GAME 5: Hofstra (3-2) at UC Davis (4-0)
Sunday, Nov. 27, 2016
1:00 p.m.
The Pavilion (5,931)
Davis, Calif.)
TV: None
RADIO: KDVS 90.3 FM
Game Coverage: UC Davis Gameday Central | UC Davis Notes | Hofstra Women's Basketball

TIP-OFF: One of 42 remaining unbeaten teams in the nation entering the weekend, the UC Davis women's basketball team puts its perfect 4-0 start on the line at home on Sunday (Nov. 27), hosting Hofstra in the middle game of a three-game home stand at 1 p.m. at The Pavilion.

IN THE POLLS: UC Davis is unranked to begin the season; However, the Aggies are scheduled to meet a pair of schools that are currently ranked in the top 25: Stanford stands at No. 11 both national polls, while Oregon State is ranked No. 22 and No. 15 in the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls, respectively. Among the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll (as of Nov. 22), UC Davis is scheduled to also face Saint Mary's (No. 9), Long Beach State (No. 17), Jacksonville (votes), UC Riverside (votes), and San Francisco (votes).

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 (facebook.com/UCDavisWomensBasketball) as well as follow them on Twitter and Instagram (@UCDavisWBB). In-game updates on game day are also available on Twitter by following @UCDavisInGame.

ABOUT THE PRIDE: Hofstra enters Sunday with a 3-2 mark after falling in a shootout with Sacramento State on Friday (Nov. 25), 97-85, for their second loss in the last three games after a 2-0 start... Hofstra is coming off a 25-9 season and a 13-5 finish in the Colonial Athletic Association, advancing to the quarterfinals of the WNIT with wins over Harvard, Villanova, and Virginia... Junior forward Ashunae Durant, who posted her third straight double-double against the Hornets with 23 points and 17 rebounds (11 on the offensive end), is averaging a double-double through five games at 18.0 ppg and 11.0 rpg, while shooting .397 from the field... Senior guard Krystal Luciano also picked up a double-double with 12 points and 11 assists at Sacramento State in the loss, averaging 6.6 apg to go with 8.0 ppg.

SERIES NOTES: Sunday will mark only the second meeting between the two schools in women's basketball, with Hofstra posting a, 76-57, win over UC Davis back on Dec. 7, 2013, in Hempstead, N.Y... The Aggies have faced only one other current member of the Colonial Athletic Association, posting a, 78-57, win at home over Elon on Dec. 16, 1996.

FOUR AND OH-MY!: UC Davis continued to roll with its fourth straight win to start the season on Wednesday night against Montana State -- the third time that Aggies have opened a year with at least four straight wins in the program's Division I Era, joining the 2007-08 and 2011-12 teams that began those seasons a perfect 5-0. Since 1974-75, when the most reliable year-by-year results are available, the record for consecutive wins to start a season is seven, set by the 1991-92 team and duplicated by the 1994-95 squad.

#PROTECTTHEPAVILION: With the three wins to start this season, the Aggies have won four straight at home and seven of their last eight at The Pavilion dating back to last year, improving to 40-30 (.571) at home in Head Coach Jennifer Gross' five-plus seasons at the helm.

FEASTING ON BASKETBALL: This season marks the fourth straight year that the Aggies have played three games in a week around the Thanksgiving holiday, and they have rarely let the tryptophan trip them up on the court. UC Davis is 8-3 in their previous 11 Thanksgiving week games heading into Sunday's contest against Hofstra, including a perfect 3-0 mark against Air Force, Portland State, and Portland, last season.

NAGEL GOES NUTS AGAINST BOBCATS: Junior guard Rachel Nagel set new career standards in helping the Aggies defeat Montana State on Wednesday, scoring a career-best 21 points and grabbing a career-high 11 rebounds in the win over the Bobcats. It was the first career double-double for the La Palma, Calif., native, tying teammate Morgan Bertsch (at Pacific) for the most points by a UC Davis player this season, while it was the third 20-point game of Nagel's career -- her most since scoring 20 at Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 13 last season.

FREEBIES: Nagel's 9-for-10 performance from the line against Montana State marked season highs by an Aggie in both free throws made and attempted, and were the most in a game by a UC Davis player since Alyson Doherty finished 11-for-15 from the stripe against UC Irvine on March 7, 2015.

