NEXT GAME…
Hawai'i (11-13, 7-4 Big West) at UC Davis (18-6, 10-1 Big West)
Saturday, Feb. 23, 2019 | 2:00 p.m. PT | The Pavilion | Davis, Calif.
RADIO: KDVS 90.3 FM (PxP: Greg Wong)
TV: None
OPENING TIP: The only thing standing between the UC Davis women's basketball team and a 16-game winning streak is a five-point loss to Hawai'i in Honolulu back on Jan. 12. The Aggies, winners of nine straight since that lone Big West Conference defeat, have a chance to exact a modicum of revenge on Saturday night (Feb. 23) as they play host to the Rainbow Wahine at The Pavilion. Tip off is scheduled for 2 p.m.
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" women's basketball (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 @UCDavisWBB.
IN THE POLLS: Neither UC Davis, nor UC Riverside, are ranked nationally entering the week. The Aggies are among those receiving votes for the fourth straight week according to the Feb. 12 College Insider Mid-Major poll, picking up 43 votes in this week's rankings -- up from 40 last week -- and just nine points back of Marist among those receiving votes and 18 points behind No. 25 Youngstown State, which joined the top 25 this week with a 20-6 record.
SO, YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S A CHANCE?: It would take the perfect storm of results, but it IS possible that the Aggies could clinch a share of their third consecutive Big West title this week. All they need are a UC Riverside loss to Cal Poly and win over UC Irvine, a UC Irvine win over Hawai'i and loss to the Highlanders, Rainbow Wahine losses to both the Anteaters and UC Davis, a CSUN loss to Long Beach State and, of course, an Aggie win over Hawai'i. All that would give UC Davis a four-game lead in the standings with four games to play. Let the games begin.
ABOUT THE RAINBOW WAHINE: Hawai'i enters the week with an 11-13 overall record and a 7-4 mark in Big West play -- tied with CSUN for second place in the league standings... The Rainbow Wahine host UC Irvine on Thursday (Feb. 21) before returning to the mainland to take on UC Davis... Hawai'i has won two straight, sweeping past UC Santa Barbara (72-49) and Long Beach State (63-49) last week, and four of its last five overall... The Rainbow Wahine are 4-5 on the road, winning three of their last four... Makenna Woodfolk is the lone Hawai'i player averaging double figures, putting up 10.7 ppg to go with a team-high 5.2 rpg and shooting 39 percent from the floor.
SERIES NOTES: Hawai'i narrowly leads the all-time series with UC Davis by a 9-8 count according to records dating back to the 1975-76 season following its five-point win in Honolulu earlier this year -- snapping a four-game Aggie winning streak in the series... The Aggies are 4-2 against the Rainbow Wahine at home, winning the last three meetings between the two at The Pavilion following a 76-52 win in Davis last season.
#PROTECTTHEPAV: The Pavilion is a welcome sight for the Aggies, where they have won nine of 10 games this season -- including nine straight after a loss to Pacific on Nov. 11. It continues a trend for UC Davis, which is a combined 36-4 at home over the last two-plus campaigns, collecting a winning season at home for the sixth straight year in 2018-19 and posting the most wins on its home court (14-1) last year since the 1996-97 squad finished 16-0 en route to a 29-3 overall record.
WE'RE GOING STREAKING!: Last week's win over UC Riverside extended the Aggies winning streak to nine straight -- the longest such streak this season, their longest since opening the 2017-18 season with a 9-0 record, and tied for 15th among active winning streaks in the nation -- while UC Davis' nine straight wins at home are tied for 19th among active streaks in the NCAA and the nine straight Big West wins are tied for 17th among longest conference winning streaks in the country. During their current streak, the Aggies have won each of their nine games by double-digit margins and an average of 21.4 ppg.
NO SMALL FEAT FOR BIG WEST OPPONENTS: Speaking of streaks, opponents must be glad to have the Aggies playing on their home floor this season as winning at The Pavilion has been a tough task for visiting Big West teams. Following a win over UC Riverside last week, UC Davis has won its last 19 consecutive league home games dating back to a 64-51 loss to Long Beach State on Jan. 12, 2017 -- including a perfect 8-0 run at home against Big West opponents last season.
NOT A MATTER OF IF, BUT "WIN": With two more victories this season, UC Davis will reach 20 wins for the third consecutive season -- the longest such run since the Aggies won 20-or-more games in six straight seasons from 1993-99.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A POINT MAKES: UC Davis is 18-2 this season when it scores 60-or-more points, but is 0-4 when scoring 59 points or fewer.
I'LL TAKE THE UNDER: The UC Davis defense has limited eight of its last nine points to fewer than 60 points -- including 59 to UC Riverside last -- with the only hiccup coming when Cal Poly eked out 61 points on Feb. 9. Still an impressive feat, the Aggies are allowing just 51.6 ppg during their nine-game winning streak, while averaging 73.0 ppg of their own at the other end.
