OREM, Utah - UC Davis sophomore Dani Nafekh finished with a game-high 17 points on a perfect 7-of-7 from the field, leading three teammates in double figures and helping key a huge fourth quarter for the Aggies en route to a 59-55 victory over host Utah Valley on Thursday afternoon at the P.E. Building on campus.

The victory snapped a four-game skid for UC Davis, which heads into its Big West Conference opener with a 7-6 overall record -- posting five of is seven wins on the road (5-1). The Wolverines lost for the seventh time in the last eight contests, and their third straight, falling to 7-8 overall on the year.

Nafekh tied her career high with her 17-point effort, adding a trio of three-pointers, four assists, and three rebounds in the win. The seven field goals and three, three-pointers also tied career benchmarks set last season against Cal State Fullerton. Sophomore Pele Gianotti and freshman Morgan Bertsch finished with 13 points apiece, while Alyson Doherty added 10, playing most of the second half with four fouls. Senior Celia Marfone grabbed a team-high eight rebounds while Bertsch finished with a career-high three blocks.

Doherty also finished with six rebounds for the game, moving her past Jessica Campbell (2003-06, 2007-08) and Sarah Allen (2006-11) for ninth place on the school's career rebounds list with 595. Her 10 points were also enough to move the senior past Kasey Riecks (2008-12) and into 15th on the all-time scoring list with 1,077 career points.

Quynne Huggins finished with 16 points, after entering the day averaging just 2.5 ppg, while Sam Loggins added a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

UC Davis led for most the day, turning a five-point halftime advantage into a seven-point lead on a Doherty basket to start the third quarter. The Wolverines rallied, as a Rebecca MaWhinney three-pointer keyed an 8-0 run that gave the home team its first lead of the day -- part of a larger 15-2 burst that gave Utah Valley a six-point, 36-30, advantage with 2:11 to play in the period. The Wolverines led by as many as eight at the end of the third, closing the quarter with a basket inside by Taylor Gordon to go up 41-33.

Held to just nine points in the third quarter, the Aggies hit their stride to start the fourth. Nafekh drained a three-pointer to start the period and spark a 9-2 burst to make it a one-point contest, and back-to-back buckets by Kourtney Eaton and Heidi Johnson following a Huggins three brought UC Davis level at 46-all with 5:14 remaining. A driving lay-up by Nafekh regained the lead for the Aggies and Gianotti followed with a three-pointer from the left side as part of an 11-0 run that rebuild the lead to seven points and UC Davis never looked back.

A lay-up by Mariah Seals and a three-point play from Huggins made it a two-point game with 28 seconds to play, but a basket inside and a pair of free throws by Bertsch down the stretch iced the win for the Aggies, who outscored the Wolverines, 26-14, in the final period -- their highest-scoring fourth quarter of the season.

UC Davis shot just 38 percent for the game, but hit on a 48 percent clip in the decisive fourth quarter, hitting six of its last eight field goals, while holding Utah Valley to just 31 percent for the game -- including two of its last 13 from the floor and 21 percent in the final period.

Big West play begins next week on the road as the Aggies close out their season-long five-game road trip at CSUN on Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. at The Matadome. UC Davis then hosts defending regular season champion Hawai'i two days later at 2 p.m. at The Pavilion.

UC DAVIS 59, UTAH VALLEY 55

UC DAVIS (7-6)
Nafekh, Dani 7-7 0-1 17; Bertsch, Morgan 5-10 3-5 13; Gianotti, Pele 5-11 0-1 13; Doherty, Alyson 5-13 0-2 10; Eaton, Kourtney 1-5 0-0 2; Marfone, Celia 0-6 2-2 2; Johnson, Heidi 1-7 0-0 2; McGuire, Taylor 0-3 0-0 0; Eaton, Karley 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-64 5-11 59.

UTAH VALLEY (7-8)
Huggins, Quynne 5-8 3-3 16; Loggins, Sam 6-17 1-1 13; Gordon, Taylor 3-8 2-2 9; Blanks, Deijah 1-9 3-4 5; Seals, Mariah 2-8 0-0 5; Norris, Karlee 2-4 0-0 4; MaWhinney, Rebecca 1-7 0-0 3; Perry, Kendall 0-0 0-0 0; Agnew, Georgia 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 20-65 9-10 55.

UC Davis...................... 11 13 9 26 - 59
Utah Valley................... 7 12 22 14 - 55

3-point goals--UC Davis 6-26 (Nafekh, Dani 3-3; Gianotti, Pele 3-9; Eaton, Kourtney 0-2; Marfone, Celia 0-4; Johnson, Heidi 0-4; McGuire, Taylor 0-2; Eaton, Karley 0-2), Utah Valley 6-25 (Huggins, Quynne 3-6; MaWhinney, Rebecca 1-6; Gordon, Taylor 1-5; Seals, Mariah 1-5; Agnew, Georgia 0-1; Blanks, Deijah 0-2). Fouled out--UC Davis-None, Utah Valley-None. Rebounds--UC Davis 43 (Marfone, Celia 8), Utah Valley 46 (Loggins, Sam 12). Assists--UC Davis 17 (Nafekh, Dani 4; Gianotti, Pele 4), Utah Valley 14 (MaWhinney, Rebecca 4). Total fouls--UC Davis 15, Utah Valley 13. Technical fouls--UC Davis-None, Utah Valley-None. A-184