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ED NOTE: Story edited on March 20 to reflect the WNIT third round match-up with Kansas State.

LARAMIE, Wyo. - Junior Morgan Bertsch finished with a game-high 26 points to lead a trio of Aggies in double figures, and UC Davis led for all but four minutes on Sunday afternoon en route to a, 74-64, victory over Wyoming in the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament at the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie, Wyo.

Overcoming the altitude and a tough Cowgirls squad that had only lost twice on their home floor all year, the Aggies improved to 27-6 overall on the season, advancing to the "Sweet 16" of the WNIT for the second consecutive season and winning their fourth postseason game in their last five chances. The 27 wins are now the second most in the history of the program, trailing only the 1996-97 squad that finished 29-3 overall and finished third nationally.

UC Davis will face Kansas State in the third round on Friday (March 23) at 7 p.m. CT/5 p.m. PT in Manhattan, Kan., with the winner scheduled to face either Indiana or Purdue in the next round. The Wildcats defeated Utah, 74-57, in their second-round contest on Sunday night.

Led by 23 points from Liv Roberts, Wyoming finished its regular season at 22-11 overall.

Bertsch hit 11-of-16 from the field and all four from the line en route to her game-high total, adding two rebounds, three assists, and a blocked shot, in only 28 minutes. Senior Rachel Nagel added 14 points and four rebounds, while classmate Pele Gianotti finished with 12 points, six rebounds, and two assists, 26 minutes.

The Aggies finished the day shooting just over 58 percent from the field, including hitting 7-of-13 from beyond the arc, and out rebounded Wyoming, 31-23, for the game. Meanwhile, the defense limited the Cowgirls to just 38 percent shooting for the game, including just 3-of-12 in the second quarter.

UC Davis trailed by three just 75 seconds into the contest, but an "and one" by Gianotti sparked an 11-0 run for the visitors and the Aggies were off and running, leading by as many as eight points on three different occasions. Wyoming cut the deficit to just two at the end of the first quarter thanks to an 8-2 burst over the final 2:47, and tied the game on a pair of free throws by Natalie Baker on her team's first possession of the second period.

A three-pointer by Baker regained the lead for the Cowgirls, but the advantage was short-lived. Back-to-back buckets by Bertsch gave the Aggies the lead once again - one they would never relinquish as an 8-0 put UC Davis up five, carrying a, 38-33, lead into the locker room at the break.

Senior Dani Nafekh, who finished one shy of her career high with seven rebounds on the day, got the second half off to a good start by draining a three-pointer and the Aggies scored seven of the first 10 points in the period to build their largest lead of the game at, 45-36, just three minutes in. Wyoming answered with an "and one" by Roberts and two free throws from Clara Tapia to cut the deficit to four, but that would be as close as the Cowgirls would come the rest of the day.

Nagel sank a pair of free throws and drained a three-pointer for good measure to boost the UC Davis lead back up to nine, and senior Marly Anderson added a basket inside to key a short 7-0 burst for an 11-point lead, and the two teams traded baskets the rest of the quarter en route to a, 58-49, Aggie advantage.

UC Davis then put the game away early in the fourth, opening the quarter with an 8-2 burst for a game-high 15-point lead with 5:17 to play, and the Aggies withstood a 7-0 spurt from the Cowgirls before pulling away. UC Davis finished 6-of-6 from the line in the final 2:13, holding Wyoming to just 2-of-7 from the floor in that same span.

UC DAVIS 74, WYOMING 64

UC DAVIS (27-6)
Bertsch, Morgan 11-16 4-4 26; Nagel, Rachel 4-8 4-4 14; Gianotti, Pele 4-5 3-3 12; Nafekh, Dani 3-8 0-0 7; Anderson, Marly 3-4 0-0 7; Bessolo, Nina 2-4 0-0 5; Eaton, Kourtney 1-2 0-0 3; Hall, Cierra 0-1 0-0 0; Song, Sophia 0-0 0-0 0; Hsu, Kaitlyn 0-0 0-0 0; Eaton, Karley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-48 11-11 74.

WYOMING (22-11)
ROBERTS, Liv 7-14 5-6 23; BAKER, Natalie 3-11 2-2 10; RAKOVIC, Sladjana 2-2 4-4 8; RUSK, Taylor 2-7 0-0 5; GOMEZ, Marta 2-6 0-0 5; TAPIA, Clara 1-2 2-2 4; COTTON, Bailee 2-4 0-0 4; KEPENC, Selale 1-5 0-0 3; CAMPBELL, Marleah 1-1 0-0 2; SNODGRASS, Skyler 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 21-55 13-14 64.

UC Davis Aggies............... 20 18 20 16 - 74
Wyoming Cowgirls.............. 18 15 16 15 - 64

3-point goals--UC Davis Aggies 7-13 (Nagel, Rachel 2-4; Anderson, Marly 1-1; Nafekh, Dani 1-2; Gianotti, Pele 1-1; Eaton, Kourtney 1-1; Bessolo, Nina 1-3; Hall, Cierra 0-1), Wyoming Cowgirls 9-22 (ROBERTS, Liv 4-5; BAKER, Natalie 2-6; GOMEZ, Marta 1-2; KEPENC, Selale 1-5; RUSK, Taylor 1-2; SNODGRASS, Skyler 0-2). Fouled out--UC Davis Aggies-Nagel, Rachel, Wyoming Cowgirls-None. Rebounds--UC Davis Aggies 31 (Nafekh, Dani 7), Wyoming Cowgirls 23 (BAKER, Natalie 5). Assists--UC Davis Aggies 16 (Eaton, Kourtney 4), Wyoming Cowgirls 13 (TAPIA, Clara 6). Total fouls--UC Davis Aggies 14, Wyoming Cowgirls 19. Technical fouls--UC Davis Aggies-None, Wyoming Cowgirls-None. A-2346

ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 6-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal, and among the top 10 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and plant and animal programs.