Sept. 20, 2016 DAVIS, Calif. -- It's not officially a class reunion, but it might as well be, as a trio of former UC Davis women's basketball players will be getting the band back together as members of various German clubs this fall in the Damen Basketball Bundesliga.
Recent graduates Alyson Doherty and Celia Marfone will be making their professional debuts and will be joined by second-year pro Sydnee Fipps in Deutschland, continuing to build on their Aggie legacies overseas.
Fipps, who played CD Torres Nova in Portugal last season, joins the roster for Herner TC in the 1st Bundesliga, adding another scoring option for a club that reached the DBBL semifinals for the second straight season and won the league's regular season in 2015. The Mariposa, Calif., native, and three-time All-Big West Conference first team selection during her UC Davis career, averaged 11.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in her first professional season.
Lining up across from her for at least two games this season will be Fipps' former teammate in Doherty and the Gruner Stern Keltern Stars, who made an appearance in the DBBL Cup quarterfinals last season -- their first in the 1st Bundesliga. Doherty, a three-time All-Big West honoree and twice named to the Big West All-Tournament team, finished her Aggie career ranked No. 6 on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,308 points, and ranks among the top 10 in rebounding (fourth) and blocks (second).
Fipps and Doherty are scheduled to face one another for the first time on Dec. 3 and, again, in the regular season finale on March 18.
Fipps and Herner TC open the season against Eisvogel USC Freiberg, while Doherty and Gruner Stern Keltern open against the TV Saarlouis Royals -- the team that eliminated Herner TC from last year's playoffs -- on Sept. 24.
Marfone will ply her trade for the Elangeni Falcons Ban Homburger TG in the 2nd Bundesliga during her first professional season, coming off a senior year at UC Davis where she was an All-Big West honorable mention choice. Marfone, who averaged 9.2 ppg and 6.3 rpg as a senior, and her new teammates also open the season on Sept. 24 against TG Ladybaskets Wuerzburg.