OPENING TIP: Winners of back-to-back games for the first time since the beginning of December, the UC Davis heads down the California coast to take on UC Santa Barbara and Cal Poly in Big West Conference play. The Aggies and Gauchos meet Thursday (Jan. 23) at 7 p.m., at The Thunderdome, before taking on the Mustangs in San Luis Obispo at the Mott Athletic Center two days later at 2 p.m.
UP NEXT…
GAME 17: UC Davis (7-9, 2-1) at UC Santa Barbara (7-10, 2-2)
WHEN: Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020 at 7 p.m.
WHERE: The Thunderdome in Santa Barbara, Calif.
RADIO: KDVS 90.3 FM (PxP: Greg Wong)…
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STREAMING VIDEO: Big West TV
LIVE STATS: UCSBGauchos.com
GAME 18: UC Davis (7-9, 2-1) at Cal Poly (3-11, 0-3)
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020 at 2 p.m.
WHERE: Mott Athletic Center in San Luis Obispo, Calif.
RADIO: KDVS 90.3 FM (PxP: Greg Wong)…
Listen Online
STREAMING VIDEO: Big West TV
LIVE STATS: GoPoly.com
BE A FOLLOWER: Fans can get an inside look at UC Davis women's basketball by following them on their many social media accounts. Like or follow us on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, at @UCDavisWBB. In-game updates will also be available on the team's Twitter feed.
IN THE POLLS: Neither UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, nor Cal Poly, are ranked nationally entering this week's games.
ABOUT UC SANTA BARBARA: The Gauchos enter the week with a 7-10 overall record and a 2-2 mark in Big West play after splitting games against UC Irvine (W, 65-61) and UC Riverside (L, 66-61) last week... UCSB has won three of its last five after losing four straight and is 5-3 at home this year... Freshman Ila Lane is averaging a double-double of 14.1 ppg and 12.8 rpg, while shooting .573 from the floor and leading two other teammates in double figures: Danae Miller (14.1 ppg) and Coco Miller (10.1 ppg).
SERIES NOTES: UC Davis leads the all-time series with UC Santa Barbara, 21-18, having won four straight and eight of the last nine overall... The Gauchos' last win came at the 2017 Big West Tournament, 73-39... The Aggies have won their last three trips to Santa Barbara, including a 70-44 victory last season, and are 9-8 on the road against UCSB overall... As a Division I program, UC Davis is 19-10 against the Gauchos.
ABOUT CAL POLY: The Mustangs enter the week with a 3-11 overall record and an 0-3 mark in conference play, having lost their last three straight following a 68-57 loss to UC Irvine in their only game last week... Cal Poly hasn't won since a 100-35 win over Holy Names, and hasn't posted a win over a Division I opponent since a one-point triumph over Lamar on Nov. 30... The Mustangs are 3-4 at home this season... Sierra Campisano (15.9 ppg, 8.4 rpg) and Abbey Ellis (14.9 ppg) are in double figures for Cal Poly, which is holding opponents to .379 shooting from the floor, but averaging just 58.4 ppg of their own offensively.
SERIES NOTES: UC Davis leads the all-time series with Cal Poly, 33-23, winning the last eight against the Mustangs after sweeping the regular season series in each of the last four years... Cal Poly hasn't posted a win in the series since Feb. 26, 2015, at The Pavilion, 68-52... UC Davis has won its last four trips to San Luis Obispo and is 13-14 overall on the road against Cal Poly... The Aggies lead the series, 15-10, as a Division I program.
ALL SHE DOES IS WIN: Head Coach
Jennifer Gross enters this week ranked fourth in the program's history in career coaching wins with 163, needing just one more to match Pam Gill-Fisher (1975-79, 81-86, 87-88), who accumulated 164 wins in 12 seasons. The UC Davis alumna has won nearly 61 percent of her games since taking over for the winningest coach in program history -- Sandy Simpson (251 wins) -- for the 2011-12 season.
