Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. -- Senior Sydnee Fipps finished with a game-high 15 points to lead three UC Davis scorers in double figures and a 20-0 run over the final seven minutes of the first half broke up a tie game as the Aggies shook off the rust following a two-week lay-off and rang in the New Year with a 77-56 victory over visiting Menlo College on Saturday evening at The Pavilion.

UC Davis drained 12 three-pointers in the victory, snapping a three-game losing streak and improving to 5-7 overall heading into the start of Big West Conference play. The Oaks, who hung tough and stood level with the Aggies at the eight-minute mark of the first half, fell to 11-4 overall.

"They came out in a zone against us to start and, if we see zone, we know we're going to get some outside shots," Head Coach Jennifer Gross said. "Early on, I thought we were taking shots really early in the clock, but as we kept playing, we did a nice job of getting the ball inside and working inside-out and that's so important against the zone."

Fipps finished 7-of-13 from the floor and added eight rebounds in 19 minutes and was joined in double digits by senior Kelsey Harris' 14 points and 11 more off the bench from freshman Rachel Nagel. Junior Celia Marfone added her fifth career double-digit rebounding game, grabbing a season-high 10 boards to go with eight points, four rebounds, and a pair fo blocks.

Amber Lane and Vanessa D'Amico finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively, to lead Menlo.

Three-pointers kept UC Davis afloat early against the Oaks, draining five of its first eight from beyond the arc, but the Aggies could not pull away. Menlo held one-point leads on three occassions, the last coming at 19-18 with 8:53 to play on a jumper by Lane. A three-pointer from Marfone regained the lead for UC Davis before Aaliyah Sowards answered with a basket of her own a minute later, knotting the score at 21 with 7:48 to play.

Following a timeout, the Aggies found their groove, exploding for the decisive run that spanned the two halves and put the game out of reach. Marfone scored inside to break the deadlock, and back-to-back three's from Harris and Fipps built the UC Davis advantage to double digits. Fipps scored seven straight points during the burst and five different Aggies found the bottom of the net, taking a 41-21 lead into the locker room at the break.

The run grew to 26-0 thanks to three's by Pele Gianotti and Marfone to start the second half, as the UC Davis defense held the Oaks to without a point until Lane hit a three at the 17:47 mark. A 9-2 spurt by Menlo brought the Oaks to within 16 points at the midway point of the period, but the Aggies responded with another lengthy run -- this a 12-1 burst over a three-minute span -- to pull away.

"I think there was a timeout where our defensive urgency wasn't where it needed to be and our staff challenged the team and, to our credit, we really stepped it up," Gross said. "It was good for our team to realize that, when we play like that, we get results. It's not a choice, we can't decide when we're going to play hard and when we're not.

"I'm looking for our team to bring that consistency and, when we do, when we figure out how to play that hard all the time, I think we're going to be pretty good."

All 11 UC Davis players who entered the game finished with at least two points as the Aggies shot just under 41 percent for the game, tying a season high with 22 assists on 30 makes. The defense held Menlo to just 34 percent from the field and UC Davis finished with a 50-34 advantage on the glass.

After playing their first home game in more than a month following a season-long five-game road trip, the Aggies return to the road to face the top two teams in the Big West Conference next weekend to tip-off league play.

UC Davis travels to Northridge to take on the Matadors on Thursday (Jan. 8) at 7 p.m., in a game to be televised on ESPN3, before traveling to Long Beach State to battle the 49ers on Saturday (Jan. 10) at 2 p.m.

UC DAVIS 77, MENLO 56
MENLO (11-4)
Amber Lane 4-9 3-4 12; Vanessa D'Amico 4-11 0-0 11; Emma Briggs 2-3 4-4 8; Fia Hoskinson 2-2 0-0 6; Laurel Donnenwirth 2-11 2-2 6; Aaliyah Sowards 2-9 0-0 5; Aubrey Harris 0-0 3-4 3; Camille Harris 1-2 0 0 3; Jacki Bateman 1-2 0-0 2; Tori Conley 0-3 0-0 0; Anisah Smith 0-0 0-0 0; Lauriane Cassou 0-0 0-0 0; Jenna Yee 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-53 12-14 56.

UC DAVIS (5-7)
Fipps, Sydnee 7-13 0-1 15; Harris, Kelsey 5-8 0-0 14; Nagel, Rachel 4-13 0-0 11; Gianotti, Pele 3-9 1-1 9; Marfone, Celia 3-8 0-0 8; Johnson, Heidi 3-8 0-0 6; McGuire, Taylor 1-4 2-2 4; Doherty, Alyson 2-4 0-0 4; Salvatore, Brianna 1-2 0-2 2; Yasukochi, Brianne 0-2 2-3 2; Nafekh, Dani 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 30-74 5-9 77.

Menlo......................... 21 35 - 56
UC Davis...................... 41 36 - 77

3-point goals--Menlo 8-22 (Vanessa D'Amico 3-9; Fia Hoskinson 2-2; Camille Harris 1-2; Aaliyah Sowards 1-4; Amber Lane 1-4; Jenna Yee 0-1), UC Davis 12-36 (Harris, Kelsey 4-7; Nagel, Rachel 3-7; Gianotti, Pele 2-5; Marfone, Celia 2-4; Fipps, Sydnee 1-4; Yasukochi, Brianne 0-1; Nafekh, Dani 0-2; Salvatore, Brianna 0-1; McGuire, Taylor 0-3; Johnson, Heidi 0-2). Fouled out--Menlo-None, UC Davis None. Rebounds--Menlo 34 (Jacki Bateman 6; Vanessa D'Amico 6; Laurel Donnenwirth 6), UC Davis 50 (Marfone, Celia 10). Assists--Menlo 9 (Aaliyah Sowards 3; Amber Lane 3), UC Davis 22 (Marfone, Celia 4). Total fouls--Menlo 16, UC Davis 14. Technical fouls--Menlo-None, UC Davis-None.