THIS WEEK...
GAME 3: Saint Mary's (0-1) at UC Davis (1-1)
Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014
11 a.m.
The Pavilion (5,670)
Davis, Calif.
RADIO: KDVS 90.3 FM
Game Coverage: Live Stats | Live Audio | Big West TV | UC Davis Notes | Saint Mary's Notes

TIP-OFF: Coming off its first win of the season, the UC Davis women's basketball team (1-1 overall) returns to The Pavilion to open a season-long four-game homestand this weekend, welcoming Saint Mary's to Davis, California, for an 11 a.m. tip-off on Saturday (Nov. 22).

IN THE POLLS: UC Davis and Saint Mary's are unranked to begin the season. However, the Aggies will face four other squads which were either ranked or receiving votes in the national preseason polls this season: UConn (Nov. 14), is a unanimous No. 1 in both polls, Stanford (Dec. 22) is ranked No. 6 in both polls, Arizona State (Dec. 13) is receiving votes in both, and Big West Conference rival CSUN is receiving votes in the USA Today poll.

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 all of the Aggies' contests this season, as well as broadcast locally on KDVS 90.3 FM with Greg Wong and Brian Fuller on the call. 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 11th year, BigWest.TV will again air all of the Aggies home and conference clashes FOR FREE during the 2014-15 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!: Barring technical difficulties, new-look live stats for all UC Davis home games, as well as selected road contests, are available on your computer and mobile device courtesy the StatBroadcast platform. Visit the men's soccer schedule page at UCDavisAggies.com or the StatBroadcast landing page at UCDavisLiveStats.com to access the links when the games begin.

SO... HOW `BOUT THOSE AGGIES?: Losing only one player off of last season's "efficient" roster, UC Davis features an experienced lineup that lists five returning starters, 10 returning letter winners, and five newcomers, with a nice balance of upperclassmen (3 seniors, 5 juniors) and underclassmen (2 sophomores, five freshmen). Under the direction of fourth-year head coach (and former Aggie point guard) Jennifer Gross, UC Davis looks to build off a 2013-14 campaign that saw the Aggies finish 15-16 overall and 9-7 in Big West Conference play, advancing to the league tournament quarterfinals thanks to a late-season run that saw them win four of their final five regular season contests. Sydnee Fipps (17.7 ppg), Alyson Doherty (13.1 ppg), and Kelsey Harris (10.7 ppg), all averaged double figures in scoring for the Aggies, while Doherty (6.3 rpg) and Celia Marfone (6.1 rpg) ranked among the top 10 in rebounding in the Big West Conference.

ABOUT THE GAELS: Saint Mary's is 0-1 to start the season, falling to Boston College in its season opener on Nov. 16 by the score of 82-72... Junior guard Shannon Mauldin led the Gaels with 16 points, while senior forward Carli Rosenthal added a double-double of 11 points and 10 rebounds against the Eagles, who rallied from a three-point halftime deficit thanks to a 50-point second half... Saint Mary's returns eight letter winners and a pair of starters off of last season's squad that finished 23-10 overall and 11-7 in the West Coast Conference, advancing to the second round of the WNIT with a win over Bakersfield and a loss to UTEP... Head Coach Paul Thomas is in his ninth season with the Gaels, posting a 148-105 record in his previous eight seasons at Saint Mary's

SERIES NOTES: The Aggies are 10-11 all time against the Gaels... UC Davis has lost its last three meetings with Saint Mary's daing back to a 71-62 victory at home in 2010-11 -- that string following a run of four consecutive victories by the Aggies from 2007-11... The Aggies are 6-5 against the Gaels, but fell to Saint Mary's in the last meeting at The Pavilion, 75-56, during the 2012-13 season.

CONFERENCE CALL: UC Davis is a combined 36-46 against the current West Coast Conference alignment, looking to rebound after posting just a 1-3 record against the league last season... The Aggies defeated Santa Clara, while falling to Saint Mary's, San Francisco, and Pacific last season... UC Davis has faced seven of the 10 teams currently in the WCC, having faced everyone except for BYU, Loyola Marymount, and San Diego... The Aggies are 0-2 against Portland, 0-3 against Gonzaga, 8-9 against Santa Clara, 10-11 vs. Saint Mary's, 5-6 against San Francisco, 12-12 vs. Pacific, and 1-3 when facing Pepperdine... Saturday's meeting with the Gaels is the first of four WCC opponents this season for the Aggies, who will also host Pacific (Nov. 29) and San Francisco (Dec. 2), while taking on Santa Clara in a tournament hosted by Air Force in Colorado Springs, Colorado, on Dec. 5).

