NEXT GAMES…
UC Davis (15-6, 7-1) at UC Santa Barbara (4-16, 1-6)
Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019 | 7:00 p.m. PT | The Thunderdome | Santa Barbara, Calif.
RADIO: KDVS 90.3 FM (PxP: Greg Wong)
TV: None
UC Davis (15-6, 7-1) at Cal Poly (4-14, 1-6)
Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019 | 2:00 p.m. PT | Mott Athletic Center | San Luis Obispo, Calif.
RADIO: KDVS 90.3 FM (PxP: Greg Wong)
TV: None
OPENING TIP: Winners of six straight for the second time this season -- and 12 of its last 13 games overall -- the UC Davis women's basketball team looks continue its run of success on the road, travelling to California's Central Coast to take on UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly this week. The Aggies open against the Gauchos on Thursday (Feb. 7) at 7 p.m., before taking on the Mustangs two days later on Saturday (Feb. 9) at 2 p.m. in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
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, UC Santa Barbara, nor Cal Poly, are ranked nationally entering the week. The Aggies are back among those receiving votes for the second straight week according to the Feb. 5 College Insider Mid-Major poll, picking up seven votes in this week's rankings -- up from two last week.
ABOUT THE GAUCHOS: UC Santa Barbara enters the week with a 4-16 overall record and a 1-6 mark in Big West play after falling to UC Irvine (74-68) and UC Riverside (73-60) on the road last week... The Gauchos have lost their last four games dating back to their lone conference victory of the season over Long Beach State on Jan. 19... UCSB is 2-7 at home this season, having lost its last two... Junior guard Coco Miller leads the team in scoring at 13.3 ppg, but is shooting just 33 percent from the floor... Junior center Natalia Bruening is averaging 9.8 ppg to go with a team-high 5.9 rpg, while shooting 52 percent from the field.
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS: Cal Poly enters the week with a 4-14 overall record and a 1-6 mark in Big West play, hosting Long Beach State on Wednesday (Feb. 6) before welcoming the Aggies... The Mustangs have lost their last five games following a 70-52 loss at Hawai'i in their only contest last week, but three of the team's four wins have come at home this season... Senior Devin Stanback (11.8 ppg) and junior MIchigan State transfer Hana Vesela (10.0 ppg) are both in double figures, the former shooting just under 52 percent from the field to pace the squad... Senior Katie Nunnelley is averaging a team-best 6.2 rpg to go with 6.7 ppg this year.
SERIES NOTES: UC Davis holds a narrow, 19-18, edge in the series with UC Santa Barbara after sweeping the regular season series from the Gauchos last year... The Aggies have won two straight -- and six of their last seven -- against UCSB, with the only loss in that span coming in the semifinals of the 2017 Big West Tournament... UC Davis is 8-8 on the road against UC Santa Barbara (with the location of one game unknown), winning its last two trips to UCSB and four of its last five... UC Davis leads the all-time series with Cal Poly, 31-23, having won the last six consecutive meetings with the Mustangs... The Aggies have swept the regular season series from Cal Poly in each of the last three seasons, scoring 80-or-more points in four of those games... UC Davis is 12-14 on the road against Cal Poly, winning its last three trips -- and four of its last five jaunts -- to San Luis Obispo following a five-game skid.
WE'RE GOING STREAKING (AGAIN)!: Last week's wins over Cal State Fullerton and CSUN extended the Aggies winning streak to six straight -- the second time this season that they have boasted such a run and tied for 23rd among active winning streaks in the nation -- while UC Davis' eight straight wins at home are tied for the 22nd among active streaks in the NCAA and the six straight Big West wins are tied for 23rd among longest conference winning streaks in the country. During their current streak, the Aggies have each of their six games by double-digit margins and an average of 21.7 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 wins over Cal State Fullerton and CSUN last week, UC Davis has won its last 18 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.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A POINT MAKES: UC Davis is 15-2 this season when it scores 60-or-more points, but is 0-4 when scoring 59 points or fewer.
IN THE MARGINS: 12 of the team's 15 wins this season -- including both games last week -- have come via double-digit margins (including seven 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 7-1 on that day of the week following its win at Cal State Fullerton. UC Davis has also been not too shabby on Thursdays, going 3-0 on that day.
LIGHTS OUT: Following a momentary hiccup that saw them shoot just 37 percent in a defensive battle at CSUN on Jan. 24, the UC Davis offense has shot better than 40 percent from the field in each of its last three games -- and in 11 of its 12 victories over the team's last 13 contests overall. The Aggies have topped the 40 percent shooting plateau 16 times this season, including topping the 50 percent plateau four times against Sacramento State (.545), Dominican (.540), UC Irvine (.529) and Cal State Fullerton (.551), en route to a 15-1 mark in those contests.
NOT HALF BAD: The 47 points in the first half of Saturday's win over CSUN are the most since the Aggies scored 48 against both Dominican and Saint Mary's in back-to-back games in December, and marked the 16th time in 21 games this season that UC Davis has led at the half, improving to 14-2 when doing so.
ALL THE SINGLE DIGITS: When UC Davis' defense limited Long Beach State to 24 points in the first three quarters of its 70-50 win last week, the Aggies surrendered only nine points in the first, eight in the second, and seven in the third -- the first time since the NCAA returned to the four-quarter format in 2015-16 that UC Davis has held an opponent to single digits in three quarters. In all, the Aggies have held opponents to single digits in 14 quarters this season, while being held to single digits only six times.
