Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. -- Freshman Morgan Bertsch finished with a career-high 25 points and tied a career best with eight rebounds on the day to lead three teammates in doubles figures, but visiting Sacramento State shot a season-best 42 percent from the field in a run-and-gun, 92-77, win over UC Davis on Sunday afternoon at The Pavilion.

The loss ended the Aggies' six-game winning streak as they fell to 6-3 overall, suffering their first defeat in almost a month. The Hornets improved to 2-5 overall, ending their five-game losing streak.

"Sacramento State is a really tough team to play against, they're really good at what they do," Head Coach Jennifer Gross said. "For us, it's about getting better every day. This team is very driven, we're excited about where we're going and, you never like to come out on the losing end of things, but I still feel very confident about where we're at."

Bertsch logged her second consecutive 20-point game, finishing 11-for-17 from the field and 3-of-4 from the line to go with a pair of blocks in 26 minutes. Sophomore Pele Gianotti finished with 14 points, senior Celia Marfone narrowly missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds, and senior Alyson Doherty added 11 points, six rebounds, and three blocks.

Brianna Burgos came off the bench to lead all players with 26 points -- 18 of those in the second half -- while Maranne Johnson finished with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Adella Randle-El poured in 23 points to give the Hornets a pair of 20-point scorers.

UC Davis shot a season-high 56 percent from the field for the game, including a 61 percent clip in the first half, and out-rebounded Sacramento State, 43-34. Sophomore Dani Nafekh finished with six assists, while Kourtney Eaton added five more, helping the Aggies post 23 assists on 32 makes -- their second-highest total of the year.

A three-point play at the end of the first quarter by Doherty gave the home side a three-point advantage after a back-and-forth 10 minutes that featured 10 lead changes and four tie scores. Both teams traded the lead once again in the second, but the Hornets pulled away late, scoring seven of the final eight points in the quarter, breaking a 43-all score and leading at the break, 50-44.

The Aggies chipped away after the break, bringing the deficit back to just four points a minute in on a basket inside by Bertsch, but back-to-back three-pointers by Randle-El and Burgos put the Hornets up double-digits and they never looked back.

Sacramento State's lead ballooned to as many as 14 with 3:24 to play, but UC Davis would not go quietly, breaking down 10-point deficit at the end of the third to just five points at 75-70 with 5:50 to play. That would be as close as the Aggies would come, however, as Burgos nailed another three-pointer 30 seconds later -- one of her six on the day -- and the Hornets finished the game on an 11-2 run en route to the final margin.

UC Davis was forced into 27 turnovers for the game, Sacramento State taking advantage by turning those into 33 points, while the Aggies dominated the paint, scoring a season-high 56 points in the key and outscoring the Hornets by 22 points in that category.

Sunday marked the final home appearance of the year for UC Davis, which plays its next five contests on the road beginning this coming weekend in Los Angeles as one of four teams at the Women of Troy Classic. The Aggies open against Albany on Friday night (Dec. 18) at 8 p.m., with host USC and Florida A&M kicking things off at 6 p.m.

The consolation game will be played on Sunday (Dec. 20) at 1 p.m., with the championship held at 3 p.m.

SACRAMENTO STATE 92, UC DAVIS 77

SACRAMENTO STATE (2-5)
BURGOS, Brianna 10-16 0-0 26; RANDLE-EL, Adella 7-16 5-8 23; JOHNSON, Maranne 5-13 1-2 13; HARRIGAN, Gretchen 2-5 7-10 11; CRENSHAW, Ashlyn 4-10 0-0 9; HUNTINGTON, Margaret 1-2 0-0 2; MAGANA, Ericka 1-4 0-1 2; DANIELS, Sydonia 1-3 0-2 2; BROWN, Taylor 1-4 0-0 2; DAWSON, Justyce 1-1 0-0 2; DOUGHTY, Kyhonta 0-0 0-0 0; ROHN, Raegen 0-3 0-0 0; DOPPLICK, Madeline 0-2 0-0 0; GOODSELL, Abbey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-79 13-23 92.

UC DAVIS (6-3)
Bertsch, Morgan 11-17 3-4 25; Gianotti, Pele 7-10 0-0 14; Marfone, Celia 4-8 2-2 12; Doherty, Alyson 4-6 3-5 11; Nafekh, Dani 2-3 1-2 5; McGuire, Taylor 2-4 0-0 5; Johnson, Heidi 1-3 0-0 2; Eaton, Kourtney 1-3 0-0 2; Eaton, Karley 0-3 1-2 1. Totals 32-57 10-15 77.

Sacramento State.............. 27 23 23 19 - 92
UC Davis...................... 30 14 19 14 - 77

3-point goals--Sacramento State 13-41 (BURGOS, Brianna 6-11; RANDLE-EL, Adella 4-10; JOHNSON, Maranne 2-4; CRENSHAW, Ashlyn 1-4; BROWN, Taylor 0-3; ROHN, Raegen 0-3; DOPPLICK, Madeline 0-2; MAGANA, Ericka 0-2; HARRIGAN, Gretchen 0-2), UC Davis 3-5 (Marfone, Celia 2-2; McGuire, Taylor 1-1; Nafekh, Dani 0-1; Eaton, Karley 0-1). Fouled out--Sacramento State-None, UC Davis-None. Rebounds--Sacramento State 34 (JOHNSON, Maranne 10), UC Davis 43 (Marfone, Celia 9). Assists--Sacramento State 16 (DAWSON, Justyce 4), UC Davis 23 (Nafekh, Dani 6). Total fouls--Sacramento State 22, UC Davis 21. Technical fouls--Sacramento State-None, UC Davis-None. A-503