NEXT UP…
GAME 16: Long Beach State (10-6, 1-0) at UC Davis (11-4, 2-0)
Thursday, Jan. 12, 2017
7:00 p.m.
Davis, Calif.
The Pavilion (5,931)
TV: None
RADIO: KDVS 90.3 FM
Game Coverage: UC Davis Gameday Central (Audio/Video/Stats) | UC Davis Notes |
LBSU Women's Basketball

TIP-OFF: The top two teams in the Big West Conference preseason coaches poll lock horns on Thursday (Jan. 12) at The Pavilion, as the Aggies -- who have won five of their last six contests -- welcome preseason favorite Long Beach State to Northern California. Tip off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

IN THE POLLS: Both UC Davis and Long Beach State are unranked nationally this week by the Associated Press and USA Today polls.

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 49ERS: Long Beach State enters the week with a 10-6 overall mark and a 1-0 record in Big West play after defeating Hawai'i in its opener, 68-57... The 49ers have won two straight, and seven of their last nine... Winning five of six at home, Long Beach is 3-2 on the road and 2-3 in neutral site contests this season... Seniors Madison Montgomery (11.4 ppg) and Raven Benton (10.2 ppg) are averaging double figures while senior Jewelyn Sawyer leads the team on the glass (6.9 rpg)... The 49ers are shooting just 37 percent from the field while opponents have hit on 43 percent from the floor this season... Meanwhile, Long Beach State is averaging 66.6 ppg on offense, while allowing 65.8 ppg to the opposition.

SERIES NOTES: Long Beach State leads the all-time series with UC Davis, 16-13, but the Aggies have won 11 of the 19 meetings with the 49ers in the program's Division I Era... Nine of UC Davis' 13 wins in the series have come at home, where the Aggies are 9-5... Long Beach State swept the two regular season meetings in 2015-16 with a 75-62 win in Davis and a 74-64 victory in Long Beach... UC Davis' last win in the series came in the 2015 Big West Tournament at Fullerton, holding on for a 70-67 win in the quarterfinals... The Aggies' last win at home came earlier that same season, downing the 49ers, 83-66, at The Pavilion.

RPI LEADERS: UC Davis is the highest-ranked Big West Conference team in the latest RPI rankings (as of Jan. 8), standing at No. 77 in the nation -- just one spot ahead of Thursday's opponent, No. 78 Long Beach State. The Aggies, ranked as high as No. 40 in the RPI following their win at UCF on Dec. 28, have faced four teams currently ranked in the top 100: Oregon State (No. 5), Stanford (No. 11), Jacksonville (No. 55), and Montana State (No. 92), and three more among the top 150 with the addition of Saint Mary's (No. 115), UCF (No. 127), and San Francisco (No. 140).

INCOMING!: 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.

SHOOTER!: The Big West's top scoring team at 73.1 ppg entering this week's clash with Long Beach State, the Aggies are also one of the most accurate teams in the country, ranking among the top 50 in the nation in field goal (No. 26), free throw (No. 21), and three-point percentage (No. 50) -- leading the conference in the first two categories and placing second in the third.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NATION: Entering the week ranked No. 64 in the nation in scoring, the Aggies also rank among the top 50 in the country in assists per game (No. 26), overall assists (No. 40), assist-to-turnover ratio (No. 33), defensive rebounds per game (No. 22), and field goal percentage defense (No. 50). Individually, Morgan Bertsch ranks among the top 50 in both field goals made (No. 37) and percentage (No. 42), while teammate Dani Nafekh is No. 26 in the country in three-point percentage.

#PROTECTTHEPAVILION: After nearly a month playing away from home, UC Davis returned to the friendly confines of The Pavilion with a bang, improving to 6-1 at home following a 15-point win over Hawai'i. The Aggies have won 10 of its last 12 on its home floor, and improved to 43-31 (.581) under Head Coach Jennifer Gross in the last five-plus seasons.

