Box Score

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Sophomore Morgan Bertsch finished with a game-high 17 points, while Dani Nafekh and Kourtney Eaton also finished in double figures, but a pair of free throws with 2.2 seconds remaining snapped a 62-all tie and lifted host Long Beach State to a, 64-62, victory over UC Davis in a battle of the Big West Conference's top two teams on Saturday afternoon at the Walter Pyramid.

The Aggies fell to 13-6 overall and 4-2 in league play, falling for the second time this season to the 49ers. Led by a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds from Jewelyn Sawyer, Long Beach State improved to 13-7 overall and 4-1 in the Big West.

Bertsch collected double figures for the 18th time in 19 games, setting a new career high with a perfect 8-for-8 showing from the line and nailing her first career three-pointer from near half court to end the first half and give the Aggies a one-point lead at the break. She added three blocks to give her 36 for the season -- tying her total from all of last year and tying for eighth on the school's single-season list.

Nafekh hit 5-of-11 from the floor, including a trio of three-pointers, to finish with 13 points, while Kourtney Eaton hit 5-of-9 from the field to finish with a season high-tying 12 points, three rebounds, and three assists. Her sister, Karley Eaton, tied a career high with five assists, adding three rebounds in 16 minutes.

A 7-0 run to start the fourth quarter pushed the Aggies out to their largest lead of the game, 60-51, with just over 5:32 to play. Long Beach State whittled the gap down to four on five straight points from Sawyer, and UC Davis led by six after a pair of free throws by Bertsch with 4:01 to go in the contest before the 49ers responded.

The Aggies went without a point for the final four minutes of the contest and went without a field goal for the final five and a half minutes after Bertsch's jumper capped her team's quarter-opening run. Sawyer canned another jumper and Madison Montgomery scored four straight points, tying the game on a basket inside off the inbounds pass with a minute to play.

Both teams traded misses down the stretch but UC Davis could not corral the rebound on the 49ers' misfire, whistled for a foul on a loose ball at the top of the key. Senior Anna Kim, who finished with 12 points to share team-high honors with Sawyer, hit two free throws with 2.2 seconds to go and the Aggies could not get a shot off out a timeout as the buzzer sounded.

UC Davis opened the game on an 8-0 run and led 11-2 after a three by Rachel Nagel just two and a half minutes in. Long Beach State had an answer, scoring 11 consecutive points to take its first lead of the contest following a pair of free throws by Martina McCowan, but the Aggies finished by scoring nine of the final 13 points to lead by five at the end of one quarter.

After trading baskets to start the second a three by Kim and a three-point play by Sawyer put the 49ers up three, and the home team led by as many as five in the final two minutes before UC Davis chipped away. Bertsch hit a pair from the line and Nagel scored inside on an "and one," giving the Aggies a one-point advantage with seven seconds remaining in the half.

Raven Benton, who finished with 11 points off the bench, then went coast-to-coast, drawing contact with just over a second to play and hitting a pair from the line for a one-point advantage. That set the stage for Bertsch's bomb from just inside the half-court stripe as a the sophomore launched a ball over a Long Beach State defender and banked it home at the buzzer for a, 37-36, advantage,

UC Davis returns home for a pair next week, hosting UC Riverside on Thursday (Jan. 26) at 7 p.m., before taking on Cal State Fullerton for the second time in a week on Saturday (Jan. 28) at 2:30 p.m. -- the latter the first game of a doubleheader with the men's team.

LONG BEACH STATE 64, UC DAVIS 62

UC DAVIS (13-6, 4-2 BWC)
Bertsch, Morgan 4-11 8-8 17; Nafekh, Dani 5-11 0-0 13; Eaton, Kourtney 5-9 0-1 12; Nagel, Rachel 3-7 1-1 8; Anderson, Marly 3-4 0-0 6; Gianotti, Pele 1-6 3-4 6; Song, Sophia 0-7 0-0 0; Bessolo, Nina 0-3 0-0 0; Eaton, Karley 0-0 0-4 0. Totals 21-58 12-18 62.

LONG BEACH STATE (13-7, 4-1 BWC)
Sawyer, Jewelyn 5-11 1-3 12; Kim, Anna 4-12 2-2 12; Benton, Raven 4-10 2-2 11; Montgomery, Madison 3-7 3-4 9; Henry, Alzena 3-5 0-1 6; Ta'afua, Darshana 2-3 0-0 4; McCowan, Martina 1-5 2-2 4; Hascheff, Gigi 1-6 0-0 2; Gertz, Jessica 1-3 0-0 2; Webster, Katie 1-1 0-0 2; Wilson, Cece 0-5 0-0 0; Turner, Tyla 0-0 0-0 0; Jackson, Chanterria 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 25-70 10-14 64.

UC Davis...................... 22 15 16 9 - 62
Long Beach State.............. 17 19 15 13 - 64

3-point goals--UC Davis 8-27 (Nafekh, Dani 3-6; Eaton, Kourtney 2-5; Nagel, Rachel 1-4; Gianotti, Pele 1-5; Bertsch, Morgan 1-1; Song, Sophia 0-4; Bessolo, Nina 0-2), Long Beach State 4-22 (Kim, Anna 2-4; Benton, Raven 1-3; Sawyer, Jewelyn 1-3; McCowan, Martina 0-1; Hascheff, Gigi 0-3; Gertz, Jessica 0-2; Wilson, Cece 0-4; Jackson, Chanterria 0-1; Montgomery, Madison 0-1). Fouled out--UC Davis-None, Long Beach State-None. Rebounds--UC Davis 42 (Anderson, Marly 7), Long Beach State 47 (Sawyer, Jewelyn 10). Assists--UC Davis 13 (Eaton, Karley 5), Long Beach State 7 (Sawyer, Jewelyn 3). Total fouls--UC Davis 20, Long Beach State 19. Technical fouls--UC Davis-None, Long Beach State-None. A-742