NEXT UP…
GAME 17: CSUN (8-9, 1-2) at UC Davis (11-5, 2-1)
Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017
2:00 p.m.
The Pavilion (5,931)
Davis, Calif.
TV: None
RADIO: KDVS 90.3 FM
Game Coverage: Gameday Central (Audio/Video/Stats) | UC Davis Notes |
CSUN Women's Basketball

TIP-OFF: Coming off its first Big West Conference defeat of the season, the UC Davis women's basketball team (11-5, 2-1) looks to bounce back quickly, hosting CSUN (8-9, 1-2) at The Pavilion to close out a three-game home stand. Tip off from Bob Hamilton Court is scheduled for 2 p.m.

IN THE POLLS: Both UC Davis and CSUN are unranked nationally this week by the Associated Press and USA Today polls. The Aggies are receiving a season-high 11 votes in the most recent CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll released on Jan. 10.

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 MATADORS: CSUN enters Saturday's game with an 8-9 overall record and a 1-2 mark in Big West Conference play after falling to UC Irvine on the road (77-52) to open the week... The Matadors have lost two straight after opening the conference schedule with a win over Cal State Fullerton... CSUN is 5-4 away from home, including 0-2 against conference foes... Sophomore Channon Fluker is averaging a double-double with 15.0 ppg and 11.1 rpg, shooting 50 percent from the field and blocking 37 shots... Junior Serafina Maulupe is also in double figures, averaging 11.5 ppg and canning 42 three-pointers this season, while shooting 38 percent overall.

SERIES NOTES: UC Davis leads the all-time series with CSUN by a 21-15 count according to records dating back to the 1980-81 season, including a 15-6 advantage in the series over the Matadors during the Aggies' Division I Era... UC Davis swept the regular season series from CSUN last season with a 75-52 win in Northridge and a 57-50 win at home... The Aggies have won five of the last six meeting with the Matadors after CSUN reeled off three straight wins -- and four of five -- from 2012-14... UC Davis is 12-5 against the Matadors at home, having won two straight and 10 of 11 dating back to 2006.

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.

RPI LEADERS: A battle between preseason favorites resulted in a flip-flopping in the RPI of the two programs as of Thursday night's contest with Long Beach State moving up to No. 71 and UC Davis falling only seven spots to No. 84. The Aggies and the 49ers are the only two Big West schools in the top 100 entering the weekend, with UC Riverside at No. 147 the next highest. 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. 12), Jacksonville (No. 57), and Montana State (No. 87), and three more among the top 150 with the addition of UCF (No. 113), San Francisco (No. 123), and Saint Mary's (No. 133).

THIS BODES WELL: If there's a silver lining in falling to Long Beach State on Thursday night it would be that the UC Davis coaching staff has not let the losses dwell for very long. The Aggies have not lost back-to-back games all season, rebounding from each of their four previous losses with huge victories, including a 20-point win over San Diego State (after Hofstra), upsetting mid-major No. 14 Saint Mary's (after Stanford), posting a Division I Era record 110 points at Sacramento State (after Oregon State), and a 41-point win over UC Irvine in their Big West opener (after Jacksonville).

#PROTECTTHEPAVILION: With a 6-2 record within the friendly confines of The Pavilion this season, UC Davis is just two wins shy of last season's home win total (8-5) and six back of the Division I Era mark for home runs set in 2010-11 (12-3) with six home contests remaining. The Aggies have won 10 of its last 13 on its home floor, and are a combinbed 43-32 (.573) at The Pavilion under Head Coach Jennifer Gross.

