Box Score

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Trailing by five points with 2:34 remaining, top-seeded UC Davis used stifling defense and made key baskets down the stretch when they needed them, holding No. 6-seeded UC Riverside to without a field goal and scoring nine of the final 10 points of the game en route to a, 49-46, victory on Friday afternoon, booking a trip to the Big West Conference Tournament championship game.

The Aggies improved to 25-5 overall, matching the program's Division I record for wins in a season set last year, and advancing to the Big West Tournament title game for the second time in three seasons and the fifth time overall. UC Davis will take on No. 5-seeded CSUN in the final after the Matadors handed second-seeded Cal Poly a, 73-50, defeat in Friday's second semifinal.

The Aggies' last trip to the tournament title game was in 2016, falling to Hawai'i, while the Aggies won their only tournament crown in 2011, defeating Cal Poly.

Senior managerial economics major Dani Nafekh finished with a team-high 16 points -- the eighth time she has reached double figures this season -- hitting 5-of-6 from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 beyond the arc. Junior biomedical engineering major Morgan Bertsch finished with 10 points and five rebounds, while senior political science major Pele Gianotti tied a season-high with 11 rebounds to go with seven points.

Led by a 21-point, 11-rebound double-double from senior Michelle Curry, UC Riverside finished its season at 11-22 overall, held to just under 29 percent shooting for the game.

In a reversal of the regular season finale in Riverside, Calif., when the Aggies were stymied in the second half of a 14-point loss to the Highlanders, it was UC Davis' defense that answered the call, limiting UC Riverside to just 8-for-39 (.205) in the final three quarters after the Highlanders shot 54 percent (7-for-13) in the first 10 minutes.

It marked the third time this season that the Aggies held an opponent under 30 percent shooting for a game, and the second-lowest of the season, after holding San Francisco to 28.6 percent back on Dec. 6.

Down, 45-40, with just over two-and-a-half minutes to play, Bertsch banked one in and free throws by Nafekh and Rachel Nagel tied things up at 47-all with 1:48 to play. The two teams traded turnovers and Curry hit 1-of-2 from the line to briefly give the Highlanders the lead, but Bertsch spun inside and scored off an inbounds pass from Nafekh after a UC Davis timeout to give the Aggies the lead for good with 18 seconds to play.

On its ensuing possession, UC Riverside took the ball strong to the hoop, looking for an easy basket or a foul, but was denied by freshman cell biology major Cierra Hall, who came over from the weak side and blocked Lauren Holt's jumper, which landed in the hands of Nafekh, who corralled the rebounds and was fouled with 11 seconds to play.

After hitting 1-of-2 from the line, Gianotti came through with a steal of her own on the Highlanders' ensuing possession, again hitting 1-of-2 from the line for some breathing room. With no timeouts remaining, Riverside lobbed the ball and got it in the hands of Holt, who could only drive to the hoop and try and draw a foul, but her basket was waved off after the horn.

UC Davis scored 17 points off 20 UC Riverside turnovers, forcing 11 steals on the day, including a career-high tying four from Rachel Nagel. Meanwhile, the Aggies shot just 36 percent from the field in the win -- its lowest in a victory since shooting 35.8 percent from the floor at Colorado State in the second round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament. The 49 points were also the fewest in a win for UC Davis since defeating UC Irvine, 47-43, on Feb. 28, 2013.

UC DAVIS IN THE BIG WEST TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
2008 - UC Santa Barbara 74, UC Davis 59
2010 - UC Riverside 71, UC Davis 67
2011 - UC Davis 66, Cal Poly 49
2016 - Hawai'i 78, UC Davis 59

UC DAVIS 49, UC RIVERSIDE 46

UC RIVERSIDE (11-22)
Curry, Michelle 5-17 8-10 21; Nyingifa, Inara 4-8 3-3 11; Holt, Lauren 3-9 0-0 7; Eaton, Tianna 2-7 1-1 5; Otto, Jannon 1-6 0-0 2; Lewis, Skyler 0-1 0-0 0; Kergret, Malou De 0-0 0-0 0; Cooper, Keilanei 0-1 0-0 0; Ewodo, Marina 0-3 0-0 0. Totals 15-52 12-14 46.

UC DAVIS (25-5)
Nafekh, Dani 5-6 3-4 16; Bertsch, Morgan 5-13 0-0 10; Nagel, Rachel 2-8 3-4 8; Gianotti, Pele 2-10 3-7 7; Hall, Cierra 2-6 0-1 4; Eaton, Kourtney 1-6 0-0 2; Bessolo, Nina 1-1 0-0 2; Anderson, Marly 0-0 0-0 0; Eaton, Karley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-50 9-16 49.

UC Riverside.................. 16 7 10 13 - 46
UC Davis...................... 13 4 13 19 - 49

3-point goals--UC Riverside 4-13 (Curry, Michelle 3-5; Holt, Lauren 1-4; Eaton, Tianna 0-2; Otto, Jannon 0-1; Ewodo, Marina 0-1), UC Davis 4-17 (Nafekh, Dani 3-3; Nagel, Rachel 1-5; Gianotti, Pele 0-3; Hall, Cierra 0-3; Eaton, Kourtney 0-2; Bertsch, Morgan 0-1). Fouled out--UC Riverside-None, UC
Davis-None. Rebounds--UC Riverside 40 (Curry, Michelle 10), UC Davis 31 (Gianotti, Pele 11). Assists--UC Riverside 10 (Holt, Lauren 2; Ewodo, Marina 2; Otto, Jannon 2), UC Davis 14 (Nafekh, Dani 4; Eaton, Kourtney 4). Total fouls--UC Riverside 18, UC Davis 13. Technical fouls--UC Riverside-None, UC Davis-None. Big West Conference Tournament Semifinals

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.

LIVE AT LA RUE!
Single-game tickets and tournament passes for UC Davis softball are now on sale by contacting the Athletics Ticket Office at (530) 752-AGS1 or by visiting us online at UCDavisAggies.com.