THIS WEEK...
Sonoma State at UC Davis (exhibition)
Friday, Nov. 7, 2014
7 p.m.
The Pavilion
Davis, Calif.
Game Coverage: Live Stats | Live Audio

TIP-OFF: The 2014-15 edition of the UC Davis women's basketball team officially tips-off its season on Friday (Nov. 7), welcoming former California Collegiate Athletic Association rival Sonoma State to The Pavilion for an exhibition contest at 7 p.m. It is the only tune-up for the Aggies before lifting the lid on the regular season next week at home against No. 1 Connecticut.

IN THE POLLS: UC Davis is unranked to begin the season, but is scheduled to face four teams that are either ranked, or receiving votes, in either the Associated Press or USA Today Coaches preseason polls. Connecticut is the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation, 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.

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 SEAWOLVES: Sonoma State returns four letter winners and two starters off of last season's squad that finished 4-22 overall and 3-19 in CCAA play... The Seawolves' roster features nine freshmen and a pair of junior transfers for the 2014-15 campaign to augment the returning corps... Sonoma State opened its season with a 58-42 exhibition win over William Jessup on Oct. 31 at home, led by freshman Leeana Bade's game-high 14 points... Junior point guard, and Washington native, Tanner Adams is the leading returning scorer for the Seawolves, averaging 8.0 points and 2.4 rebounds per game as a sophomore last season, including 48 makes from behind the arc in 23 appearances (22 starts)... Head Coach Mark Rigby enters his 18th season at the helm of the Sonoma State program, posting a 237-228 overall record with nine winning seasons.

SERIES NOTES: UC Davis leads the all-time series with long-time rivals Sonoma State, 46-10, but the two teams haven't played a game that has counted since a 67-51 win by the Seawolves during the 2003-04 season. The two programs last met in an exhibition back on Nov. 10, 2008, at The Pavilion as the Aggies rolled to an 87-53 victory.

"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 at the Big West Conference Tournament, as well as broadcast locally on KDVS 90.3 FM. Visit the women's basketball schedule page at UCDavisAggies.com to access the links.

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.

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. The Aggies received 83 points to place behind defending 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.

SUCH AN EXHIBITIONIST: UC Davis enters Friday night's match up with Sonoma State having won its last 10 consecutive exhibition contests dating back to a 43-41 loss to the Seawolves on Nov. 6, 2006. Since that loss, the Aggies have posted wins over the Melbourne Roos, Concordia (Ore.), Humboldt State (four times), Sonoma State, Australian Showcase, San Francisco State, and Redlands.

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.

HONORS ROLL IN FOR FIPPS: As if a second All-Big West First Team selection after last season 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.

SHE'S JUST ALY FROM THE BLOCK: Junior Alyson Doherty finished with 35 blocks last season -- ranking in a tie for seventh with Paige Mintun (2009-10) on the single-season list -- and enters her third season looking to move up the career charts as well. Doherty's 62 career blocks rank ninth on the career list, just two back of Kari Sivesind (64 from 1992-96) and three behind Lauren Juric (65 from 2008-12) for seventh all-time.

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.