"I WAS BUT THE LEARNER, NOW *I* AM THE MASTER": With her 26 points on Tuesday at Sacramento State, senior forward Sydnee Fipps (finally) passes head coach Jennifer Gross on the school's all-time scoring list, and enters Saturday tied with Ellen Porshneva (2003-06, 2007-08) for sixth all time, needing just 11 points to leap over Aimee Conner and move into the top five. This comes just a few short games after it was thought that Fipps had passed Gross with an 18-point night at UC Santa Barbara on March 1, before our crack research staff uncovered 100 points that were never credited to the Aggies' all-time great from her playing days, thereby momentarily delaying Fipps' charge up the chart.

I'LL TAKE SCORING FOR 20, ALEX: Fipps' 26-point performance against the Hornets fell just three shy of the Mariposa, California, native's career high, but was good enough for her to collect her 24th career 20-point game in just 21 minutes of play. Already the highest-scoring sophomore (512) and junior (548) in the history of the program, Fipps needs just seven more 20-point games this season to catch Staci Stevens (31 from 1984-88) for the most career 20-point games in UC Davis history.

"BACK HERE WHERE WE NEED YA...": Welcome back, Doherty. Making her first appearance since a knee injury prematurely ended her sophomore campaign in the first round of last year's Big West Conference Tournament, junior center Alyson Doherty shook off the rust to post her fourth career double-double on Tuesday night against Sacramento State, tying a career high with 11 rebounds to go with 14 points and three blocks off the bench in the Aggies' eight-point victory over their Causeway rivals.

SHE'S JUST ALY FROM THE BLOCK: With her three blocks on Tuesday night at Sacramento State, Doherty registered her ninth career game with three-or-more swats, falling one shy of her career high set against Long Beach State on Jan. 11, 2014, and matched against UC Irvine on March 8, 2014. The three blocked shots against the Hornets this week give her 65 for her career, ranking her tied for seventh on the UC Davis career list with Lauren Juric (2008-12).

ROOM TO BOARD: The Aggies' 56 rebounds at Sacramento State marked the fourth time in the last three seasons that they have topped the 50-rebound plateau, but Tuesday night's performance was something special as UC Davis posted its highest single-game rebounding total in its Division I history and the most boards since grabbing 56 against Western Baptist on Dec. 28, 2001. Of the last five, 50-rebound performances, three of those have come against the Hornets dating back to the 2010-11 campaign.

POINT(S) TAKEN: Tuesday night's 90 points were the most for a UC Davis squad since the Aggies put up 95 points in a 34-point victory over the Spartans on Nov. 26, 2013.

OUTWIT, OUTLAST, OUTSCORE: It's not often a team gives up 80 points and still pulls out a win, but that's exactly what happened to the Aggies in an eight-point victory over Sacramento State on Tuesday night. The Hornets' 82 points were the most UC Davis has allowed in a win since a 98-91 triumph over Saint Mary's on Dec. 17, 2007 -- their first season at the Division I level.

"ICE IN THEIR VEINS": It's how Head Coach Jennifer Gross described the play of her talented freshmen following Tuesday night's win over Sacramento State as rookies Rachel Nagel (14) and Pele Gianotti (11) combined for 25 points on 9-of-14 (.643) from the floor, adding eight rebounds and a pair of steals in the win over the Hornets. Both scoring totals were career high's for the freshmen, as Nagel ranks third on the team in scoring (10.5 ppg) and Gianotti second in field goal percentage (.583) after two games.

THEY CAME IN DROVES: With the top-ranked team in the nation visiting Davis for the first time, the fans came out in record numbers to see the Aggies battle the Huskies. The announced attendance of 4,712 at The Pavilion on Nov. 14 was the largest crowd to see a women's basketball game in UC Davis history, topping the previous mark of 4,675 against Chico State back on Jan. 23, 1999, and only the fourth to break the 4,000 mark, joining two other games vs. the Wildcats in 1998 (4,615) and 1996 (4,549).

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ADDS TWO IN EARLY PERIOD: UC Davis women's basketball head coach Jennifer Gross announced, on Nov. 13, that Washington natives Karley and Kourtney Eaton have signed National Letters of Intent to continue their academic and athletic careers with the Aggies beginning with the 2015-16 season. Originally from Longview, Washington, the twin sisters helped lead the Mark Morris HS girl's basketball team to the school's first-ever Washington State championship as sophomores and a runner-up state finish as juniors in 2014. Over the last two seasons, the Monarchs have compiled a 49-5 overall record with the help of the Eaton's, who will enter UC Davis as freshmen with four years of eligibility remaining. For more information on both Karley and Kourtney, read the full release online at http://www.ucdavisaggies.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/111314aah.html.

AGGIES PICKED FOURTH IN COMPETITIVE BIG WEST RACE: UC Davis was picked to finish fourth in the race for the Big West Conference crown this season -- one spot higher than where the Aggies finished a season ago, and two spots better than where they were picked at the start of the 2013-14 season. UC Davis received 83 points to place behind defending regular season and tournament champion CSUN (13 first-place votes, 125 points), Hawai'i (1 first-place vote, 101 points), and Cal Poly (99 points), while finishing 10 points ahead of fifth-place Long Beach State. Cal State Fullerton (53), UC Irvine (41), UC Riverside (29), and UC Santa Barbara (26), round out the preseason prognostications.

