Jan. 8, 2011

Final Stats

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - Rachel Clancy scored 21 points in the second half, canning seven three-pointers and scoring 31 points overall, as Cal Poly stunned UC Davis 74-65 in a Big West Conference women's basketball game at Mott Gym on Saturday afternoon.

The loss snapped a modest two-game winning streak for the Aggies who are 12-4 overall and 2-2 in the Big West. The Mustangs remained unbeaten in league play with a 3-0 mark while improving to 7-7 overall. They shot 54.9 percent from the field, including 60.9 percent in the second half.

Vicky Deely scored 17 points to lead UC Davis while senior Paige Mintun added 12. Both had a team-high six rebounds. The Aggies made seven three-pointers in the game, just about on their average, but were only 2 of 19 (10.5 percent) after halftime.

The Mustangs trailed 42-37 in the second half but used a 17-2 run over a nearly six-minute span to take a 54-44 with 10:36 to go. The Aggies were able to whittle the deficit to just 60-57 with 5:17 remaining but Jonae Griffin hit a trey to make it a six-point lead and the Aggies weren't able to get closer than four points the rest of the way.

Clancy, whose seven three-pointers marked a career-high, played all 40 minutes and was 7 of 13 from beyong the arc., including making 5 of 8 after halftime.. Molly Schlemer came off the bench to score 12 points, Caroline Reeves had 10 before fouling out and guard Kayla Griffin had a game-high 11 rebounds. Griffin also added six assists while Ervin had eight.

"I thought Cal Poly played outstanding," said UC Davis coach Sandy Simpson. "It's not just a matter of how they shot the ball, it's not a matter of it being a one-person effort with Rachel Clancy, although she was terrific tonight. I thought their entire team played well."

UC Davis never trailed in the first half, in fact taking a 2-0 lead before the opening tipoff after an administrative technical foul was assessed to the Mustangs. The Aggies made four of their first seven three-point attempts, including two from Deely in the game's opening minutes, to help them forge a 16-10 lead with 13:28 to go.

Mintun's jumper midway through the half capped a 6-0 UC Davis run to give the Aggies their biggest lead at 22-14. But Reeves, who scored all 10 of her points in the first half, scored four straight and Clancy hit a trey to make it 25-24 two minutes later.

Reeves' layup tied the game 28-all with four minutes remaining before UC Davis was able to go into the break with a 35-32 advantage. The Aggies made five three-pointers in the first half while Cal Poly shot 50 percent from the field (14 of 28).

Deely's three-pointer early in the second half put UC Davis in front 42-37 but the Mustangs scored the next 14 points. The Aggies missed all six of their shots during the span while Clancy hit a pair of treys. Her three-pointer made it a double-digit lead at 54-44.

A 6-0 surge from UC Davis, including back-to-back layups from Deely and Heintz, brought the Aggies to within three at 60-57 with 5:17 remaining. But two turnovers and a missed free throw help keep the Aggies from cutting it further as Griffin's three-pointer re-opened the lead to six.

Both teams did a good job of not turning the ball over. UC Davis had just 10 miscues while Cal Poly had nine, the latter limiting the Aggies to just four steals, nearly 10 below their average.

Heintz had five assists for UC Davis while Samantha Meggison had three.

The Mustangs suited eight players and played six; its limited roster due to injuries and team-imposed suspensions.

The Aggies will return to action on Thursday when it hosts Long Beach State in its only action of the week. Tipoff at The Pavilion is 7 p.m.