MORE HOME COOKING: UC Davis is two wins shy of last season's home win total (8-5), and six back of the Division I Era mark for home wins set in 2010-11 (12-3) with seven home contests remaining this season.

ONE IS NICE, TWO IS BETTER: Saturday's win over Hawai'i gave the Aggies an unbeaten 2-0 start in Big West play for only the second time since officially joining the conference in 2007-08, with the first such start coming last year when UC Davis opened 3-0 with wins over CSUN, Hawai'i, and UC Irvine.

THEY'RE HEATING UP: After being held to just 31 percent shooting at nationally ranked Oregon State, the Aggies have rebounded nicely, shooting better than 43 percent from the field in each of their last six contests, including a season-best .606 at Sacramento State on Dec. 18 -- the highest single-game shooting percentage (minimum 20 makes) in the program's Division I history, only the fourth time the Aggies have hit 60 percent in a game, and the best since they shot .600 (24-for-40) at CSUN in 2014. Over their last six, the Aggies are a combined 185-for-374 (.495) from the floor.

SHUT IT DOWN: While the offense was busy putting up its highest point total in a game against Hawai'i since 2007, the Aggies' defense was busy shutting down the Rainbow Wahine at the other end, limiting them to a .295 field goal percentage for the game -- the third time this year that UC Davis has held an opponent to under 30 percent from the field along with Holy Names (.253) and San Diego State (.297). In fact, the Aggies have held opponents to under 39 percent shooting in each of six contests, posting a 5-1 mark in those games.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A POINT MAKES: Thanks to its big win against UC Irvine, UC Davis is a perfect 9-0 this season when scoring 70-or-more points, but is just 2-4 when held to 69-or-fewer after scoring just 54 points against Jacksonville in its non-conference finale.

AGGIES' BENCH ROLLS DEEP: The Aggies' recent success has come thanks, in part, to the play of their deep bench, which has outscored its counterparts, 167-92, over the last six games, holding an advantage in bench scoring in each of those contests. UC Davis' reserves posted a season-high 49 points at Sacramento State on Dec. 18 and held a season-high 29-point advantage (37-8) in that category at UC Irvine on Jan. 5 in the team's Big West opener.

TWINBILL TRIUMPHS: In the first of four home doubleheaders with the men's team this season, the Aggies laid claim to their fifth straight win on such dates with their win over Hawai'i last Saturday, and their 11th in the last 12 home doubleheader dates. In the Division I Era, UC Davis is 18-4 in home doubleheaders with the men's team, including an 8-2 mark against Big West Conference opponents.

SHE'S NO. 1!: Sophomore Morgan Bertsch enters the second weekend of Big West Conference play as the league's leading scorer after assuming the mantle following the Aggies' season-opening victory at UC Irvine. Bertsch, averaging 17.5 ppg to clip Cal State Fullerton's Iman Lathan (16.6 ppg) for the top spot, put together a strong start to conference play, averaging 19.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 64 percent in 22 minutes per contest. While the end of the year is a bit far off, should Bertsch hang on to that top spot, she would be the first Aggie to lead the Big West in scoring since UC Davis officially became a member in 2007-08.

STRONG AS A BERTSCH: While the oak has long regarded as one of the strongest woods in nature, the Aggies are proving that a "Bertsch" can be just as durable in any conditions. The Santa Rosa, Calif., native has finished in double figures in all 15 games for the Aggies this season, and in each of her last 23 games overall dating back to last year, averaging 18.0 ppg (415 overall) and shooting .572 (163-for-285) from the floor.

RECORD CHASING: After being held without a block for the first time this season at UC Irvine, Bertsch got back in the saddle on Saturday against Hawai'i, collecting her 29th block of the year in the win over the Rainbow Wahine. The swat improved the Santa Rosa, Calif., native's career total to 65, moving her into a tie for eighth on the all-time list with Lauren Juric (2008-12), passing Kari Sivesind (1992-96). Her 29 blocks this season also place her just outside the top 10 on the school's single-season list, needing six more to rank in a tie for ninth with Alyson Doherty (twice) and Paige Mintun. Bertsch's 36 blocks last season stand eighth on that list.

