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GAME 19: UC Davis (13-5, 4-1) at Long Beach State (12-7, 3-1)
Saturday, Jan. 21, 2017
2:00 p.m.
Walter Pyramid (4,200)
Long Beach, Calif.
TV: None
RADIO: KDVS 90.3 FM
Game Coverage: Gameday Central (Audio/Video/Stats) | UC Davis Notes | LBSU Women's Basketball

TIP-OFF: Winners of four of its last five and sitting atop the Big West Conference standings following a victory in Orange County on Thursday, the UC Davis women's basketball team (13-5, 4-1) squares off with league preseason favorite Long Beach State for the second time in a week on Saturday (Jan. 21), tipping off from the Walter Pyramid at 2 p.m. in Long Beach, Calif.

IN THE POLLS: Both UC Davis and Long Beach State are unranked nationally this week by the Associated Press and USA Today polls. The Aggies, who were receiving 11 votes in the Jan. 10 CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major poll, are among the same group for the second straight week (and the third time this year), receiving one vote in the Jan. 17 poll. The 49ers, meanwhile are receiving 13 votes in that same poll.

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 Saturday's contest with a 12-7 overall record and a 3-1 mark in Big West play after falling on the road at UC Santa Barbara, 65-60, on Thursday night... The 49ers had won four straight before the loss... Senior Madison Montgomery leads the way offensively, averaging 11.1 ppg and shooting 42 percent from the field, while senior Raven Benton, is also in double figures at 10.3 ppg... Senior Jewelyn Sawyer leads the team on the glass, grabbing 6.5 rpg while ranking third on the team at 9.8 ppg.

SERIES NOTES: Long Beach State has won three straight in the series with UC Davis, leading the overall series, 17-13, dating back to 1971... Nine of the Aggies' 13 wins have come at home, but they have struggled in Long Beach, going just 3-9 at The Pyramid, losing their last six trips... UC Davis' last win on Long Beach's home floor came on Feb. 25, 2010, in a 70-46 triumph.

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: The Aggies, who have been ranked as high as No. 40 in the nation in the RPI this season, enter Saturday's game at No. 92 in the rankings (as of Jan. 19) -- one of only two Big West Conference schools in the top 100 (No. 86 Long Beach State). UC Davis has faced four teams currently in the top 100: No. 8 Oregon State, No. 11 Stanford, No. 59 Jacksonville, and No. 84 Montana State, along with four more among the top 150 with No. 101 UCF, No. 133 Saint Mary's, No. 134 San Francisco, and No. 142 Hofstra.

SHOOTER!: UC Davis remains at the top of the Big West when it comes to scoring offense at 72.2 ppg (No. 64 in the nation), helped along by the fact that UC Davis is one of the most accurate shooting teams in the country. The Aggies rank No. 27 in the NCAA in field goal (.452), No. 27 in free throw (.762), and No. 51 in three-point percentage (.356), continuing to lead the Big West in the first two while ranking second in the third.

ELSEWHERE IN THE NATION: Entering the week, the Aggies also rank among the top 50 in the country in assists per game (No. 21), assist-to-turnover ratio (No. 24), total assists (No. 28), fewest turnovers per game (No. 47), fewest personal fouls per game (No. 48), and field goal percentage defense (No. 47). Overall, UC Davis ranks among the top 100 teams in 20 different categories as of Jan. 20.

GO BIG: Thanks to the Aggies' 19-point win over Fullerton on Thursday night, nine of UC Davis' 13 victories this season have been by double digits -- all nine of those by 14-or-more points -- and just two back of last year's total when the Aggies posted 11 wins by 10-or-more.

DRAWING A LINE: The Aggies reached 70 points for the 11th time on Thursday night in Fullerton, but only one of those points came from the line as UC Davis took only two shots from the stripe in the 19-point victory. While they were the fewest number of attempts from the line by an Aggie squad in the program's Division I history, it hasn't hurt UC Davis in the 2016-17 season as the Aggies are 4-1 this year when held to single-digit free throw attempts.

