Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. -- UC Davis freshman Rachel Nagel finished with a career-high 15 points to lead five in double figures, and an 11-0 run midway through the second half broke open a one-point game, lifting the host Aggies to a 79-69 victory over UC Irvine on Saturday afternoon at The Pavilion.

The win was the third straight for UC Davis, which broke above the .500 mark for the first time since late November, improving to 11-10 overall and 6-3 in Big West Conference play. The Anteaters fell to 4-20 overall and 1-8 in league play with the loss.

"For us, it was just trying to take one possession at a time," Head Coach Jennifer Gross said. "I think we got into double-digit leads a few times, they cut into them. We got back to a double-digit lead, they cut into it. We were just trying to put a stretch together where we could try to put it out of reach.

"I was pleased, even though we didn't quite put a lid on it until a little bit later, we made the plays we needed to make."

Nagel came off the bench to hit 6-of-9 from the floor -- including a trio of three-pointers -- in 16 minutes, adding a career-best six rebounds and a steal. She eclipsed her previous best of 14 points set at Sacramento State on Nov. 18.

Four Aggie starters finished in double figures as senior Sydnee Fipps and junior Alyson Doherty scored 14 points apiece, senior Kelsey Harris added 13 points, seven rebounds, and four assists, while junior Celia Marfone finished with 12 points and six rebounds.

"We share the ball extremely well," Gross said. "We're a good passing team, we're a good shooting team. When you put unselfish with that you can do some really good things offensively. (Rachel) is just tough as nails. We knew before the game we were probably going to see a lot of zone and so she was ready. We're so lucky to have someone like her that can step right in and hit big shots."

Mokun Fajemisin led all players with a game-high 20 points, but was held to just four in the second half after finishing 5-of-12 from the floor and 6-of-6 from the line in the opening period. Shereen Sutherland added 12 points and six rebounds for the Anteaters, who were held to just 36 percent from the field for the game.

UC Davis led for all but the first 12 seconds of the game when the two teams were scoreless, but were never able to pull away until the decisive run mid-way through the second half. After leading by as many as 12 points in the opening period, the Aggies traded baskets with UC Irvine to start the second, watching as the Anteaters whittled the deficit down to a single point at 42-41 with 15:34 to play.

Freshman Dani Nafekh hit two free throws to spark the run -- one that grew into a 16-2 burst over the next three-plus minutes -- capped by a three-pointer from the top of the key by Marfone that pushed UC Davis' lead to 53-41 and the Aggies never looked back. UC Davis increased the lead to as many as 16 points on four occasions -- the last coming with 3:10 remaining in the game.

Three straight three-pointers -- one by Harris and a pair from Nagel -- after UC Irvine had climbed to within three points at the 7:12 mark gave the Aggies their biggest lead of the first half, 31-19, with 5:35 to play, but the Anteaters made things interesting. A 10-0 run by UCI -- eight of those by Fajemisin, who finished with 16 in the opening period -- made it a two-point game at 31-29 with just over two minutes to play.

Fipps twice slashed to the bucket around a short jumper by Onogomuho, and Harris hit a pair from the line after being fouled following her own three-pointer right before the buzzer, giving UC Davis a six-point, 37-31, lead at the break.

The Aggies shot better than 53 percent for the second consecutive game, hitting on just under 54 percent from the field for the contest, and posting 20 assists on 28 makes. UC Davis edged UCI on the boards, 32-31, and outscored the Anteaters 30-22 in the paint.

A light week sends the Aggies back to Southern California for a single game next week, traveling to Cal State Fullerton on Thursday (Feb. 12) for a 7 p.m. tip-off at Titan Gym. Fullerton will be the host site for the first two rounds of the Big West Conference women's basketball tournament on March 10-11.

UC DAVIS 79, UC IRVINE 69

UC IRVINE (4-20, 1-8 BWC)
Fajemisin, Mokun 6-18 8-8 20; Sutherland, Shereen 4-8 4-7 12; Chavez, Irene 1-6 5-6 8; Cheung-Sutton,Raelyn 3-4 1-2 8; Hicks, Tierra 2-5 2-2 7; Onogomuho, Methlyn 3-6 0-0 6; Glassow, Brittany 1-3 4-6 6; Dee, Jenny 0-4 2-3 2; Kellum, Chloe 0-0 0-0 0; Merrill, Ashley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-55 26-34 69.

UC DAVIS (11-10, 6-3 BWC)
Nagel, Rachel 6-9 0a-0 15; Doherty, Alyson 4-6 6-6 14; Fipps, Sydnee 6-10 0-0 14; Harris, Kelsey 4-8 2-2 13; Marfone, Celia 5-8 0-0 12; Beyer, Lauren 2-4 0-0 4; Nafekh, Dani 0-1 4-4 4; Johnson, Heidi 1-2 1-2 3; Salvatore, Brianna 0-0 0-0 0; Yasukochi, Brianne 0-1 0-0 0; McGuire, Taylor 0-2 0-0 0; Gianotti, Pele 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 28-52 13-14 79.

UC Irvine..................... 31 38 - 69
UC Davis...................... 37 42 - 79

3-point goals--UC Irvine 3-11 (Hicks, Tierra 1-2; Chavez, Irene 1-4; Cheung-Sutton,Raelyn 1-2; Dee, Jenny 0-3), UC Davis 10-20 (Harris, Kelsey 3-7; Nagel, Rachel 3-4; Fipps, Sydnee 2-6; Marfone, Celia 2 3). Fouled out--UC Irvine-None, UC Davis-Gianotti, Pele. Rebounds--UC Irvine 31 (Sutherland, Shereen 6), UC Davis 32 (Harris, Kelsey 7). Assists--UC Irvine 12 (Cheung-Sutton,Raelyn 5), UC Davis 20 (Harris, Kelsey 4). Total fouls--UC Irvine 14, UC Davis 20. Technical fouls--UC Irvine-None, UC Davis-None. A-845