DEAD-EYE AGS: There are very few teams in the country this season that have been more accurate from the field than UC Davis -- well, only eight to be exact. The Aggies rank ninth in the nation (as of Nov. 26) with a .493 field goal percentage, trailing only Maryland (.535), Michigan (.528), Baylor (.502), Duke (.502), Providence (.502), South Carolina (.502), Mississippi State (.498), and Florida State (.493).

STRONG AS A BERTSCH: Dating back to last season, UC Davis sophomore Morgan Bertsch has reached double figures in each of her last 12 games, averaging 17.8 ppg and shooting just .637 (82-for-129) from the floor during that stretch.

CAN'T MISS: After ranking No. 7 in the NCAA with a .582 field goal percentage at the end of last season, Bertsch has picked up right where she left off to tip off the 2016-17 season, entering Sunday's game ranked No. 21 in the NATION after shooting .632 (24-for-38) from the floor in the first four games.

FOUR-FOR-FOUR: With their performances on Wednesday night against Montana State, junior Dani Nafekh and sophomore Morgan Bertsch, are the only two Aggies to open the season with double-digit point totals in each of the team's first four games. Junior Pele Gianotti, who was among the group through three games, fell from the ranks after being held to just eight points against the Bobcats.

SPREADING THE WEALTH: For the first time this season, UC Davis finished with fewer than four players with double-digit points on Wednesday against Montana State, ending the night with only three in the eight-point victory. The Aggies have won their last 11 games (including a 7-0 mark last year) when they four-or-more players finish in double figures dating back to a, 73-70, loss to San Francisco on Dec. 2, 2014.

SHARING IS CARING: With the holiday season upon us, it's only right that the Aggies are thinking of others before themselves, entering Sunday's contest against Hofstra with four players ranked among the top 15 in the Big West Conference in assists: Dani Nafekh is second at 5.0 apg (No. 69 in the NATION), Kourtney Eaton is tied for sixth at 3.3 apg, and Pele Gianotti and Morgan Bertsch are tied for 13th at 2.5 apg. Overall, as a team, UC Davis stands second in the Big West at 16.5 apg, while also standing tops in the league with a 1.1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

SHE CAN DISH IT OUT: Fresh off a season that saw junior Dani Nafekh set a school single-season Division I Era record with 130 assists last season, the Oakville, Ontario, Canada, native has picked up right where she left off through the first four games this season, recording 20 assists and averaging 5.0 apg. The total gives her 216 for her career, making her only the fifth UC Davis player to reach that plateau in the program's Division I history, joining Hana Asano (278), Blair Shinoda (223), Alyson Doherty (214), and Celia Marfone (206), while placing her 58 shy of Jessica Campbell (2003-06, 2007-08) for 10th all-time.

BLOCK PARTY: The Aggies will be your hosts. UC Davis tied a season high with seven swats in the win over Montana State, matching the mark set earlier this year against Holy Names on Nov. 13. Junior Marly Anderson (3), freshman Nina Bessolo (2), sophomore Morgan Bertsch (1), and junior Rachel Nagel (1), all finished with a swat against the Bobcats, with Bertsch extending her team-best total to seven.

MAKING THEIR POINT: For the second straight game, the high-octane Aggie offense topped the 90-point plateau in their, 95-87, win at Pacific on Nov. 21 -- the most that UC Davis has scored in a game since handing San Jose State a 95-61 defeat back on Nov. 26, 2013. Coupled with their 91 points in a win over Holy Names on Nov. 13, the Aggies scored at least 90 points in back-to-back games for the first time in the program's Division I history and the first since doing so at Cal Poly Pomona (L, 109-92) on Jan. 3, 2004 and against Stanislaus State (W, 95-72) on Jan. 9, 2004.

POINT TAKEN: The 95 points in Stockton marked the first time the Aggies have scored at least 90 points away from home since a 91-72 win at UC Irvine on Jan. 29, 2011, and the most since putting up 102 points in a 40-point win at San Jose State earlier that season on Dec. 21.

AGGIES INK THREE TO NLIs: UC Davis women's basketball solidified its front line with a trio of signings during the NCAA's early signing period on Nov. 10, welcoming three high school standouts to the "Aggie Family." Southern California natives Kayla Konrad (Valencia, Calif. / Valencia HS) and Cierra Hall (Cypress, Calif. / Fairmont Prep Academy) join highly-rated Canadian post Sage Stobbart (North Vancouver, British Columbia / Seycove Secondary School) in the Aggies' signing class, who all begin their careers as true freshmen in 2017-18. For more details on the three signees, read the entire release at http://www.ucdavisaggies.com/sports/w-baskbl/spec-rel/111016aac.html.