TOURNEY-TESTED SCHEDULE: The Aggies are scheduled to face nine teams that saw some sort of postseason action in 2013-14, four of those teams in the NCAA Tournament and five more that made the WNIT field. Connecticut (National Champions), Stanford ("Final Four"), Arizona State (2nd Round), and CSUN (1st Round), all made the NCAA bracket, Southern Utah and Saint Mary's advanced to the second round of the WNIT, while league rivals Cal Poly and Hawai'i joined Pacific as WNIT selections.

HOME, SWEET HOME: Last season, it was rare to see the Aggies play at home before Christmas, with eight of the team's first 11 regular season contests played on opposing courts. This season's schedule should please the hometown faithful as UC Davis will play six of its first seven games (including Friday's exhibition) on its home court, with the lone exception being a short 20-mile jaunt across the Causeway to take on rival Sacramento State on Nov. 18.

DECADE OF DOMINANCE AT THE PAVILION: The Aggies have defended the home court well over the last 11+ seasons, winning nearly two-third of their contests at The Pavilion to the tune of a combined 94-54 (.635) 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.

HONORS ROLL IN FOR FIPPS: As if a second All-Big West First Team selection wasn't enough for the senior, Fipps has already garnered a host of other preseason awards from various outlets. One of six named to the All-Big West Preseason Team by a vote of media members covering the league, the Mariposa, California, native also earned preseason all-conference first-team honors (one of 10 selected) according to College Sports Madness, as well as All-Mid Major Second Team laurels by the same organization -- one of only two Big West players (CSUN guard Ashlee Guay the other) to be so honored.

DON'T FORGET DOHERTY: Junior Alyson Doherty also earned a nod on the College Sports Madness preseason All-Big West First Team alongside her teammate Sydnee Fipps, joining CSUN's Ashlee Guay, Cal Poly's Ariana Elegado, and UC Riverside's Brittany Crain.

SO, WHAT DO YOU DO FOR AN ENCORE?: Someone better get a hand in the face of senior Kelsey Harris this season or who knows what she'll accomplish. The Brea, California, native set a UC Davis single-season record with 86 makes from beyond the three-point arc, breaking the record previously held by Karen Boisvert (81) that had stood since the 1990-91 season. Harris, who ranked among the Big West's best in three-point percentage (5th, .396) and three-pointers made per game (2nd, 2.77 per game), also took the second-most three-point attempts in a season (217) and is tied for sixth on the school single-season list in three-point percentage.

BY THE NUMBERS: With all but one letter winner returning for the 2014-15 season, it is almost an embarassment of riches statistically for the Aggies, who bring back 94 percent of their scoring (1,960 points), 93 percent of their rebounds (1,047), 94 percent of their assists (429), 95 percent of their steals (183), and 94 percent of their blocks (67). What does that all mean? We don't know, but numbers are fun.

"HELLO, MY NAME IS...": Name tags may be required for the first few games as fans get to know the five new faces on the UC Davis roster: Morgan Bertsch, Pele Gianotti, Dani Nafekh, Rachel Nagel, and Lauren Seyranian. The five true freshmen on this year's roster are the most for the Aggies since the 2012-13 season when that season's rookie class featured Heidi Johnson, Aniya Baker, Celia Marfone, Molly Greubel, and Alyson Doherty.

#WINNING: UC Davis' 15 wins overall and nine Big West Conference victories eclipsed the Aggies win totals in both categories from all of last season and are the most since they finished 17-13 overall and 9-7 in the Big West during the 2011-12 campaign.

THIS CLOSE: A couple of balls bounce the other way for the Aggies and the 2013-14 season could look a lot different. Of UC Davis' seven conference losses, five of those came by nine points or fewer -- a total of 52 points -- while nine of their 16 losses overall were by single digits.

RECORDS ABOUND: Aside from Kelsey Harris' record-setting performance from beyond the arc, the Aggies were also busy in other categories. Junior guard Molly Greubel set a school single-game record with a career-high 14 assists on Feb. 8 at UC Irvine, breaking the previous mark of 13 by Sara Lillevand at Cal State Stanislaus on March 10, 1990. As a team, UC Davis set a school single-game record with 39 three-point attempts on Nov. 29 against San Francisco, eclipsing the previous record of 36 set against Stanford on Dec. 28, 2008. Sydnee Fipps also added her name to the record books, sinking a single-game record 17 free throws at Pacific on Nov. 11, breaking Jackie Turpin's mark of 15 against Cal Poly on Feb. 9, 2006.