THIS WEEK...
CSUN (14-8, 4-4 Big West) at UC Davis (9-10, 4-3 Big West)
Thursday, February 5, 2015
7:00 p.m.
Davis, Calif. -- The Pavilion (5,670)
Game Coverage: Live Stats | Audio | Video | UC Davis Notes | CSUN Notes

UC Irvine (4-18, 1-6 Big West) at UC Davis (9-10, 4-3 Big West)
Saturday, February 7, 2015
2:00 p.m.
Davis, Calif. -- The Pavilion (5,670)
Game Coverage: Live Stats | Audio | Video | UC Davis Notes | UCI Notes

TIP-OFF: Coming off a hard-fought overtime win to close out a trip down the coast, the UC Davis women's basketball team (9-10 overall, 4-3 in the Big West Conference) opens the second round of league play this week at home, welcoming CSUN and UC Irvine to The Pavilion for a pair. The Aggies and Matadors tip-off at 7 p.m. on Thursday (Feb. 5), before UC Davis meets the Anteaters for the first time this season on Saturday (Feb. 7) at 2 p.m.

IN THE POLLS: Entering this week's contests, UC Davis, CSUN, nor UC Irvine, are ranked.

BE A FOLLOWER: Fans can keep up with the latest in UC Davis Athletics by "liking" us on Facebook (facebook.com/UCDavisAggies) and following us on Twitter (@UCDavisAggies). You can also "like" the women's basketball program on Facebook by visiting facebook.com/UCDavisWomensBasketball as well as follow them on Twitter (@UCDavisWBB) and Instagram (instagram.com/ucdaviswomensbasketball). Game Day in-game updates are also available on Twitter by following us @UCDavisInGame.

"CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?": Thanks to a partnership with Arizona-based Stretch Internet, live Internet audio will be available for all of the Aggies' contests this season, as well as broadcast locally on KDVS 90.3 FM with Greg Wong and Brian Fuller on the call. Visit the women's basketball schedule page at UCDavisAggies.com to access the links.

"YOU ARE LOOKING LIVE...": Bringing together live and on-demand video from each of the Big West Conference's nine member institutions, BigWest.TV covers Big West sports, press conferences, interviews, and features, including every home and conference contest. Now in its 11th year, BigWest.TV will again air all of the Aggies home and conference clashes FOR FREE during the 2014-15 campaign. Log on to www.bigwest.org/thisweek for weekly schedules or visit the women's basketball schedule page at UCDavisAggies.com.

I NEED STATS, STAT!: New-look live stats for all UC Davis home games, as well as selected road contests, are available on your computer and mobile device courtesy the StatBroadcast platform. Visit the women's basketball schedule page at UCDavisAggies.com or the StatBroadcast landing page at UCDavisLiveStats.com to access the links when the games begin.

ABOUT THE MATADORS: CSUN enters the week with a 14-8 overall record and a 4-4 mark in Big West Conference play, standing sixth in the league -- just a half game back of the Aggies and UC Riverside in the standings... After winning four of five, the Matadors dropped both their games last weekend, falling at home to the Highlanders (68-56) and on the road at Hawai'i (64-49)... CSUN is 8-2 on its home floor this season, but just 6-5 away from the friendly confines of The Matadome... Senior guard Ashlee Guay continues to pace the offense, ranking fifth in the league at 15.0 points per game while shooting 41 percent from the field and averaging 4.5 assists per game... Senior guards Janae Sharpe (12.8 ppg) and Cinnamon Lister (12.1 ppg) are also in double figures... The Matadors average 65.4 ppg and shooting just under 39 percent from the field as a team, allowing just 60.0 ppg and 37 percent shooting to their opponents.

VERSUS CSUN: Dating back to the 1980 season, the Aggies lead the all-time series with the Matadors, 18-14, including a 60-49 victory earlier this season in Northridge... UC Davis has now won back-to-back games in the series for the first time since the end of the 2010-11 season to the first meeting in 2011-12... That followed a run that saw CSUN win four of five from the Aggies from 2012-14... UC Davis is 14-6 against the Matadors since making the jump to Division I in 2007-08... Of the Aggies' 18 wins in the series, 11 of those have come at home -- including eight of the last nine (eight-game winning streak snapped with a 56-52 loss last season on Jan. 9).

ABOUT THE ANTEATERS: UC Irvine enters the week with a 4-18 overall mark and a 1-6 record in the Big West for eighth place... The Anteaters snapped a five-game losing streak with a three-point win over UC Santa Barbara to start their week, but fell at Cal Poly (74-58) to earn a split against their Central Coast rivals... After opening 3-1, UC Irvine lost 10 straight, ending the skid with a 63-55 win over Denver on Dec. 21... Sophomore forward Mokun Fajemisin is the only Anteater in double figures, averaging 11.7 ppg, while ranking second in the league at 7.8 rpg... UCI averages just 56.4 ppg and shooting 34 percent from the floor, while allowing 71.9 ppg and 40 percent by the opposition.

