Jan. 8, 2014
THIS WEEK...
Cal State Northridge (4-10, 0-0) at UC Davis (5-8, 0-0)
Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014
7 p.m.
Davis, Calif. | The Pavilion
Game Coverage: | Audio | Video | UC Davis Notes | Cal State Northridge Notes
Long Beach State (8-6, 0-0) at UC Davis (5-8, 0-0)
Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014
2 p.m.
Davis, Calif. | The Pavilion
Game Coverage: | Audio | Video | UC Davis Notes | Long Beach State Notes
TIP-OFF: Winners of three of its last four games, the UC Davis women's basketball team (5-8 overall) heads into Big West Conference play on a bit of a roll, as the Aggies close out a season-long five-game homestand with a pair of contests at The Pavilion. UC Davis opens league action on Thursday (Jan. 9) against Cal State Northridge at 7 p.m., before Long Beach State pays a visit on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 11) for a 2 p.m. tip.
IN THE POLLS: Neither Cal State Northridge, Long Beach State, nor UC Davis, are ranked in the national polls entering the week.
BE A FOLLOWER: Fans can keep up with the latest in UC Davis Athletics by "liking" us on Facebook (facebook.com/UCDavisAggies) and following us on Twitter (@UCDavisAggies). You can also "like" the women's basketball program on Facebook by visiting facebook.com/UCDavisWomensBasketball as well as follow them on Twitter (@UCDavisWBB) and Instagram (instagram.com/ucdaviswomensbasketball). Game Day in-game updates are also available on Twitter by following us @UCDavisInGame.
"CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?": Thanks to a partnership with Arizona-based Stretch Internet, live Internet audio will be available for Thursday's contest, as well as broadcast locally on KDVS 90.3 FM with Greg Wong and Sammy Meckler on the call. Please visit the women's basketball schedule page at UCDavisAggies.com to access the links.
"YOU ARE LOOKING LIVE...": Bringing together live and on-demand video from each of the Big West Conference's nine member institutions, BigWest.TV covers Big West sports, press conferences, interviews, and features, including every home and conference contest. Now in its 10th year, BigWest.TV will again air all of the Aggies home and conference clashes FOR FREE during the 2013-14 campaign. Log on to www.bigwest.org/thisweek for weekly schedules or visit the women's basketball schedule page at UCDavisAggies.com.
I NEED STATS, STAT!: Live stats are available for all of UC Davis' home games, as well as selected road contests, throughout the year. Follow along by accessing the links on the women's basketball schedule page at UCDavisAggies.com.
BIG WEST PARTNERSHIP FEATURES AGGIES: The Big West Conference announced on Nov. 19 that the Aggies' contest at Long Beach State on Feb. 20 will be one of three women's regular season games to be broadcast live on ESPN3 thanks to the league's new partnership with the network. In addition to the Jan. 18 game featuring UC Riverside and Hawaii and the Feb. 22 contest between Cal State Northridge and UC Irvine, six of the women's conference tournament games will be carried on ESPN3 leading up to the championship game, which will be shown on FOX Prime Ticket.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE MATADORS: Cal State Northridge enters Big West Conference play with a 4-10 overall record, having lost its last three-straight following a 74-73 overtime defeat to CSU Bakersfield in its last outing on Jan. 2... the Matadors' last victory came back on Dec. 19 when they defeated Northern Arizona, 64-52... Northridge is 2-5 away from The Matadome this season, losing its last three contests away from home dating back to a, 70-58, win at Georgia Southern on Nov. 19... junior guards Cinnamon Lister (15.9 ppg) and Ashlee Guay (14.3 ppg) are both averaging double figures while senior forward Mikayla Thielges paces the team on the boards (6.6 rpg)... junior center Camille Mahlknecht is the conference leader in blocked shots heading into the start of league, averaging 2.57 bpg (36 overall)... Northridge is averaging 65.0 ppg and shooting .374 from the floor while opponents are scoring at a 72.1 ppg clip and shooting .402 from the field this season.