SWAT TEAM: When it comes to patrolling the paint, not many have done it better than the Aggies' tandem of Bertsch and junior Marly Anderson, who have combined for 50 of the team's 65 swats thus far this season. Bertsch leads the way and has tallied at least one block in 14 of her team's 15 games -- including a career high-tying four against Saint Mary's (Dec. 11) and Sacramento State (Dec. 18), and nine games with two or more -- while Anderson has at least one block in 13 of the team's 15 games and is second on the team with 21 overall, including three in wins over Montana State and San Diego State.

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK: After suffering an injury against San Francisco on Dec. 21 that relegated her to the sidelines against UCF, junior guard Rachel Nagel has returned to the court with a vengeance, averaging 16.0 ppg and shooting 17-for-29 (.586) from the floor over her last three games, including a 17-point, season-high five three-pointer game, against UC Irvine on Jan. 5. Nagel ranks third on the team overall at 10.6 ppg and is shooting .495 from the floor and .429 from beyond arc in 14 games this season.

SHE CAN DISH IT OUT: Junior Dani Nafekh has solidified her hold on second place on the school's Division I list for career assists with 248, ranking behind only Hana Asano (278) on that list, and moving her closer to Jessica Campbell (274) for 10th on the all-time chart, needing just 26 more to match the all-time Aggie great. Nafekh is only the fifth player in the program's Division I history to reach 200 assists, joining Asano, Blair Shinoda (223), Alyson Doherty (214), and Celia Marfone (206).

SHE'S A HELPER: Sporting the fourth-highest assist total entering Big West play, Kourtney Eaton has finished with no fewer than three assists in 14 of the team's 15 games this season, while turning the ball over two-or-fewer times in 11 of those contests. She finished with a season-high eight helpers in the win at Sacramento State on Dec. 18, which was just one off her career high of nine set against UC Riverside at last year's Big West Tournament.

YOU GET MY POINT: Aside from being the third-largest margin of victory in the program's Division I history, Thursday's 41-point win at UC Irvine is the largest for the Aggies since they posted a 55-point victory over Cal State Monterey Bay back on Dec. 6, 2015, and the largest margin of victory in a Big West Conference game since the Aggies defeated Cal State Fullerton, 88-44, on Jan. 24, 2013. The 89 points were also the most in a conference opener for UC Davis, and it's most against a Big West opponent since defeating UC Irvine, 91-72, in 2011.

GIMME FIVE!: For the fourth time this season, the Aggies finished with at least five players in double figures last week at UC Irvine, improving them to 7-0 when they have at least four players with 10-or-more points. In fact, UC Davis has won its last 15 games (including a 7-0 mark last year) when it has four-or-more players in double figures dating back to a, 73-70, loss to San Francisco on Dec. 2, 2014.

ROOM TO BOARD: When UC Davis finished with a season-high 52 rebounds in its win at UC Irvine last week, the Aggies posted their third-highest single-game rebounding total in the program's Division I Era, and the most since they grabbed a D-1 record 56 boards in a win at Sacramento State on Nov. 18, 2014. It marked the eighth time since 2007-08 that UC Davis has finished with 50-or-more rebounds, but a far cry from the school's all-time single-game mark of 71 rebounds set at Cal State Los Angeles on Dec. 2, 1977.

YOU GET A BASKET! YOU GET A BASKET!: The Aggies were in a giving mood last week in Irvine, dishing out a season-high 27 assists on their 35 made baskets -- the highest single-game total since UC Davis put up 29 assists against Saint Mary's on Dec. 17, 2007. The distribution fell just shy of the all-time school record of 30, set against Quincy University on Nov. 19, 1993, while the UCI game marked the sixth time that the Aggies have topped 20 assists this season, just two shy of last season's total.