Nov. 11, 2014 DAVIS, Calif. -
So, we meet again.
On Nov. 14, one of the most-anticipated matchups in UC Davis women's basketball history will have The Pavilion rocking as reigning national champion -- and the nation's preseason No. 1 team -- UConn returns the Aggies' 2013 trip to Hartford with a season-opening visit to Northern California.
"Our game against UConn will be one the biggest and most exciting games that we've played in UC Davis women's basketball history," Head Coach Jennifer Gross said. "UConn sets the bar for excellence in women's basketball and all of women's sports. I love that our players have the opportunity to compete against some of the best players in the country, and they are fired up for the game. I am also excited for basketball fans throughout Northern California that they get the chance to to experience such exciting basketball."
Although UC Davis suffered a similar fate at the hands of the Huskies last season as many teams have during their dynastic run, the Aggies never shied away from the challenge of meeting the "queens of the court" on their home floor, standing as one of a handful of teams at the time to even hold a lead against UConn during its run to the national title.
It's not like the UC Davis program has been a stranger to the No. 1 team in the land. Just down the road a bit stands perennial national contender Stanford, which handed the Aggies a defeat as the nation's top team back in 2012 at The Pavilion, just one of a string of top-25 opponents they have faced every season since gaining NCAA Div. I status in 2007-08.
But THIS is UConn. THIS is nine NCAA Championships in the last 20 years. THIS is 40-0. THIS is Geno Auriemma, Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson, and Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis.
And so on, and so forth. You get the idea.
"We've faced some really quality opponents in the past, but none with the national reputation of UConn," Gross said. "Geno Auriemma is probably the most recognizable coach in women's basketball. UConn has numerous All-Americans on their roster and even one member on the USA Senior National team. What makes this game so exciting for our team is that we get to play them on our home court, in front of our fans, in a sold out arena. It is going to be an electric atmosphere in The Pavilion on November 14 and I am thrilled that our student-athletes get to experience that."
Much like last year's meeting, however, UC Davis is far from intimidated. Sporting one of her most veteran groups during her tenure as head coach, Gross returns all but one player from last season's squad that finished 15-16 overall and finished in the middle of the Big West Conference standings, but was poised to make some noise in the league tournament before injuries beset the Aggies' already "efficient" roster of 11.
"We see this game as a win/win for us," Gross said. "We get the opportunity to compete against the two-time defending national champs on our home court. We are not looking at it as a pressure situation. We just want to step on the court, compete as hard as we can, and show our fans the kind of `Aggie Pride' that we intend to bring to the court each and every game."
Leading the charge is all-everything senior forward Sydnee Fipps, who ranked third in the league at 17.7 points per game while becoming only the third junior in the history of the program to reach 1,000 career points. Already in "amazing shape" according to her head coach, all the Mariposa, California, native has to do is duplicate the effort she has shown offensively over the past two seasons (512 points as a sophomore and 548 more as a junior) and she will leave campus as the top scorer in the history of the program.
Even though most of the offensive load will probably be foisted upon the shoulders of Fipps, she is not the only weapon in Gross' arsenal. Junior center Alyson Doherty, an All-Big West performer a season ago, averaged 13.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest while shooting a conference-best .557 from the floor before suffering a knee injury in the Aggies' first-round Big West tournament win over UC Santa Barbara.
Sharp-shooting senior guard Kelsey Harris, who set a school single-season record with 86 makes from beyond the arc, demands attention after averaging 10.7 ppg and shooting 41 percent from the floor (40 percent from three-point range) last year. Junior forward Celia Marfone, who ranked 10th in the Big West in rebounding (6.1 rpg), was a force in the paint down the stretch, while junior guard Molly Greubel made 27 starts out at point guard, but showed consistent improvement to lead the team in assists (104) including a single-game record 14 helpers at UC irvine on Feb. 8.
"This year's team is deeper, more versatile, more experienced and most importantly, really hungry," Gross said. "We have a great balance of reliable veterans and talented freshmen. We've had very competitive and productive practices up to this point and our goal is to get better each day, and I am excited about the progress we've made. I think our fans will be very impressed with the amount of improvement from the returners and the depth of talent in our freshmen class. This is an exciting group."
No longer will Gross have to worry about depth nor, come to think of it, height either as five newcomers fill out the Aggies' roster -- all standing 5-foot-10 or taller. Canadian guard Dani Nafekh will join California natives Rachel Nagel (La Palma/Whitney HS) and Lauren Seyranian (Piedmont/Piedmont HS) in the backcourt, while Oregonian Pele Gianotti (Myrtle Creek/Roseburg HS) and the towering Morgan Bertsch (Santa Rosa/Santa Rosa HS) will be in the rotation down low.
Whatever the challenge, be it UConn or the Big West's best, the Aggies are ready.
"This team is a family and wants to win for each other," Gross said. "Because of this, I believe there is no ceiling on what we can accomplish this year."
Get your seats now.
Avoid the hassle. Skip the line. A limited number of general admission tickets are still available via the UC Davis Ticket Office by calling 530-752-AGS1 (2471) or visiting us online at tickets.ucdavis.edu.
