Box Score

IRVINE, Calif. -- UC Davis junior Alyson Doherty scored 16 of her career-high 27 points in the second half to help bring the Aggies all the way back from down 12 points after the break, but a late 8-0 run over a four-and-a-half minute span broke a 55-all tie, and lifted UC Irvine to a 71-62 win in the regular season finale for both teams on Saturday afternoon at the Bren Events Center.

The loss was the fifth straight for UC Davis, which fell to 13-15 overall and 8-8 in Big West play, while the Anteaters improved to 8-23 overall and 5-11 in league play. The two teams will meet for a third time this season in the first round of the Big West Conference Tournament on Tuesday (March 10) at 6 p.m. at Titan Gym on the campus of Cal State Fullerton.

Playing without leading scorer Sydnee Fipps, who was injured in the closing minutes of Thursday night's loss at UC Riverside, Doherty was the workhorse for the Aggies, hitting 8-of-14 from the floor and 11-of-15 from the line, setting career highs in both points and free throws made. Her previous scoring best was 24 at Hofstra on Dec. 7 last season.

Junior Celia Marfone led UC Davis on the boards with nine rebounds to go along with nine points, hitting 4-of-6 from the floor.

Raelyn Cheung-Sutton led a trio of Anteaters in double figures, finishing with 17 points, and was joined by Methlyn Onomoguho (14 points) and Brittany Glassow (10).

Cheung-Sutton nailed a three-pointer out of the halftime break to kick-off the second half for UC Irvine, giving the Anteaters their largest lead of the game just 18 seconds into the period, but the Aggies found ways to reel UCI back in just when it threatened to pull away. Marfone answered with a three of her own and Mokun Fajemisin and Doherty traded baskets to bring the deficit back to single digits.

Brianna Salvatore hit two from the line and, after a jumper by Madison McKenney, freshman Dani Nafekh drained a three-pointer to jumpstart a 9-0 that brought the Aggies level at 42-42 with 14 minutes to play. Doherty's "and one" and a three-pointer by Kelsey Harris contributed to the push as UC Davis went back-and-forth with Irvine.

Onogomuho and Brittany Glassow hit back-to-back baskets inside to break the tie, but the Aggies came right back. Junior Lauren Beyer twisted her way to a bucket down low, and a lay-up by Marfone brought UC Davis even at 46, before Doherty hit a 10-footer from near the free throw line, giving the Aggies their first lead since early in the first half.

A three by Cheung-Sutton made the advantage short-lived on UCI's next possession, but Marfone scored inside once again and Doherty added a pair from the line to give UC Davis a three-point lead with 8:58 remaining. A basket two minutes later by Doherty tied the game at 55 after Irvine scored six of seven to go up two with 7:35 to play, but that would be as close as the Aggies would get.

McKenney's jumper from the right elbow gave the Anteaters the lead as Glassow nailed back-to-back jumpers and Onomoguho capped the decisive run with a lay-up for a 63-55 lead with two minutes to play. UC Davis would get no closer than six, finishing 2-for-5 from the floor and a pair of free throws over the final 1:51.

The Aggies came out quickly, scoring the first four points of the game and grabbing a 9-6 lead on a three-pointer by Brianna Salvatore just four minutes in.

That's when the wheels came off, however, as UC Irvine exploded for a 13-0 run over the next four-and-a-half minutes, a run that grew to 15-2, pushing the Anteaters' advantage to double-digits at 21-11 with just under 12 minutes to play in the half. UC Davis' defense got stops, holding UC Irvine on 29 points for almost three minutes, but the Aggies' offense could not take advantage, trailing by nine, 33-24, at the break.

UC Davis shot 43 percent from the field for the game and out-rebounded its hosts, 33-31, but the Anteaters hit on 48 percent -- including a 53 percent clip in the second half -- while scoring almost 14 points more than their season average (57.5 ppg) coming into the game.