Jan. 21, 2012

Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. - Blair Shinoda scored a career-high 18 points, hitting 9-of-9 from the free throw line, as UC Davis claimed a 59-51 Big West Conference victory over Pacific in front of 1,427 fans at The Pavilion on Saturday.

UC Davis improves to 12-6 overall and 4-2 in the Big West as they close out a three-game homestand. Pacific falls to 10-8 on the year and are 3-3 in league play.

"I'm finding different players every single night who step up and contribute to our win," said head coach Jennifer Gross. "It's fun when you can look down your bench and see someone different every night who can get it done for us. It was a really great team win. Pacific is a really nice basketball team and they battled from start to finish as well. It was such a fun atmosphere today at The Pavilion. It's one of the largest crowds we've had in a long time and that crowd was a big part of that win today."

The Aggies were aggressive on the offensive end straight out of the tip off, building an 18-6 lead with 13:09 left in the first half and holding Pacific to single-digit scoring until a Christina Thompson jumper at the 8:25 mark moved the score to 18-10. UC Davis took a 27-20 lead into halftime, shooting 11-of-24 from the field.

Pacific stepped up its own offensive game in the second half, while stifling UC Davis with a full-court press that kept the Aggies scoreless for long stretches. After Kasey Riecks opened up the second period with a layup, UC Davis would not score for nearly five minutes when Hannah Stephens hit a jumper in the paint. By then, Pacific had pulled to within just five points and trailed only 31-26 with 14:45 to play.

Shinoda, who finished the first half with just five points, scored seven straight for UC Davis over the next three minutes. She nailed a three pointer off a pass from Samantha Meggison at the 14:12 mark, then went 2-for-2 from the free throw line after being fouled with 13:31 left in the game. At the 11:52 mark, she drove down the lane herself, laying the ball in to give UC Davis a 38-29 lead.

The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes with UC Davis maintaining its lead. Kendall Rodriguez brought Pacific to within four with a successful three-point shot. Brianna Salvatore answered with a layup off a backdoor pass from Sydnee Fipps to put UC Davis back up 42-36 with 8:05 to play. Rodriguez scored again for the Tigers, but Stephens nailed a crucial three pointer to increase the Aggie lead to seven points. Fipps tacked on a bucket of her own, and UC Davis was up 47-38 with 6:24 remaining.

Pacific went on a mini-run of its own late in the period, outscoring the Aggies 10-4 and capping the stretch of scoring with an NBA-range three from Rodriguez. With just 1:40 to go in the game, the Tigers were down just 51-48.

Meggison hit two free throws after being fouled with less than a minute to go, but Rodriguez sank a second long-range trey to keep Pacific within two points with just 37 seconds left in the game.

In the final seconds, it was all Shinoda for UC Davis who closed the game out at the free throw line. She was fouled with just four seconds left, hit both free throws, then Pacific head coach Lynne Roberts was given two technical fouls. Shinoda stepped up to the line for the Aggies after both of those and sank all four to give UC Davis the 59-51 win.

"Blair was just ice down the stretch," said Gross. "She stayed focused throughout the game and was really aggressive looking for her shot. She's definitely capable of games like this all the time. She's a great scorer, she's a great jumper, she's got a great touch around the basket and was a key to our win tonight. "

Stephens finished with 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and had four rebounds to go with four assists and four steals. Meggison grabbed seven rebounds as did Shinoda.

For Pacific, Rodriguez finished with 18 points and shot 4-of-9 from three-point range while also tallying five rebounds. Thompson scored nine points while Kendall Kenyon grabbed five rebounds.

Saturday's game was also designated as Pink Zone Night in support of breast cancer awareness. UC Davis wore pink warmup shirts and accessories, including socks purchased specifically for tonight's game as proceeds from the sale go directly towards breast cancer research.

UC Davis embarks on a three-game roadtrip beginning with a matchup at UC Santa Barbara on Thursday, Jan. 26. Tip off is set for 7 p.m.