Final Stats

DAVIS, Calif. -- Junior Pele Gianotti finished with a double-double of 20 points and a career-high 12 rebounds, leading three teammates in double figures and helping host UC Davis to a 66-52 season-opening victory over Portland on Friday night at The Pavilion.

The Aggies snapped a four-game losing streak in season openers with the win -- their first since a 69-68 victory at Washington to tip-off the 2011-12 campaign -- and their first win in a home opener since that same season, when they defeated San Jose State, 80-60. The Pilots fell to 0-1 on the year.

"Portland is a much-improved team from last year and it was a good game for both teams to see where they were at to start the year," Head Coach Jennifer Gross said. "I'm really proud of our student-athletes for just playing hard."

Gianotti finished 6-of-16 from the floor in recording her third career 20-point performance, besting her previous career high of 11 rebounds set at Long Beach State on March 3 of last season to complete her third career double-double.

"She's had a great preseason and her numbers were great but, I think the thing she did best was her communication and her leadership on the court," Gross said. "She was directing on defense, she was talking, and that's what we need her to do. She's going to be a huge piece of what we do this year."

Three other Aggies joined her in double figures as sophomore Kourtney Eaton and junior Dani Nafekh added 12 points apiece, while sophomore Morgan Bertsch finished with 10 points and five rebounds. Junior Marly Anderson and Rachel Nagel combined for 17 rebounds, helping the Aggies to a 43-40 advantage on the boards, while freshman Nina Bessolo scored her first career points with a second quarter three-pointer.

Kaylie Van Loo finished with 13 points to lead three Pilots in double figures, as Julie Spencer and Darian Slaga chipped in 10 points apiece.

UC Davis led by as many as 15 points in the game, but trailed by two early before closing the first quarter on an 8-0 run -- one that rolled over into the second quarter as the Aggies scored the first five points of the period to build an 11-point, 17-6, advantage three minutes in.

Portland answered with an 8-0 burst of its own to close to within three points at 17-14 with 4:25 remaining in the first half, but Bessolo's three-pointer snapped the run, igniting a 12-7 run -- including a pair of three-pointers by Kourtney Eaton -- to give UC Davis a, 29-21, lead at the break.

A pair of baskets inched the Pilots back to within five points to start the second half, but the Aggies scored seven of the next eight points to start to pull away. An 8-2 run to start the fourth quarter gave UC Davis its largest lead of the contest, and Portland never got closer than eight points the rest of the way, closing out the game with 11 of the final 16 points en route to the win.

The Aggies' defense stifled the Pilots in the opening half, holding them to just 26 percent shooting in the first 20 minutes and just under 29 percent for the game -- including just 3-of-19 (.158) from three-point range. UC Davis, meanwhile, shot just under 39 percent from the field, but half of its 20 makes came from beyond the arc, led by three apiece from Gianotti and Kourtney Eaton.

Looking for their first 2-0 start to a season since 2011 (wins on the road over Washington and Seattle), the Aggies return to the court on Sunday (Nov. 13) at 2:00 p.m., hosting Division II Holy Names University at The Pavilion.

UC DAVIS 66, PORTLAND 52
PORTLAND (0-1)
VAN LOO, Kaylie 5-16 3-4 13; SPENCER, Julie 4-11 1-2 10; SLAGA, Darian 3-8 4-4 10; BLADES, Holly 3-10 0-0 8; GRAY, Ashley 2-4 3-6 7; QUINLAN, Keala 1-4 0-0 2; OWENS, Rachelle 1-3 0-0 2; CARRINGTON, Jojuan 0-0 0-0 0; ZARAGOZA, Sara 0-0 0-0 0; TURLEY, Corissa 0-5 0-0 0; ANDERSEN, Kate 0-5 0-2 0. Totals 19-66 11-18 52.

UC DAVIS (1-0)
Gianotti, Pele 6-16 5-6 20; Nafekh, Dani 5-12 0-0 12; Eaton, Kourtney 3-9 3-4 12; Bertsch, Morgan 2-4 6-11 10; Eaton, Karley 1-1 2-2 4; Bessolo, Nina 1-4 0-0 3; Nagel, Rachel 1-4 0-0 3; Anderson, Marly 1-1 0-0 2; Song, Sophia 0-1 0-0 0; Hsu, Kaitlyn 0-0 0-0 0; Beyer, Lauren 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-52 16-23 66.

Portland...................... 6 15 14 17 - 52
UC Davis...................... 12 17 15 22 - 66

3-point goals--Portland 3-19 (BLADES, Holly 2-8; SPENCER, Julie 1-2; QUINLAN, Keala 0-2; TURLEY, Corissa 0-3; ANDERSEN, Kate 0-2; SLAGA, Darian 0-2), UC Davis 10-28 (Gianotti, Pele 3-8; Eaton, Kourtney 3-8; Nafekh, Dani 2-5; Bessolo, Nina 1-4; Nagel, Rachel 1-3). Fouled out-Portland-None, UC Davis-None. Rebounds--Portland 40 (GRAY, Ashley 8), UC Davis 43 (Gianotti, Pele 12). Assists--Portland 10 (VAN LOO, Kaylie 6), UC Davis 11 (Nafekh, Dani 5). Total fouls-Portland 22, UC Davis 19. Technical fouls--Portland-None, UC Davis-None. A-597