DE-FENSE (CLAP, CLAP): UC Davis enters the week as the Big West's stingiest defense, holding opponents to just 58.6 ppg, .349 shooting from the field, and .274 shooting from beyond the arc, to stand atop the league standings in all three categories. The Aggies, who are allowing an even tinier 53.5 ppg in 10 Big West contests, rank among the nation's best in field goal percentage defense (9th) and three-point percentage defense (23rd), while ranking 53rd overall in scoring defense.
IN THE MARGINS: 15 of the team's 18 wins this season -- including both games last week -- have come via double-digit margins (including nine of those by 20 points or more and three more of 30 points or more), while four of the team's six defeats have come by seven points or fewer this season.
SATURDAY NIGHT'S ALRIGHT FOR WINNING: The Aggies have played more games on Saturday than any other day this season and that has proved to be a good thing, improving to 8-1 on that day of the week following its win at Cal Poly on Feb. 9. UC Davis is also not too shabby on Thursdays, going 5-0 on that day.
SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS, SHOTS: UC Davis has hit at least 40 percent from the field in each of its last six contests and has hit the mark 19 times in its 24 contests this year. During its recent nine-game winning streak, the Aggies are shooting just under 47 percent (232-for-496) overall, including 41 percent (84-for-203) from beyond the arc.
WHAT'S A FEW MORE FEET?: UC Davis enters the week pacing the Big West in three-point percentage (.358), three pointers made (199), and three-pointers per game (8.3), while standing among the top 50 teams in the nation in percentage (35th), three's made (41st), and three-pointers per game (31st).
WORKING BEYOND THE ARC: UC Davis has made a three-pointer in 488 consecutive games dating back to Feb. 15, 2003, at Cal State San Bernardino. Since then, UC Davis has hit .348 from beyond the arc (3,329-for-9,573).
SPLASH SISTERS: Bertsch may be doing work inside, but that hasn't stopped the Aggie sharpshooters from doing their thing from beyond the arc this season. In all, four Aggies rank among the league's top 10 in three-point percentage: senior psychology major
Kourtney Eaton (1st - .457), senior psychology major
Karley Eaton (5th - .371), junior biological sciences major
Sophia Song (6th - .369), and junior communication major
Nina Bessolo (8th - .351). In addition, Bessolo (1.9) and
Kourtney Eaton (1.8) also rank among the league leaders in three-pointers per game, standing tied for third and sixth overall, respectively.
SHE CAN SHOOT FROM THERE TOO: As if the Aggies needed another sharpshooter, Bertsch can hit from beyond the arc as well, making 18-of-32 (.563) from distance and 10-of-16 (.625) from long range in Big West play. Lofty numbers when you take into account the Santa Rosa, Calif., native was just 4-for-11 in her previous three seasons combined from three-point range.
KOUNT IT FOR KOURTNEY: When she's not finding the open teammate,
Kourtney Eaton has often found that SHE is the one that is wide open, reaching double figures in five of the team's last nine contests and averaging 10.0 ppg in that stretch while rarely missing a shot. Eaton has hit 61 percent (27-of-44) overall in that stretch as well as a blistering 67 percent (24-for-36) from beyond the arc.
2K-19: Thanks to a pair of free throws with 4:32 remaining in the Aggies' contest at UC Riverside on Jan. 5, Bertsch became the first student-athlete since the Highlanders' Brittany Crain in 2016 to reach (and surpass) 2,000 points in a career, finishing with a game-high 31 points in front of an ESPN3 audience. Thanks to her 30 points last week against UC Riverside, Bertsch is fifth on the Big West's all-time scoring list with 2,242 points, passing Long Beach State's Penny Toler (2,193 points from 1987-89) for a spot in the top five, and standing just 84 points behind Crain for fourth.
STAYING ACTIVE: With her 2,242 career points, Bertsch ranks sixth among active players in the NCAA in that category (as of Feb. 19) while also standing fourth in career field goals (902).
MORGAN ON A ROLL: Hold the mayo. Following her 30 points against UC Riverside last week, Bertsch has now scored in double figures in her last 59 consecutive contests dating back to last season -- and 109 of 124 games overall in her career. The high-scoring Santa Rosa, Calif., native has not been held to single digits since March 23, 2017, in a WNIT "Sweet 16" match-up against Washington State (six points), and has been held without a point in a game only once in her career – at Colorado State on March 19, 2017, in the second round of the WNIT.
GIMME FIVE: A point night in a win over UC Riverside and Bertsch has extended her 20-point scoring streak to five straight contests -- this after posting a six-game run of such performances earlier in the year -- averaging 24.4 ppg over the last three weeks. It marked the 17th game with at least 20 points this season for the senior and the 55th such performance of her career, extending her school record. Having reached double figures in 109 of her 124 career contests, that means she is pretty much assured to hit the 20-point plateau every other time she takes the court.