DE-FENSE (CLAP, CLAP): UC Davis enters the week as the Big West's stingiest defense, holding opponents to just 59.2 ppg, .353 shooting from the field, and .276 shooting from beyond the arc, to stand atop the league standings. The Aggies, who are allowing an even tinier 53.0 ppg in nine Big West contests, rank among the nation's best in field goal percentage defense (21st) and three-point percentage defense (33rd), while ranking 67th overall in scoring defense.
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 44 points last week against Long Beach State and CSUN, Bertsch now stands sixth on the Big West's all-time scoring list with 2,164 points, passing Idaho's Alli Nieman (1996-00) and needing 30 more points to overtake Long Beach State's Penny Toler (2,193 points from 1987-89) for a spot in the top five.
MORGAN ON A ROLL: Hold the mayo. Following her 20 points against CSUN on Saturday, Bertsch has now scored in double figures in her last 56 consecutive contests dating back to last season -- and 106 of 121 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.
I'LL TAKE MORGAN FOR 20: Bertsch has posted 14 games with at least 20 points this season and notched the 52nd such performance of her career (extending her school record) last week against CSUN. Having reached double figures in 106 of her 121 career contests, that means she is pretty much assured to hit the 20-point plateau every other time she takes the court.
EATON 500: With her first assist on Thursday against Cal State Fullerton, senior psychology major
Kourtney Eaton reached yet another career milestone, collecting her 500th career assist in the Aggies' 36-point victory and finishing the weekend with 508 helpers to her name. The Longview, Wash., native is on the verge of breaking into one of the most selective clubs in Big West history needing only six more to pass Long Beach State's Penny Toler (513 from 1987-89) for 10th place on the league's career assist list, which would make 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) -- who ranks ninth with 519 assists -- and CSUN's Ashlee Guay (2011-15) -- who is seventh with 541 assists.
KOURTNEY COULDN'T MISS: When she wasn't helping her teammates find the bottom of the basket, Eaton was busy filling it up herself, closing out her week with a career-high 19 points on 6-of-7 from beyond the arc (including her first five straight), adding five rebounds, and four assists, against CSUN. For the week, Eaton averaged 15.0 ppg and hit 9-of-12 from the floor, including 8-of-9 from beyond the arc, reaching double figures for the third and fourth times in her last six games.
EATON, PARTY OF SIX: The senior's six three-pointers against CSUN were the most by an Aggie this season and the most since
Rachel Nagel finished with the same number against Portland State last season.
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, five Aggies rank among the league's top 10 in three-point percentage: senior psychology major
Kourtney Eaton (2nd - .432),
Karley Eaton (5th - .387), junior biological sciences major
Sophia Song (7th - .356), junior human development major
Cierra McKeown (8th - .346), and junior communication major
Nina Bessolo (9th - .345). In addition, Bessolo (2.0) and
Kourtney Eaton (1.8) also rank among the league leaders in three-pointers per game, standing third and sixth, respectively.
WORKING BEYOND THE ARC: UC Davis has made a three-pointer in 485 consecutive games dating back to Feb. 15, 2003, at Cal State San Bernardino. Since then, UC Davis has hit .347 from beyond the arc (3,306-for-9,515).
WHAT'S A FEW MORE FEET?: UC Davis enters the week pacing the Big West in three-point percentage (.353), three pointers made (176), and three-pointers per game (8.4), while standing among the top 40 teams in the nation in three's made (40th) and three-pointers per game (31st).
BOMBING AWAY IN BUNCHES: The Aggies combined to hit 45 percent (19-of-42) of their shots from beyond the arc last week against the 49ers and Matadors -- 10 of those makes coming against CSUN to give UC Davis double digits in that category for the fourth time in its last five contests and shooting .433 (52-for-120) from three-point range during that stretch.
BACK IN BUSINESS ON THE BOARDS: After grabbing just eight rebounds in her previous four games combined, sophomore cell biology major
Cierra Hall was back at it on the glass, averaging 7.0 rpg in the Aggies' two wins last week against Long Beach State and CSUN. The Cypress, Calif., native added eight points, a block, and two steals against the 49ers, and finished with 11 points against the Matadors -- the second time in her last three games that she reached double figures and the fourth time overall this season.
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 104 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 (496), 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.
STAYING ACTIVE: With her 2,120 career points, Bertsch ranks sixth among active players in the NCAA in that category (as of Feb. 2) while also standing fourth in career field goals (874).
START ME UP: Of her 121 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 94 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 10 appearances shy of matching
Pele Gianotti's school record for both games played and consecutive games played.
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. Bertsch needs just six more to break into the school's all-time top 10, matching Gianotti's career total.
SHE'S A HELPER: No one player to ever wear a UC Davis basketball uniform has tallied more assists than senior psychology major
Kourtney Eaton, who passed former Aggie great Angelo Rivers (a four-year letter winner for the men's team from 1982-86) with her 468th career assist on
Morgan Bertsch's game-winner against Saint Mary's back on Dec. 17. Eaton, who has led the team in the category in each of the last two seasons, currently ranks 12th in assists among active NCAA players as of Feb. 3 with 509.
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 496 points in 581 minutes. She has scored more points than minutes played seven 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), and UC Irvine (29-27).
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 509 career assists, 140 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 34 assists together through 20 games together thus far.
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.