SHOOTER!: Despite being held to just 51 points on Thursday night, the Aggies enter their game against CSUN still holding the Big West's top offense at 71.8 ppg -- more than five points clear of second-place Cal Poly (66.6 ppg) and third-place Long Beach State (66.4 ppg). UC Davis is also one of the most accurate teams in the country, ranking among the top 50 in the nation in field goal (No. 31) and free throw (No. 22) percentage, while standing No. 53 in the country in three-point percentage, continuing to lead the Big West in the first two categories while standing second in the third.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NATION: Entering the week ranked No. 77 in the nation in scoring, the Aggies also rank among the top 50 in the country in assists per game (No. 30), assist-to-turnover ratio (No. 39), defensive rebounds per game (No. 23), and total assists (No. 39). Overall, UC Davis ranks among the top 100 teams in 19 different categories as of Jan. 13.

GIANOTTI GETS HERS: Sharing game-high honors with 14 points on Thursday night, junior Pele Gianotti reached double figures for the first time since finishing with 15 points in a win at UCF on Dec. 28, hitting 4-of-7 from the field -- including a trio of three-pointers -- in 23 minutes. The 14 points against Long Beach State equalled her output from her previous three games and boosted her into fourth on the team in scoring at 9.7 ppg entering Saturday's contest.

QUEEN OF THE KOURT: Sophomore Kourtney Eaton did a little bit of everything for the Aggies on Thursday night, finishing with 12 points, five rebounds, and three assists, in a career-high 38 minutes against Long Beach State. The 12 points marked her third double-digit scoring performance of the season and matched her season high set in the season opener against Portland back on Nov. 11, falling just one point shy of her career high set UC Riverside in the semifinals of last year's Big West Tournament.

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 2-5 when held to 69-or-fewer after scoring just 51 points against Long Beach State on Thursday night.

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 on Jan. 7, 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.

RECORD CHASING: Two more blocks on Thursday against Long Beach State moved sophomore Morgan Bertsch past Lauren Juric (2008-12) and into eighth on the school's all-time list with 67 career blocks, placing her just 13 back of Ellen Porshneva (2003-06, 2007-08) for the No. 7 spot. Her 31 swats this season (which rank No. 49 in the NCAA) also place her just outside the top 10 on the single-season list, needing four more to rank in a tie for ninth with Paige Mintun and Alyson Doherty (twice) -- a duo that ranks 1-2 on the school's career list for blocked shots.

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 54 of the team's 71 swats thus far this season. Bertsch leads the way and has tallied at least one block in 15 of her team's 16 games -- including a career high-tying four against Saint Mary's (Dec. 11) and Sacramento State (Dec. 18), and 10 games with two or more -- while Anderson has at least one block in 14 of the team's 16 games and is second on the team with 23 overall, including three in wins over Montana State and San Diego State.

BLOCK PARTY: It may be just that in the paint on Saturday when the Matadors come to town. Bertsch and Anderson, who have 54 combined blocks this season -- more than any other duo in the league -- will be joined on the floor by the CSUN tandem of Channon Fluker and Tessa Boagni, who have combined for 53 on the year.

KNOCK IT DOWN: The six blocks on Thursday marked the sixth time this season that the Aggies have finished with at least six swats in a single-game, and the most since they finished with six against Jacksonville on Dec. 30. The mark was three off their season high of nine against Sacramento State on Dec. 18.

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END: Bertsch's double-digit scoring streak came to an end on Thursday against Long Beach State when she finished with just six points and six rebounds against the 49ers. It was her first time in single digits since Feb. 13 of last season when she ended the day with just eight points in 17 minutes against Cal State Fullerton, while the 2-for-11 from the field on Thursday was her lowest since the same performance against Cal Poly three days before Fullerton.

BUT STILL...: While Bertsch's streak may have come to an end, the Aggie sophomore has still been stellar for her team over the last two dozen contests, as the Santa Rosa, Calif., native is averaging 17.5 ppg (421 overall) and shooting .557 (165-for-296) from the floor in that stretch.

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 249, 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 25 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, TOO: Sporting the third-highest assist total entering Saturday, sophomore Kourtney Eaton has finished with no fewer than three assists in 15 of the team's 16 games this season, while turning the ball over two-or-fewer times in 12 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.