Box Score

MORAGA, Calif. -- UC Davis sophomore Pele Gianotti finished with a career-high 26 points, including a career-best seven three-pointers, while senior Alyson Doherty was one of three players in double figures, becoming the 17th Aggie to reach 1,000 career points, lifting the visiting Aggies to a 78-71 overtime victory over Saint Mary's on Thursday night at McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, Calif.

UC Davis clinched its fifth consecutive victory, improving to 5-2 overall on the season while also getting 17 points from senior Celia Marfone and shooting just under 43 percent from the floor for the game. The Gaels suffered their second straight loss, falling to 5-2 overall on the year despite a pair of 20-point efforts from Lauren Nicholson (23) and Devon Brookshire (20).

Gianotti finished 9-of-18 from the field and 7-of-14 from beyond the arc, falling just shy of Kelsey Harris' single-game mark of eight three-pointers made in a single game set against Long Beach State in the quarterfinals of last year's Big West Conference Tournament. Gianotti added five rebounds and a pair of steals in 36 minutes, playing well after picking up her fourth foul with six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Doherty, who finished 4-of-10 from the field and scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half and overtime, added four assists and three blocks on the night, picking up her milestone point from the free throw line, knocking down a pair with 7:33 remaining in the fourth quarter to reach 1,000. She finished the night with 1,006 points, just 21 back of Kendall Greene (1992-96) for 16th on the all-time list.

Senior Celia Marfone added a season-high scoring performance, hitting a quartet of three-pointers and adding five free throws to come up just shy of her career high of 19 points set at UC Riverside on Jan. 16, 2014. Marfone added seven rebounds and three assists, while sophomore guard Dani Nafekh contributed one of the more balanced lines of the night, finishing with seven points, a team-high eight rebounds, and five assists to go with three steals in 43 minutes.

In a contest that featured 15 lead changes and seven ties, the Aggies were forced to play catch-up in the final quarter, trailing by as many as five points with just under eight minutes to play. The two teams traded free throws before back-to-back three's from Gianotti and Marfone gave UC Davis a one-point advantage with 6:19 to play in regulation. Back-and-forth the two sides would go, trading the lead eight times over the next four minutes, with the Aggies grabbing a two-point advantage on another three by Gianotti with 3:01 to go, before Brookshire tied it at the line with a pair -- two of 31 makes (on 36 attempts) from the stripe for the Gaels on the night.

Both teams had its chances to win it before the buzzer in regulation, the last one snuffed out by a Doherty block with less than two seconds remaining, getting a hand on a three-pointer by Hannah Kaser from the right corner and securing the rebound as time expired to force overtime.

The Aggies then built off the momentum of the stop in regulation to start the overtime period as a three-pointer from Marfone sparked an 8-1 run for UC Davis, giving the Aggies a 69-62 lead, and they never looked back. The game would then be decided at the line as 16 of the final 18 points in the game were from the free throw stripe, with only a lay-up by Nicholson with 23 seconds remaining the odd points out.

UC Davis finished 9-of-10 from the line during that stretch and drew a huge charging call with 15 seconds to play as Heidi Johnson stepped in front of a Nicholson drive to draw the foul, wiping another basket off the board that would have made it a one-point game, turning the ball back over to the Aggies with a three-point lead still intact. The Gaels fouled immediately and Marfone made a pair, followed by two more from Taylor McGuire that iced the win for the Aggies.

The UC Davis defense came up big, holding Saint Mary's to just 27 percent shooting from the field for the game -- and a 23 percent clip in the first half -- after the Gaels had entered the night hitting 49 percent from the floor through their first six games. The Aggies, meanwhile shot just over 42 percent for the game and hit 13-of-30 (.433) from beyond the arc en route to the win, despite being out rebounded, 52-33, for the game led by 12 boards apiece from Saint Mary's Megan McKay and Sydney Raggio.

The Aggies led for all but 4 1/2 minutes in the first half, using a 9-0 run to erase an early three-point deficit and put them up six at the 4:42 mark of the first quarter. UC Davis led by as many as seven in the first quarter on a three-pointer by Marfone seconds later, but the Gaels responded with a 7-0 run to tie the game, and the period ended on a pair of free throws by Doherty with 1.8 seconds remaining to five the Aggies the lead after one.

Gianotti opened the second quarter with another three-pointer, and back-to-back three's from Gianotti and Johnson gave the Aggies their largest lead at 28-20 with 5:15 to play in the period. Nicholson followed with back-to-back three-pointers of her own two minutes apart, cutting UC Davis' lead to just two points at the break as the Aggies went scoreless over the final 5:15.

UC Davis traded baskets for free throws to start the third, but a 6-0 burst by Saint Mary's regained the lead for the Gaels, and the two teams see-sawed for most of the quarter before a basket inside by Brookshire and a pair of free throws from Carly Turner put Saint Mary's out in front at the end of the period, 45-44, setting the stage for the thrilling ending.

Following a three-game road trip, the Aggies finally return home to The Pavilion on Sunday (Dec. 6) for a 2 p.m. tip-off against Cal State Monterey Bay in the Aggies' final game before final exams. UC Davis then hosts Causeway rival Sacramento State on Dec. 13 at 2 p.m., for the team's final home appearance before a five-game road trip that will close out December and ring in the New Year.

UC DAVIS 78, SAINT MARY'S (CA) 71
UC DAVIS (5-2)
Gianotti, Pele 9-18 1-1 26; Marfone, Celia 4-11 5-6 17; Doherty, Alyson 4-10 4-4 12; McGuire, Taylor 2-5 4-4 8; Nafekh, Dani 3-9 0-0 7; Johnson, Heidi 2-2 1-2 6; Bertsch, Morgan 1-1 0-2 2; Seyranian, Lauren 0-0 0-0 0; Eaton, Karley 0-1 0-0 0; Eaton, Kourtney 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-59 15-19 78.

SAINT MARY'S (CA) (5-2)
Nicholson,Lauren 4-17 13-14 23; Brookshire,Devon 5-10 10-12 20; Turner,Carly 1-6 4-4 7; Beck,Stella 2-4 2-4 6; Raggio,Sydney 2-12 2-2 6; McKay,Megan 3-9 0-0 6; Kaser,Hannah 1-5 0-0 3; Galland,Devyn 0-2 0-0 0; Mcdonald,Samira 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 18-66 31-36 71.

UC Davis...................... 17 11 16 17 17 - 78
Saint Mary's (CA)............. 15 11 19 16 10 - 71

3-point goals--UC Davis 13-30 (Gianotti, Pele 7-14; Marfone, Celia 4-8; Johnson, Heidi 1-1; Nafekh, Dani 1-3; Eaton, Karley 0-1; Eaton, Kourtney 0-1; McGuire, Taylor 0-2), Saint Mary's (CA) 4-23 (Nicholson,Lauren 2-9; Kaser,Hannah 1-5; Turner,Carly 1-4; Raggio,Sydney 0-1; Galland,Devyn 0-2; Mcdonald,Samira 0-1; Beck,Stella 0-1). Fouled out--UC Davis-Doherty, Alyson; Bertsch, Morgan, Saint Mary's (CA)-None. Rebounds--UC Davis 33 (Nafekh, Dani 8), Saint Mary's (CA) 52 (Raggio,Sydney 12; McKay,Megan 12). Assists--UC Davis 16 (Nafekh, Dani 5), Saint Mary's (CA) 13 (Raggio,Sydney 4). Total fouls--UC Davis 26, Saint Mary's (CA) 16. Technical fouls--UC Davis-None, Saint Mary's (CA)-None. A-221