THE SERIES: UC Davis leads the all-time series with Cal State Northridge, 16-13, dating back to the 1980-81 season, but have lost the last two meetings by the scores of 51-49 at The Matadome and 61-40 in the first round of the Big West Tournament last season... the Aggies are 10-4 against the Matadors at home, having won the last eight against Northridge at The Pavilion, including a 61-46 victory in 2012-13.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE 49ERS: Long Beach State enters the week with an 8-6 overall record, snapping a brief two-game losing streak with an 88-68 win over Denver on Jan. 5 to ring in the New Year... the 49ers will host UC Irvine on Thursday (Jan. 9) before heading to Northern California for Saturday's clash with the Aggies... having won six of eight at home, Long Beach State is just 1-4 away from The Pyramid, having lost its last two road contests against Pac-12 competition in Arizona State (74-67 in overtime) and USC (89-72)... freshman guard Raven Benton (14.5 ppg) and junior Alex Sanchez (11.2 ppg) enter the week both averaging double figures while Benton also paces the team on the glass (5.4 rpg) to tip-off Big West Conference play... as a team, Long Beach State enters the week averaging 70.0 ppg and shooting .378 from the floor while opponents are scoring 70.8 ppg and shooting .404 from the field... Head Coach Jody Wynn is in her fifth season at the helm of the 49ers' program, having posted a 51-74 combined overall record in her previous four campaigns.
THE SERIES: Long Beach State leads the all-time series with UC Davis, 11-10, dating back to the 1971-72 season as the two programs have split the regular season series in each of the last three years... last year, the Aggies posted a, 68-62, victory at home before heading to Long Beach where the 49ers prevailed, 66-54, at The Pyramid... UC Davis is 7-2 against the 49ers at The Pavilion, having won the last four-consecutive meetings in Northern California dating back to the 2009-10 season.
BIG WEST LID-LIFTERS: Since making the move to Division I in 2007-08, the Aggies have struggled in Big West Conference openers, posting just a 1-5 mark and are currently mired in a four-game losing streak... UC Davis' only victory in a conference opener came back in 2008-09 when the Aggies defeated Cal State Northridge, 86-66, at The Pavilion... UC Davis is 1-2 when opening the league slate at home... records against other Big West schools in conference openers include 0-1 vs. UC Riverside, 0-3 against Cal State Fullerton, and 0-1 against former conference member Pacific.
DECADE OF DOMINANCE AT THE PAVILION: The Aggies have defended the home court well over the last 10 seasons, winning nearly two-third of their contests at The Pavilion to the tune of a combined 90-49 (.647) record dating back to 2003-04. In that span, UC Davis has suffered a losing home record only twice in 2008-09 (5-8) and 2012-13 (5-9) while posting double-digit win totals four times, including a high of 12 victories against only three defeats in the 2010-11 campaign.
20-20-20-20-20 VISION: This is getting to be a habit. Junior forward Sydnee Fipps collected her fifth-consecutive 20-point scoring performance last week against Simpson University -- the first time in nearly two decades that feat has been accomplished at UC Davis. The last? Aimee Conner closed out the 1992-93 campaign with six-straight games at or above the 20-point plateau, including a 36-point, 12-rebound effort against Chico State on Feb. 20. Conner's streak included 23 points at Humboldt State, 36 against Chico State, 22 at Sonoma State, 21 against Humboldt State, 29 against Stanislaus State, and 22 against Portland State.
SHE'S AT IT AGAIN: Since being held to just eight points at Hofstra on Dec. 7, Fipps is averaging 22.0 ppg over her last five contests and has reached double figures in 11 of the team's 13 contests overall thus far this season. Her 21-point performance against Simpson upped her overall scoring average to 17.8 ppg this season -- good for a tie for third in the Big West entering the week.
THAT'S WHAT A SCORER IS ALL ABOUT: Paraphrasing the popular burger chain, Fipps tallied her second-consecutive double-double with her 21-point, 11-rebound, effort against Simpson, marking the junior's seventh, 20-point game of the year (and the 14th of her career) and the 10th time in 13 games this season that the Mariposa, Calif., native has paced the team in scoring.
HIGH-SCORING HEIDI: With classmate Celia Marfone sidelined with a leg injury for the last five games, sophomore Heidi Johnson has come off the bench, stepped into the breach, and produced on both ends of the court in her absence. Over that span, Johnson is averaging 11.2 ppg and 7.0 rpg while shooting .436 (17-for-39) from the field, improving her overall season averages to 7.5 ppg (from 5.1 ppg), 4.5 rpg (from 2.9 rpg), and a .348 field goal percentage (from .280).
KEL-ING THEM SOFTLY WITH HER SHOTS: Junior Kelsey Harris followed up her career night against Sacramento State with another big game against Simpson University, scoring 15 of her 17 points in the first half and finishing with six rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes. Harris has reached double figures in four of her last five games (and nine of 13 overall), averaging 13.8 ppg and 5.2 rpg over that stretch while hitting 50 percent (24-of-48) from the field and 47 percent (15-for-32) from beyond the arc.
