Box Score

LOS ANGELES -- Freshman Morgan Bertsch collected her first career double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, but a late charge by UC Davis fell just shy as Florida A&M held off the Aggies, 61-58, in the consolation game of the Women of Troy Classic on Sunday afternoon at the Galen Center in Los Angeles.

The loss was the third straight following a six-game winning streak for UC Davis, which fell to 6-5 overall, held to just 38 percent shooting for the game. The Rattlers, led by 19 points from Khadejra Young, improved to 5-7 overall on the year.

Bertsch logged her third 20-point game in her last four outings, finishing 8-of-14 from the field and setting a career high on the glass to go with four assists in 32 minutes. Senior Alyson Doherty and freshman Kourtney Eaton also finished in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.

Senior Khadejra Young finished with a team-high 19 points for Florida A&M, hitting 9-of-12 from the field to lead two other teammates in double figures. The Rattlers shot just over 41 percent for the game.

UC Davis, which trailed by as many as 11 points late in the third quarter, but an 8-0 run over the final 2:20 and the first minute of the fourth quarter made it a three-point game, at 48-45, capped by a basket inside by Bertsch. Florida A&M eventually pushed its advantage back to seven points, but the long-range shooting for the Aggies brought them almost all the way back as Kourtney Eaton drained a three, and Nafekh hit a pair -- the last of which made it a two-point game, 58-56, with 1:40 to play.

Cedricka Sweeting, who finished with 11 points and entered the day shooting just 19 percent from long-range, drained her only three-pointer of the night on the Rattlers' next trip down the court, and Pele Gianotti answered just a drive of her own to bring the gap back to three. The Aggies gave up a pair of second chances at the other end, but were able to force a shot clock violation, giving them one more opportunity to draw even.

Gianotti drove the right side, but her lay-up glanced off the side of the rim. She was able to volley the ball back out to Kourtney Eaton, whose three was off the mark, and Gianotti tied up the ball with the arrow in favor of UC Davis with 2.8 seconds remaining. On the inbound pass, Gianotti was able to get a shot off, but it fell short of the mark as time expired.

Florida A&M jumped out to the early lead and led by as many as four points at the midway point of the opening quarter before the Aggies found their rhythm. A 10-2 burst that included baskets from Bertsch, Kourtney Eaton, and Celia Marfone, to close out the period, gave UC Davis an 18-14 advantage.

The Aggies pushed their lead out to six points on a pair of occasions, the last coming with 7:57 to play at 22-16 on a jumper by Bertsch, before the Rattlers rallied. Olivia Antilla scored inside sparked a 10-0 run -- a burst that included 15 of the next 16 points by Florida A&M -- as the Rattlers led by five at the break, 36-31, and took a lead they would never relinquish.

UC Davis breaks for the holidays before continuing its five-game road trip in the "Beehive State" to ring in the new year, traveling to Salt Lake City to take on Utah on Tuesday (Dec. 29), before battling Utah Valley on Thursday (Dec. 31) in Orem, Utah.

FLORIDA A&M 61, UC DAVIS 58
UC DAVIS (6-5)
Bertsch, Morgan 8-14 4-4 20; Doherty, Alyson 2-8 7-8 11; Eaton, Kourtney 4-8 0-0 10; Nafekh, Dani 3-6 0-2 8; Marfone, Celia 2-6 0-0 5; Gianotti, Pele 2-9 0-0 4; Eaton, Karley 0-2 0-0 0; Johnson, Heidi 0-2 0-2 0. Totals 21-55 11-16 58.

FLORIDA A&M (5-7)
YOUNG,Khadejra 9-12 1-3 19; ANTILLA,Olivia 7-14 0-0 17; SWEETING,Cedricka 5-18 0-0 11; KING,Dawn 2-5 0-0 6; DIXON,Kenya 2-8 0-0 6; HOLLAND,London 1-3 0-0 2; McCRAY,Alicia 0-3 0-0 0; NGUYEN,Victoria 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-63 1-3 61.

UC Davis...................... 18 13 12 15 - 58
Florida A&M................... 14 22 12 13 - 61

3-point goals--UC Davis 5-18 (Nafekh, Dani 2-5; Eaton, Kourtney 2-4; Marfone, Celia 1-4; Eaton, Karley 0-2; Gianotti, Pele 0-3), Florida A&M 8-25 (ANTILLA,Olivia 3-6; DIXON,Kenya 2-5; KING,Dawn 2-5; SWEETING,Cedricka 1-7; HOLLAND,London 0-2). Fouled out--UC Davis-None, Florida A&M-None. Rebounds--UC Davis 39 (Bertsch, Morgan 11), Florida A&M 34 (McCRAY,Alicia 8). Assists--UC Davis 12 (Bertsch, Morgan 4), Florida A&M 14 (SWEETING,Cedricka 5). Total fouls--UC Davis 6, Florida A&M 14. Technical fouls--UC Davis-None, Florida A&M-None. A-524