STANFORD, Calif. — Senior biomedical engineering major Morgan Bertsch closed out a decorated Aggie career with a bang on her sport's biggest stage Saturday evening, finishing with a game-high 25 points to move into third place on the Big West Conference's all-time scoring list as No. 15-seeded UC Davis fell to No. 2-seeded Stanford, 79-54, in an NCAA Tournament first round match-up in front of 3,456 fans at Maples Pavilion.

Making the program's second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance as a Division I program, the champions of the Big West Conference's regular season and tournament finished their season at 25-7 overall, including a staggering 16-game winning streak heading into Saturday night's contest.

Led by 21 points from Alanna Smith, the Cardinal improved to 29-4 and advanced to face No. 7-seeded BYU in the second round on Monday (March 25).

Needing only 18 points to catch Cal State Fullerton's Genia Miller for third on the league's all-time list, Bertsch sailed past the former Titan great with a layup at the 6:45 mark of the fourth quarter and added six more points after the fact to finish her Aggie career with 2,422 career points.

Only New Mexico State's Anita Maxwell (2,601 points from 1992-96) and Hawai'i's Judy Mosley (2,479 points from 1987-90) have scored more points than Bertsch in Big West women's basketball history.
 

Playing less than 100 miles from her hometown of Santa Rosa, Calif., Bertsch wrapped up her career with her 67th consecutive double-digit scoring performance, a school single-season record 754 points, and her 23rd game of 20-or-more points.

She was helped along by freshman Sage Stobbart, who tied a career high with 12 points on a career-high four three-pointers, draining 4-of-5 from beyond the arc, while junior communication major Nina Bessolo added 11 points, six rebounds, and a pair of steals in 24 minutes off the bench.

Falling victim to a 15-0 run from Stanford to start the game, and trailing by a 29-9 count after one quarter, the Aggies played the Cardinal to within five points the rest of the way, but could not recover from the opening 10-minute period. Bertsch and Stobbart combined for 14 of the team's 17 points in a second quarter that saw UC Davis shoot 42 percent from the floor, and Bertsch ended the night scoring 15 of her 25 in the second half alone.

Stobbart and Bessolo shared team-high honors with six rebounds apiece.

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.