NO SUCH THING AS A FREE LUNCH: But there are such things as free points... from the free throw line, if you will. After hitting 8-of-11 from the line against UC Riverside, Bertsch's 130 free throw makes are fourth on the school single-season list, needing just eight more to catch Sydnee Fipps (138 in 2012-13) for third, while her 157 attempts rank tied for seventh.
SENIOR MOMENT: Already the highest scoring sophomore (520 points) and junior (702 points) in the history of the program, Bertsch is making a big push to become the highest-scoring senior in the history of the school, needing just 27 more points to pass Staci Stevens' 600 points during the 1987-88 campaign. Carol Rische, whom Bertsch passed to become the all-time leading scorer in women's basketball history, is the highest-scoring freshman in the program, scoring 459 points in 1979-80.
MAKING HER POINT: Currently leading the Aggies with the nation's fourth-highest point total (574) -- and the third-highest single season scoring mark in school history -- Bertsch is on track to pace UC Davis in scoring for a fourth time, something only one other player has done in the program's history, joining former school scoring champ Carol Rische, who accomplished the feat from 1979-83.
START ME UP: Of her 124 career appearances in an Aggie uniform, Bertsch has missed only six starts -- all coming during her freshman year -- and enters the week having started the team's last 97 consecutive contests dating back to the "Senior Day" game against CSUN in 2015-16. The Santa Rosa, Calif., native is one of only five players in the program's Division I history to start more than 100 games, joining Kasey Riecks (120), Alyson Doherty (113),
Celia Marfone (109), and Hana Asano (102), and stands just seven appearances shy of matching
Pele Gianotti's school record for both games played and consecutive games played.
NO, THANKS, I'LL PASS: With 15 assists in her last three games, senior psychology major has moved into ninth place in Big West women's basketball history with 524 for her career, making her only the third player in conference history to break into the top 10 since the 1999-00 season, joining the 49ers' Reta Sula (1997-01) and CSUN's Ashlee Guay (2011-15). Next up? New Mexico State's Connie Vau, who posted 532 assists from 1991-95.
WON'T YOU PLEASE, PLEASE HELP ME?: Kourtney Eaton's 115 assists this season are just 10 shy of
Jennifer Gross' 1994-95 total for 10th place on the school's single-season list, one the Longview, Wash., native is already very familiar with. Kourtney already ranks second on the list with 154 assists in 2017-18, and third with 142 helpers in 2016-17.
A LOT FOR US, LITTLE FOR YOU: Senior psychology major
Karley Eaton has been stingy with the ball... when it comes to the opposition. Karley has dished out a career-high 75 assists against only 18 turnovers, leading the Big West and ranking No. 2 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.17 entering the week. Overall, UC Davis leads the Big West -- and ranks No. 27 in the nation -- in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.2 as a squad.
ROOM TO BOARD: Sophomore cell biology major
Cierra Hall is back on the boards over her last five contests, averaging a robust 7.2 rebounds per game in that stretch -- including 13 of her 36 rebounds in that span on the offensive glass. At 6.2 rpg, Hall leads the team and ranks eighth in the Big West entering the week.
TAKING MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS: The program's all-time scoring leader needs someone to get her ball, and who better than the program's all-time assists queen. Of Kourtney's record-setting 524 career assists, 146 of those (or just under 28 percent) have led to points by Bertsch, including a high of 49 such passes (or nearly one-third) out of 154 assists as juniors last season, and 40 assists together through 23 games together thus far.
MISS EFFICIENT: One of the most efficient players in the Big West -- if not the nation -- Bertsch enters the week having scored nearly a point per minute played this season with 574 points in 661 minutes. She has scored more points than minutes played eight times this season: Washington State (34 points-31 minutes), Sacramento State (40-22), Seattle (28-25), Dominican (22-17), UC Riverside (31-29), Cal State Fullerton (25-23), UC Irvine (29-27), and UC Santa Barbara (27-25).
THE 600 CLUB: Bertsch is just the fifth player in the program's Division I history to reach the 600-rebound plateau, joining Alyson Doherty (708),
Celia Marfone (682),
Pele Gianotti (616), and Paige Mintun (606), and became only the fifth player in that same span to score 1,000 points and grab 500 rebounds in a career along with Doherty, Gianotti, Mintun, and Sydnee Fipps. With nine rebounds last week, Bertsch stands 10th on the all-time list with 634, trailing current associate head coach
Des Abeyta (636) by only two for ninth and 28 back of Aimee Conner (1989-93) for eighth.
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. 5-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, 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.
AGGIE EVO
Launched in 2017-18, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.
