Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. -- UC Davis rallied from a 12-point first-half deficit to make it a five-point game early in the second half, but a trio of double-doubles by visiting Cal Poly was too much to overcome as the Mustangs defeated the Aggies, 68-52, on Thursday night at The Pavilion.

UC Davis fell to 13-12 overall and 8-5 in Big West Conference play, dropping into fourth place in the league standings, a game ahead of both Long Beach State and UC Riverside (both at 7-6) and a half game behind Cal Poly and CSUN.

The Mustangs (14-12, 9-5), who were led by Dynn Leaupepe's 16 points and 10 rebounds, swept the regular season series from the Aggies for the first time since 2009, shooting 43 percent from the field for the game.

Senior Kelsey Harris finished with a team-high 13 points and five rebounds, hitting a trio of three-pointers and 4-of-4 from the line to go with three steals and a pair of assists. Senior Brianna Salvatore tied a season high and shared team honors with five rebounds, while junior center Alyson Doherty finished with a career-high tying four blocks to go with seven points and four rebounds.

Both teams started sluggish, trading baskets before Cal Poly built a four-point lead on back-to-back baskets by Beth Balbierz and Dynn Leaupepe. A three-pointer by Harris out of a timeout brought UC Davis back to within a point, and the Aggies regained the lead on a slash to the basket by Dani Nafekh to go up 11-10 with 11:06 to go.

That would be the last lead for UC Davis as Dynn Leaupepe scored on a jumper to kick-start an 8-0 burst, capped by back-to-back buckets from Hannah Gilbert, to build an 18-11 lead with just under eight minutes to play and Cal Poly never looked back.

The Mustangs' lead grew to as many as 12 points before the Aggies began to chip away, scoring seven of the next nine points to reel the deficit back to within single digits at, 29-22, before the half, and Salvatore opened the second period with a driving lay-up to make it a five-point game just 20 seconds in.

However, Cal Poly responded with a 11-2 run to rebuild the lead back to 14 points at the 15:44 mark and cruised from there. UC Davis never got closer than 11 on a three-pointer by Harris right after the Mustangs' run, as Cal Poly led by as many as 21 points with 9:37 remaining.

Ariana Elegado added 15 points and 10 assists, while Gilbert finished with 14 points and 10 boards to go along with five blocks for the Mustangs, who outrebounded the Aggies, 50-27 -- including a 15-5 advantage on the offensive glass.

UC Davis finished with 12 steals for the game to set a new season high.

The Aggies close out their home schedule on Saturday (Feb. 28) at 2 p.m., welcoming UC Santa Barbara to The Pavilion. UC Davis seniors Harris, Salvatore, and Sydnee Fipps, will be honored prior to the game as part of "Senior Night" festivites.

CAL POLY 68, UC DAVIS 52

CAL POLY (14-12, 9-5 BWC)
Leaupepe, Dynn 6-12 4-5 16; Elegado, Ariana 4-11 5-5 15; Gilbert, Hannah 7-13 0-0 14; Ale, Kristen 2-7 2-2 8; Garza, Taryn 4-10 0-2 8; Balbierz, Beth 3-6 0-0 7; Anderson, Emily 0-0 0-0 0; Evans, Mary Kate 0-0 0-0 0; Brown, Paige 0-0 0-0 0; Lipton, Sarah 0-0 0-0 0; Sanchez, Lisa Marie 0-0 0-0 0; Fausey, Nikki 0-0 0 0 0; Grupalo, Gabby 0-0 0-0 0; Koehler, Rachel 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 26-61 11-14 68.

UC DAVIS (13-12, 8-5 BWC)
Harris, Kelsey 3-7 4-4 13; Fipps, Sydnee 4-10 1-2 9; Doherty, Alyson 1-9 5-6 7; Beyer, Lauren 3-4 0-0 6; Yasukochi, Brianne 0-2 4-4 4; Nafekh, Dani 1-5 2-2 4; Johnson, Heidi 1-3 0-2 3; Marfone, Celia 1-3 0-0 2; Salvatore, Brianna 1-3 0-2 2; Nagel, Rachel 1-4 0-0 2; Gianotti, Pele 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 16-53 16-22 52.

Cal Poly...................... 29 39 - 68
UC Davis...................... 22 30 - 52

3-point goals--Cal Poly 5-12 (Elegado, Ariana 2-6; Ale, Kristen 2-4; Balbierz, Beth 1-2), UC Davis 4-18 (Harris, Kelsey 3-6; Johnson, Heidi 1-2; Doherty, Alyson 0-1; Beyer, Lauren 0-1; Nafekh, Dani 0-1; Marfone, Celia 0-2; Nagel, Rachel 0-2; Gianotti, Pele 0-1; Fipps, Sydnee 0-2). Fouled out--Cal Poly-None, UC Davis-None. Rebounds--Cal Poly 50 (Gilbert, Hannah 10; Leaupepe, Dynn 10), UC Davis 27 (Harris, Kelsey 5; Salvatore, Brianna 5). Assists--Cal Poly 19 (Elegado, Ariana 10), UC Davis 10 (Salvatore, Brianna 2; Harris, Kelsey 2; Marfone, Celia 2). Total fouls--Cal Poly 20, UC Davis 17. Technical fouls--Cal Poly-None, UC Davis-None. A-791