in the league.
A LOOK BACK TO 2007-08
UC Davis' debut in the Big West Conference was a memorable one with the Aggies posting a 12-4 league mark and earning the No. 2 seed in their first league tournament... They beat defending champion UC Riverside 63-53 in the semifinal, getting a team-best tying 13 points from W Haylee Donaghe before falling to UC Santa Barbara 74-59 in the championship... The Aggies led that game by 10 points in the first half before trailing by four at halftime... UC Davis advanced to the WNIT, losing at Gonzaga... The 19-12 record was its best since 2001-02 and featured a 5-0 start, highlighted by a tournament title at the University of Hawaii and a 68-57 win over Washington... The Aggies didn't shy away from tough competition that season, facing NCAA Tournament teams Arizona State, Stanford and Drake as well... UC Davis joined Long Beach State as the only Big West teams to make it to the tournament final and advance to the postseason during their first year of conference membership.
SCHEDULE STAYS TOUGH THIS SEASON
The Aggies have played a tough schedule in hopes of preparing them for a run to March Madness... This year's schedule featured games against the Pac-10 (Stanford, Arizona State), the Big XII (Kansas State) and WNIT participant Creighton... The matchup with the Cardinal marked the third straight year the teams have met but the first on Hamilton Court at UC Davis... W Haylee Donaghe's sister, HANNAH, plays for the Cardinal but was sidelined because of injury... Last season, Haylee missed with a knee injury... The two did share some brief court time in 2007-08, the first of the recent three-game series.
DONAGHE FINISHING UP SIXTH YEAR IN PROGRAM
W Haylee Donaghe has been a mainstay with the Aggies as she finishes up her sixth season with the program... She was granted an NCAA clock extension prior to last season for injuries earlier in her career and then saw action in only seven games during 2008-09 due to injury... She did not play in any games in 2004-05 and just five in 2005-06... Donaghe completed her undergraduate degree in exercise biology last June and is currently in graduate studies in exercise science.
AGGIES ENJOY SEVEN-GAME WINNING STREAK
The Aggies were perfect from Jan. 4-28, stringing together a seven-game winning streak that matched its longest during its Div. I era... UC Davis also won seven straight in 2007-08... The Aggies averaged 70.1 ppg during its most recent run, allowed just 58.0 ppg. and canned nearly 7 3-pters per game... Four players - led by W Kasey Riecks (12.4) - averaged double-figure points.
SIMPSON ENTERS YEAR AS 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 226-142 (.614)... 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.