VERSUS UC IRVINE: Dating back to the 1975 campaign, UC Davis leads the all-time series with UC Irvine by the count of 19-7, and 10-6 in the Division I era, but the Anteaters have won three-straight in the series -- including last year's 74-70 win in the quarterfinals of the Big West Conference Tournament... Going back further, UCI has won six of the last seven meetings with UC Davis, snapping a run of 12 consecutive wins by the Aggies from 2006-11... UC Davis is 8-4 at home, but has lost three straight at The Pavilion dating back to an 83-67 victory on March 8, 2011, in a conference tournament quarterfinal round contest in Davis... Two of last year's three meetings went to overtime, with the Anteaters winning both by a combined 10 points.

OVERTIME: UC Davis' overtime win at UC Santa Barbara snapped a two-game skid in extra-time contests and evened the Aggies mark at 3-3 in overtime under Head Coach Jennifer Gross. Since making the jump to Division I, the win pushed UC Davis' mark to 5-7 in overtime dating back to the 2007-08 season, and 13-17 overall dating back to the 1970-71 campaign.

AROUND THE NATION: As of Feb. 2, the Aggies stand among the top 100 in the nation in four different categories as a team, ranked No. 11 in three-point percentage (.379), No. 17 in three-pointers per game (8.2), No. 30 in field goal percentage (.442), and No. 69 in assists (14.8 apg). Individually, senior Kelsey Harris ranks No. 5 in the NCAA in three-point percentage (.476) and No. 43 in three-pointers per game (2.63).

DE-FENSE (CLAP, CLAP)... DE-FENSE (CLAP, CLAP): The 54 points allowed at UC Santa Barbara in the Aggies' last outing marked the ninth time that they have held opponents to fewer than 60 points in game this season. Not surprisingly, UC Davis has been fairly successful in those contests, posting a 7-2 record in those contests.

RALLY TIME: Saturday's win at UCSB saw the Aggies rebound from a four-point halftime deficit -- only the second time in seven tries that UC Davis has won after trailing at the break and the first since coming back from down seven at Sacramento State on Nov. 18 en route to an eight-point victory.

HARRIS GASHES GAUCHOS: Helping the Aggies rally back from a nine-point deficit in the final four-and-a-half minutes, senior Kelsey Harris went off for a career high-tying 19 points in 29 minutes against the Gauchos. Harris, who hit 6-of-11 from the floor and added five rebounds in the win, matched her best set against Sacramento State on Dec. 28, 2013, thanks in large part to five three-pointers -- a feat she has accomplished two other times this season (vs. Saint Mary's & at Long Beach State).

JUST A MINUTE: She's baaaack. Following an efficient season that has seen Alyson Doherty log 30 minutes or more in a game five times in the first 18 games, Doherty busted out of that mold in a big way against UC Santa Barbara in her last outing, playing in a career-high 36 minutes at UCSB, finishing with 15 points and nine rebounds to help UC Davis rally for an overtime win over the Gauchos. That effort came just two days after going for a balanced 10 points and five rebounds against Cal Poly -- an effort that included the Lake Forest, California, native showing off her play-making ability to the tune of a career-high six assists against the Mustangs, a total that was one fewer than her previous six games combined.

SHHH... OUR LITTLE SECRET: Junior Heidi Johnson may have been the Aggies' secret weapon at Cal Poly last week, coming off the bench to provide a much-needed spark as UC Davis tried to rally back against its Central Coast rival. Johnson, who had scored just five points in her previous five games and had 19 points total entering the game, responded with a season-high 10 points in 12 minutes on 4-of-8 from the field -- including a personal 7-0 run midway through the second half as the Aggies begin to claw their way back.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE UP: Sydnee Fipps' 19-point, 10-rebound, double-double against Cal Poly last week was her second of the season, the seventh of her career, and the seventh of the season for the Aggies -- a total that ranks tied for third in the Big West Conference this season, behind UC Irvine (10) and Hawai'i (nine). Individually, junior Alyson Doherty ranks tied for the top spot in the league with five along with the Anteater duo of Mokun Fajemisin and Methlyn Onogomuho, and Long Beach State's Devin Hudson.

SHE'S JUST ALY FROM THE BLOCK: Doherty tied a season high with three blocks on Jan. 22 against Hawai'i -- her fifth multi-block game of the year and the 12th of her career -- and enters the week with 20 for the season and moving her past Ellen Porshneva (2003-06, 2007-08) into sixth place on the school's all-time list with 82. Doherty needs five more to match current Aggie assistant coach Des Abeyta for fifth, and 18 more to become only the fourth UC Davis player to reach 100 for her career, joining Paige Mintun (150 from 2006-11), Kendall Greene (119 from 1992-96), and Janae Henning (109 from 1998-02).

