Nov. 11, 2011

Final Stats

SEATTLE, Wash. - Blair Shinoda scored six of UC Davis' final seven points and the UC Davis women's basketball team rallied from a 12-point second-half deficit to top the Washington Huskies 69-68 in Seattle on Friday.

The game marked the season opener for both teams as well as the debuts of UC Davis head coach Jennifer Gross and Washington head coach Kevin McGuff.

"I'm just so proud of our group," said Gross. "We've been focused since day one on just staying together and doing it together and being unified and every single person on our team, whether they got into the game or didn't, had an impact on this game. We really got production from so many different people. I was so proud of the way we finished it out together."

UC Davis used a barrage of three pointers to take a 37-35 lead into halftime, shooting 8-of-18 from beyond the arc. The hot shooting was led by Hana Asano who knocked down four treys on her own.

Washington's Regina Rogers used her 6-foot-3 frame to command the post, scoring 10 of the Huskies' 12 points in the first seven minutes as UW began to build a double-digit lead.

Samantha Meggison opened the second half with a layup to give UC Davis a 39-35 lead, but Rogers commanded the post, putting away four straight baskets.

The Aggies wouldn't score again until 13:15 left in the half when Riecks hit a layup. A trey from Meggison brought UC Davis to within six points at 50-44, but the Huskies scored seven unanswered points over the next four minutes to go up 57-44 with 9:37 left.

It would be the freshman Sydnee Fipps who nailed back-to-back three-pointers to start the Aggie rally. Fipps then grabbed a defensive rebound, sparking a counterattack on the other end of the court that Hannah Stephens finished with a layup to get the Aggies to within seven points with 5:49 left in the game.

Cortney French continued the run with a trey of her own, bringing UC Davis to within four points. Washington's Jeneva Anderson stopped the Aggie run with a jumper but Meggison immediately responded with a shot of her own at the 4:29 mark.

Another Stephens layup cut the Husky lead to only a basket. Rogers scored again for the Huskies to give Washington four-point lead but French drained yet another three-point shot and the Aggies were within one point.

Blair Shinoda took over for UC Davis, scoring six of the Aggies' last seven points, all of which came in the final 2:30 of the game. Down the stretch, it would be Shinoda who gave the Aggies a 67-65 lead with 31 seconds to play.

Rogers converted a three-point play for Washington to take back the lead at 68-67, but with only eight seconds left in the game, Shinoda drove down the lane and put up a floater that swished through to give the Aggies the 69-68 win.

"What I'm excited about with this team is that this coaching staff is still waiting to see what everybody can contribute," said Gross. "Sydnee is fearless. She went in there and not only hit two big threes but grabbed a number of key rebounds and kept the ball alive. Sam (Meggison) had so many tips and things defensively she did to slow the other team down. I'm excited to see what we're going to keep on doing because this is a team that's going to improve so much throughout the season."

Asano and French led three Aggies in double-digit figures, dropping 12 points apiece, while Meggison added 11 of her own. Asano also had four assists and four steals while picking up five rebounds.

Rogers' double-double led all players as she finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Jazmine Davis nearly pulled off a triple-double for the Huskies as she added 11 points, eight rebounds and nine assists. Mercedes Wetmore and Kellie McCann-Smith each had 10 points.

UC Davis faces Seattle at 2 p.m. on Sunday.