GIVING NO QUARTER: UC Davis held Cal State Fullerton to just seven points in the second quarter of Thursday night's victory, allowing the third-fewest points in a single quarter this season behind only the six allowed in the first quarters of wins over Portland and Holy Names to tip off the 2016-17 season.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE A POINT MAKES: Thanks to its big win against Fullerton, UC Davis is a perfect 11-0 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 Jan. 12 at home.

MILESTONE ON THE HORIZON?: Bertsch is just 251 points away from becoming the 18th player in UC Davis history to reach 1,000 points for her career, but she has some work to do -- needing to average 20.9 ppg over the final 12 games of the season (11 regular season games, plus the possibility of only one postseason contest). If she were to reach the mark with a monster finish this season, Bertsch would become the first sophomore to do so in the history of the program after three former greats (Carol Rische, Ellen Porshneva, and Sydnee Fipps) accomplished the feat as juniors.

SHE'S BAAAAAAACK...: After being held to single digits in the scoring column for the first time since February of last season, sophomore Morgan Bertsch bounced back in a big way in her last two games against CSUN and Cal State Fullerton, hitting 15-of-21 (.714) and averaging 17.0 ppg over those two contests. While her double-digit scoring streak came to an end at 23 games, the Santa Rosa, Calif., native has still been stellar over the last 26 games, averaging 17.5 ppg (455 overall) and shooting .568 (180-for-317) from the floor in that stretch.

RECORD CHASING: Another block on Saturday against Fullerton solidified sophomore Morgan Bertsch's hold on eighth place on the school's all-time list with 69 career swats, placing her just 11 back of Ellen Porshneva (2003-06, 2007-08) for the No. 7 spot. Her 33 swats this season (which rank No. 64 in the NCAA) also place her just outside the top 10 on the single-season list, needing two 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 58 of the team's 77 swats thus far this season. Bertsch leads the way and has tallied at least one block in 17 of her team's 18 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 16 of the team's 18 games and is second on the team with 25 overall, including three in wins over Montana State and San Diego State.

NO HOOP FOR YOU!: Bertsch and Anderson's combined 58 blocked shots are the most by any Big West paint pair this season, edging the CSUN tandem of Channon Fluker and Tessa Boagni, who enter the weekend with 55 combined blocks.

MEET THEM AT THE PASS: UC Davis finished with 24 assists on 29 makes in its win at Fullerton on Thursday -- the seventh time this season that the Aggies have collected at least 20 assists in a game, and the most since they finished with a season-high 27 helpers at UC Irvine on Jan. 5.

I'LL TAKE EATON FOR 200, ALEX: The 11 points aside, Kourtney Eaton's eight assists against zero turnovers were, probably, the more important statistics for the sophomore against Cal State Fullerton on Thursday, giving the Washington native 14 assists without a turnover in her last two games combined. The total tied a season high set earlier this year at Sacramento State and gave her 191 for her career -- moving her to within nine helpers of becoming only the sixth player in the program's Division I history to reach 200 for a career.

DROPPING DIMES: Sporting the second-highest assist total entering Saturday's game, sophomore Kourtney Eaton has finished with no fewer than three assists in 17 of the team's 18 games, while turning the ball over two-or-fewer times in 14 of those contests -- including five games with zero turnovers. Entering the weekend, Eaton ranks second in the Big West and No. 23 in the nation with a 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.

JILL-OF-ALL-TRADES: Despite being held to just three points on the night, junior Pele Gianotti found other ways to contribute to the Aggies' win in Fullerton on Thursday, finishing with a game-high 11 rebounds and adding five assists in 28 minutes, marking the third time this season -- and the sixth time in her career -- that she has grabbed 10-or-more rebounds in a game. Since the start of Big West play, Gianotti is averaging 6.6 rpg, placing her eighth in the league.

BESSOLO BOMBS AWAY FROM THE BENCH: Freshman Nina Bessolo came off the bench firing away on Thursday at Fullerton, reaching double figures for the fourth time this season with 12 points in only 14 minutes against the Titans, finishing 5-of-6 from the field while pitching in three assists in 14 minutes.

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 252, 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 22 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).