March 16, 2010
Complete UC Davis Postseason Notes in PDF Format 
Women's National Invitation Tournament
First Round
UC Davis (21-10) at California (18-13)
7 p.m. • March 17 • Haas Pavilion • Berkeley, Calif.
www.ucdavisaggies.com • KDVS (90.3 FM)
OPENING TIPS
While in just its third year as an NCAA Division I program, the UC Davis women's basketball team makes its second postseason appearance, both of them to the WNIT... The Aggies earned the Big West Conference's automatic berth to the WNIT by winning the league's regular-season conference championship... UC Davis as it did in 2008, played in the Big West Tournament Championship last Saturday with hopes of landing a spot in the NCAA Tournament but was defeated in that title matchup... Two years ago, the Aggies traveled to face Gonzaga in the WNIT first round but were defeated by the Bulldogs, 81-60... The winner of Wednesday's game between UC Davis and Cal will face the victor of Sunday's contest between Utah and Saint Mary's in Utah... The date and location of that second-round game have not been determined... The Aggies canned 10 three-pointers in their two tournament games last weekend, pushing their school-record total to 194... They also enter this week's WNIT averaging 11.3 steals, fourth-best among the 64-participating schools... Among WNIT teams, UC Davis is fifth in turnover margin (+5.3) and tied for eighth in free throws (.744).
ALL-TIME SERIES VS. CALIFORNIA
The Golden Bears hold a 6-2 series lead against the Aggies... The teams last met during on Nov. 22, 2005 at Haas Pavilion with Cal overcoming a 10-point deficit in the first half to beat UC Davis 67-58... The Aggies were up by as many as six points in the second half before ALEXIS GRAY-LAWSON gave Cal the lead for good at 51-49 on a jumper in the paint... UC Davis' two wins came during 1971-72 (51-33) and in 1975-76 (89-43).
A BRIEF LOOK AT CAL
The Bears are making their fourth straight postseason appearance under head coach Joanne Boyle but first in the WNIT during that span... Cal flirted with a bid to the NCAA Tournament before missing an at-large selection... It enters the week after beating Arizona State 60-50 in their Pac-10 Tournament opener last week and then falling to second-ranked Stanford 64-44 in the semifinals... ALEXIS GRAY-LAWSON, injured in Cal's last game, averages a team-best 17.5 ppg. and pulls down 5.5 rpg... DeNESHA STALLWORTH is scoring at 12.3 ppg. clip and is averaging 6.2 rpg... The Bears outrebound their opponents 41.2-35.7 pg with GENNIFER BRANDON posting a team-best 7.8 rpg. average... Gray-Lawson has 50 three-pointers to lead Cal which shoots just 26.1% from beyond the arc... The Bears have lost three of their last four games with that stretch coming on the heels of a five-game winning streak.
BIG WEST TOURNAMENT RECAP
The top-seeded Aggies kept defending champion UC Santa Barbara out of the championship game for the first time since 1996 with a 63-53 semifinal win over the Gauchos on Friday at the Anaheim Convention Center... P Paige Mintun had a team-high 15 points for the Aggies who led 38-24 at halftime but saw UCSB climb to within 53-51 with 3:21 to play... However, a 6-0 run gave some breathing room for UC Davis... In the final against UC Riverside - the Aggies' second in just three seasons of Big West membership - UC Davis took an eight-point first-half lead but trailed 29-28 at halftime... The Highlanders eventually built a 67-55 advantage with less than six minutes remaining before the Aggies scored 11 straight points to get within 67-66 with 1:38 to pay... However, TRESHONTI NOTTINGHAM made four free throws in the final 15 seconds to help seal UCR's third tournament championship since 2006... W Heidi Heintz had a career-high 22 points - including going 10 of 12 from the line - to pace the Aggies... She and Mintun were named to the all-tournament team.
UC DAVIS VS. THE PAC-10 THIS SEASON
Cal represents the third Pac-10 opponent this season, joining Washington State and Stanford... UC Davis lost at WSU in the season's second game 64-54 and was downed by the No. 2 Cardinal 76-51 on Nov. 22... Stanford and UC Davis were meeting for the third straight year but for the first time on Hamilton Court... Sisters HANNAH (Stanford) and Haylee Donaghe (UC Davis) have been members of their respective teams but only played against each other during the first matchup in 2007... Either one has been injured each of the last two games... UC Davis' last win over a Pac-10 team came against Washington (69-58) during an early season tournament in Hawaii.
SHOOTING THE THREE AGAINST THE AGGIES
UC Davis has been victimized with torrid three-point shooting from opponents during five games in particular this season: at Cal State Bakersfield (16 of 32), at Cal Poly (12 of 21), at UC Santa Barbara (10 of 21), at Pacific (15 of 22) and last week versus UC Riverside (11 of 20)... Those five teams combined to shoot 55.2% (64 of 116) from beyond the arc... The Highlanders were especially hot during last Saturday's second half, draining 8 of 11... That kind of shooting helped drop the Aggies to the lower half of the Big West in three-point defense (7th, .349).
POSTSEASON HISTORY
With two postseason appearances over its first three seasons at the NCAA Division I level, UC Davis is continuing a tradition it enjoyed during its Div. II era which ended in 2003... From 1986-1999, the Aggies went to 12 NCAA Div. II Tournaments, including 10 straight ending in 1999... UC Davis advanced to just one Elite Eight during that time, however, finishing third nationally in 1997... Sandy Simpson was interim head coach that season, helping lead the Aggies to a program-best 29-3 record and 20-game winning streak... UC Davis appeared in six regional finals during that span.
DEFENSE RULES THE DAY
UC Davis leads the Big West in scoring defense at 60.1 ppg., an averaged helped by holding 17 opponents to less than 60 points and posting a 15-2 mark in those games... UC Riverside was the first team in six games to crack the 60-point barrier when it scored 71 last week... The Aggies are 5-0 when holding teams to less than 50 points.
BLOCK PARTY
P Paige Mintun moved into a seventh-place tie with herself for most blocks in a season, swatting two last week to give her 31 this season... She has 90 for her career, fourth-best, and is just six away from tying STACI STEVENS (1983-88) for third... W Lauren Juric is also making a move up the career list... She has 56 over her first two seasons and is tied for ninth with Sarah Allen (1998-2003
HEINTZ AND DONAGHE LEAD EFFORT FROM THE LINE
Despite making 10 of 12 from the line during the Aggies' loss to UC Rivreside, Heidi Heintz slipped out of the Big West lead for free throws, canning .856 of her attempts this season, a mark that also ranks her 27tj nationally... W Haylee Donaghe, thanks to a 9-for-9 effort against Cal State Fullerton on Mar. 6 is above 80% 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 .744... Most recently, the Aggies went 16 for 17 (.941) in a narrow loss at UC Riverside.
CALLING LONG DISTANCE
UC Davis enters the week ranked third in the Big West in three-pointers per game (6.3) after having made a school-record 194 so far this seaon... The old record was a 189 in 2005-06... 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 12 attempts away from tying its school record 563, also from 2006-07... W Kasey Riecks (49) and W Cortney French (30) have made the most.
CONSISTENCY IS THE NAME OF THE GAME
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 25 of 31 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 25... 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 60.1 ppg allowed... The strength of its defense results in a multitude of steals... The Aggies lead the league with an 11.3 average, a mark that also ranks them 15th 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 steals in 18 games.
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.
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 227-143 (.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.