BALANCE ON THE BOARDS: Through 13 games, the Aggies have had eight different players lead them in rebounding with Fipps (four times), Kelsey Harris (twice), and Celia Marfone (twice), the only "repeats" on the list. Heidi Johnson is the newest member of the club after grabbing a game-high nine boards (five offensive) against Houston Baptist on Dec. 21. In all, six players have grabbed at least 40 rebounds with five of those players averaging better than four rebounds per contest.
ALY ALL THE WAY BACK: In her best performance since returning to the lineup from an illness that kept her out for three games, sophomore Alyson Doherty was a force inside for the Aggies against Simpson University last week, hitting 6-of-8 from the field to finish with 14 points and five rebounds in 21 minutes -- her fifth double-digit scoring game of the season and the most since she had a career-high 24 points at Hofstra on Dec. 7.
SHE'S JUST ALY FROM THE BLOCK: With two more swats against Simpson, Doherty upped her total to 13 blocks this season -- accounting for half of the Aggies' 26 as a team and ranking her fourth in the Big West with 1.30 blocks per game. The sophomore, who had 27 blocks during her rookie season, enters the week just 16 swats shy of Sarah Allen (1998-03) for 10th on the UC Davis all-time list.
ROOM AND BOARDS: UC Davis followed up its most dominating performance on the boards this season against Sacramento State (a 13-rebound advantage) with yet another stellar night on the glass, outrebounding Simpson University by 15 after collecting 48 rebounds against the Red Hawks -- the team's second-highest total of the year (51 vs. San Jose State on Nov. 26). It marked the second-straight game that the Aggies have had the advantage on the boards and the first time they have outrebounded an opponent in back-to-back games since accomplishing the feat against Santa Clara and USC last season.
SHOOTER!: The Aggies' offense has been on fire during its recent run of success, combining to shoot better than 44 percent (98-for-220) over the team's last four games, including a season-best 52 percent in a six-point loss to Sacramento State -- the best shooting night for UC Davis since the Aggies finished 30-of-50 (.600) from the floor in an 88-44 win at Cal State Fullerton on Jan. 24, 2013. The 29 field goals made against Simpson last weekend were also just shy of the season high of 34 makes against San Jose State on Nov. 26.
NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH: However, there are such things as free points if you hit your free throws, which the Aggies have done with regularity this season. UC Davis enters the first week of Big West Conference play atop the league with its .754 free throw percentage -- a total that also has them among the top 25 teams in the nation in that category (No. 22) as of Jan. 6. Junior Sydnee Fipps (4th - .819) and sophomore Molly Greubel (8th - .775) rank among the top-10 individuals in the Big West and headline a group that has shot 75 percent (or better) from the line in a game 10 times in 13 contests overall.
HELP ME, HELP YOU: UC Davis' 19 assists on 29 makes against Simpson University last week were a season high and the most for an Aggies team since they dished out 20 "helpers" against Cal Poly in a 10-point win on Feb. 9, 2013.
MINUTES FOR EVERYBODY!: With an "efficient" roster of just 11 players, the Aggies have seen every eligible member of the squad play at least one minute in 11 of the team's 13 contests this season with a lineup that features six players averaging better than 22 minutes per game.
SWIPER, NO SWIPING: Stealing is bad, but don't tell that to junior Brianna Salvatore, who has, clearly, been good at it this season. The Villa Park, Calif., native leads the team with 21 steals -- just seven shy of Cal State Northridge's Ashlee Guay for the league lead entering the week -- and stands tied for eighth in the conference with 1.62 steals per game. Salvatore has at least one steal in each of the last eight contests, and 11 of 13 overall, including a career-high tying four swipes against Akron on Nov. 30.
BOMBS AWAY: Junior Kelsey Harris has found her way back from beyond the arc in her last four games, combining to hit 15-of-32 (.469) from long range following an 0-for-7 showing at Hofstra, to keep her among the Big West's top threats from three-point land entering the weekend. Harris is tied for the conference lead with 2.85 three-pointers made per game and 37 makes from beyond the arc overall. Harris also ranks third in the league in three-point percentage (.398).
DE-FENSE (CLAP, CLAP)... DE-FENSE (CLAP, CLAP): The 46 points allowed in the Aggies' 32-point win over Simpson on Jan. 2 were the fewest scored by an opponent this season and the lowest point total for a UC Davis opponent since the Aggies held UC Irvine to just 43 points in a 47-43 victory on Feb. 28, 2013.
POINTS TAKEN: The 95 points scored against San Jose State on Nov. 26 were a season high and the most since the Aggies finished off a 102-62 win over the Spartans on Dec. 21, 2010. With its 78 points against Simpson on Jan. 2, UC Davis reached the 70-point plateau for only the 15th time in the team's last 45 games -- but the fourth time in the team's last five contests.