OUT QUICKLY: The Aggies jumped out of the gate quickly against Cal Poly last week, holding a lead (or tied) at the break for the seventh consecutive game and the 12th time overall in 19 contests this season. UC Davis, however, has struggled to hold on to that advantage, falling to 6-6 when holding a halftime lead following its loss to the Mustangs, having been outscored, 634-606, in the second half of games this season.

*THIS* CLOSE: UC Davis' six-point win at UC Santa Barbara marked its sixth consecutive game decided by single digits, improving the Aggies to 3-3 in those games. On paper, this season's record could look quite different as six of the team's 10 losses have been by eight points or less -- including four of those by a single possession (three points or fewer).

DELICIOUS DISH: Creating opportunities for teammates has been a hallmark of the Aggies thus far this season, assisting on 282 of the team's 436 makes (65 percent) -- the highest ratio among its Big West brethren entering this week. UC Davis tied a season high with 22 helpers on 30 makes against Menlo College on Jan. 3, and has reached double digits in assists in all but three of its contests this season, ranking second in the Big West in assists (14.84 apg) entering the week to rank behind only UC Riverside (15.90) in the league standings.

DOUBLE DIP: Doherty enters the week ranked sixth in the Big West in scoring (13.1 ppg) and fifth in rebounding (7.0 rpg), standing as one of only eight players to rank among the conference's top 15 in both categories. The junior from Lake Forest, California, also ranks among the best in field goal percentage (5th - .478), free throw percentage (7th - .767), blocks (5th - 1.11 bpg), and both offensive (10th - 2.11 rpg) and defensive (4th - 4.89 rpg) reboounds.

BIG TIME IN THE BIG WEST: Fipps' 1,511 career points rank 32nd on the Big West Conference's all-time list -- one of three active players making the climb up the league's chart this season (CSUN's Ashlee Guay [1,546] and Cal Poly's Ariana Elegado [1,368] are the others). Fipps is only the third Aggie to reach the 1,000-point milestone since UC Davis has been a member of the Big West, joining Paige Mintun (1,364 points from 2007-11) and Kasey Riecks (1,076 points from 2008-12).

CAN'T MISS: Since being held to just 30 percent from the field against top-ranked UConn in the season opener, the UC Davis shooters have been lights out from the floor, shooting better than 40 percent in 17 of the ensuing 18 games -- including a season-high 54.8 percent against UC Riverside on Jan. 15. The Aggies, who had a 16-game streak in such games snapped on Jan. 29 at Cal Poly (.387), lead the Big West in both field goal percentage (.442) and three-point percentage (.379), while listing two individuals among the conference's top 10 from the floor: Alyson Doherty (5th - .478) and Sydnee Fipps (8th - .458).

SHE'S NO. 2! SHE'S NO. 2!: Solidifying her hold on second place on the UC Davis women's basketball all-time scoring list, senior forward Sydnee Fipps enters this week's games with 1,511 career points, now setting her sights on Carol Rische and the No. 1 spot. The Mariposa, California, native needs 201 more points to pass the Aggie all-time great, needing to average 22.3 ppg over the remaining nine regular season contests (possibly less once you throw in any possible postseason games), however, to place her atop the list.

THIRD TIME'S A CHARM: Should Fipps finish atop the Aggies' leaderboard when it comes to scoring at the end of the season, she would become only the fourth UC Davis women's basketball player to do so in three consecutive seasons, joining Paige Mintun (2008-11), Staci Stevens (1985-88), and all-time leading scorer Carol Rische -- who is the only Aggie (since records are available in 1973-74) to lead the team in scoring all four years of her career from 1979-83. Last season, Fipps became just the ninth UC Davis player to accomplish the feat in back-to-back seasons.

20 POINTS OF LIGHT: Fipps' career high-tying 29 points against UC Riverside on Jan. 15 marked the senior's sixth 20-point game of the year and the 28th of her career -- just three back of Staci Stevens (31 from 1984-88) for the most 20-point games in UC Davis history.

I'LL TAKE "WINNING" FOR 20, ALEX: Usually, when Fipps goes for 20 points or more, it equates to a win for the Aggies, who are a combined 18-10 (.643) in the senior's 28 career 20-point performances -- including 10 wins in 2013-14.

GREUBEL LOST FOR THE SEASON: The Aggies' active roster has been reduced by one, when it was determined that junior guard Molly Greubel has been lost for the rest of the 2014-15 season due a wrist injury. Greubel, who led the Big West Conference in free throw percentage (.871) and ranked 10th in assists (3.35 apg) last season, started the Aggies' first three games this year, averaging 1.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per game while racking up eight total assists and a pair of steals in just over 23 minutes per contest.