Jan. 13, 2011

Final Stats | Postgame Comments

DAVIS, Calif. - UC Davis shot 65.4 percent from the field in the second half after missing 14 of its first 15 shots of the game, warming up to turn back Long Beach State 85-67 in a Big West Conference women's basketball game on Thursday night at The Pavilion.

Paige Mintun scored 15 points to lead four Aggies in double figures while Brandi Henton had 25 points for Long Beach State, but only six after halftime. The victory improved UC Davis to 13-4 overall and 3-2 in the Big West while the 49ers fell to 3-15 overall and 1-4 in the league.

"We got good shots, we just knocked them down in the second half," said Aggie coach Sandy Simpson whose team was 17 of 26 from the floor after the break.

The Aggies won the game despite frigid shooting in the early going that saw them make just one of the first 15 shots and shoot just 28.2% in the first half overall. However, despite the early misses, UC Davis managed to counter Long Beach State's 56 percent from the field and take a 38-35 halftime lead.

The Aggies made four straight three-pointers during a three-minute span of the second half to take a 66-50 lead while holding the 49ers without a point for nearly five minutes. The lead was as much as 19 points, fell to 13 and then was opened up again to 20 points before settling for its final margin.

"Long Beach State came out and shot very well early," said Simpson. "I thought our defensive intensity was better in the second half also in both the defenses that we played. So which team are we? First half or second half? I hope it's the team we saw in the second half. I was pleased with a lot of what we did in the second stanza."

Samantha Meggison and Vicky Deely each scored 13 points for UC Davis while Heidi Heintz added 12. Tipesa Moorer scored 14 for the 49ers who cooled to 42.9 percent from the field after halftime before shooting a solid 50 percent overall.

Long Beach State scored the first six points of the game, stretched it to 11-4 six minutes in and led until Meggison's two free throws with 6 minutes 19 seconds left capped an 8-0 Aggie run that put them in front 21-20.

There were five lead changes in the first half, the final one coming when Lauren Juric canned a three-pointer from the corner just before the halftime buzzer to put UC Davis in front by three at 38-35.

The Aggies led 54-50 with 13:58 remaining but Juric's second trey was the first of four in a row for UC Davis which also got them from Deely, Hannah Stephens and Brianna Salvatore to stretch the lead to 66-50 just over three minutes later. The 49ers didn't get closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

UC Davis benefitted from 27 turnovers by Long Beach State, outrebounded the 49ers 36-34 and held a 40-8 advantage in bench-scoring. Meggison had seven rebounds to lead the Aggies, including five on the offensive side.

Courtney Jacob had five assists for Long Beach State while Henton made 10 of 22 shots. Tipesa Moorer had a team-high seven boards.

The Aggies will take a break from action until traveling to face Pacific on Jan. 22 in Stockton.