FUTURE AGGIE DUO NAMED McDONALD'S ALL-AMERICAN GAMES NOMINEES: UC Davis women's basketball signees Mazatlan Harris and Bria Shine earned nominations for the 2020 McDonald's All-American Games on Tuesday, two of 31 players from the state of California to make the list of girls high school standouts from across the country. This year's event will be hosted at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, on April 1. It will be the 19th annual girls game, which was first held at Madison Square Garden in New York in 2002. Harris, a 6-foot-2 forward, is currently averaging 11.9 points and 10.0 rebounds per game through the first 14 games of her senior season, shooting 48 percent from the floor and adding 31 blocked shots for the Dons of Cathedral Catholic HS in San Diego. Shine, a 6-foot-1 guard, is averaging 12.0 ppg and 7.6 rpg, to go along with 2.3 assists and 3.4 steals per game for the Falcons of Christian Brothers HS in Sacramento through 12 games thus far this year.
AGGIES' RUN ROLLS ON: UC Davis ran its home Big West winning streak to 24 consecutive games thanks to its victory over Long Beach State, extending a stretch that has seen opponents go home empty from The Pavilion dating back to 2017, with its last defeat coming against The Beach on Jan. 21 of the 2016-17 campaign.
HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE: Six of the Aggies' seven victories this season have come at The Pavilion, averaging 72.1 ppg and shooting .444 from the floor, while holding opponents to just 60.5 ppg and .347 from the field. Compare that to the road, where UC Davis is averaging 66.8 ppg to the opposition's 72.8 ppg, shooting .396 to the opposition's .441. Standing 6-2 at home this season, the Aggies are a combined 44-6 at The Pavilion over the last three-plus years and have posted a winning home mark in each of the last six seasons.
ON THE REBOUND: After being out-rebounded by 12 in their conference-opening defeat at UC Riverside, the Aggies have crashed the boards in earnest over their last two, out-working Hawai'i and Long Beach State by 13 and 21, respectively, while holding a 90-56 advantage overall. The 21-rebound margin was UC Davis' best against a Division I opponent since besting rival Sacramento State by 35 on Dec. 7 of last season in a 109-60 victory at The Nest. The Aggies have out-rebounded three of their last four opponents -- matching their total from their first 12 games combined.
SAGE DOUBLES UP: The sophomore from North Vancouver, British Columbia, helped lift the Aggies with her first double-double of the season on Thursday against Long Beach State, finishing with 10 points and 10 rebounds as UC Davis improved to 3-0 when a player finishes with a double-double -- winning its last 14 such contests. It was the second such performance of her career and her first since scoring 12 points and grabbing 10 boards at Sacramento State last year.
CAROM QUEEN: The holder of three of the team's seven double-digit rebounding games this season following her 11-rebound performance against Hawai'i, junior
Cierra Hall continues to pace the Aggies on the glass, leading the team with 109 rebounds -- 45 of which have come on the offensive glass (2nd in the league) -- and 6.8 rpg overall, placing her seventh in the Big West entering the week. The cell biology major's 462 career rebounds strengthens her hold on seventh place on the school's Division I career list, with 79 boards to make up in order to catch Sydnee Fipps (2011-15) for sixth.
DISTRIBUTION LIST: Cierra Hall,
Mackenzie Trpcic, and
Katie Toole, all finished with five assists in Thursday's win over Long Beach State -- the first time that the Aggies have had three players with that many assists since Jan. 5, 2017, when Pele Gianotti (8),
Kourtney Eaton (6), and Dani Nafekh (5), accomplished the feat in an 89-48 win over UC Irvine on the road.
PASSING FANCY: Entering the week with 77 assists on the year, junior
Mackenzie Trpcic is just 23 helpers away from becoming the eighth player in the program's Division I history to reach the century mark and halfway to
Kourtney Eaton's single-season record of 154 set in 2017-18. Trpcic would be only the fifth player on that 100 assist list joining Kourtney (four times) and her sister Karley (102 in 2018-19), Dani Nafekh (130 in 2015-16), and Molly Greubel (103 in 2013-14).
POINTS TAKEN (AWAY): UC Davis limited Long Beach State to only six points in the third quarter of Thursday's win, marking the ninth time this year that the Aggies have held an opponent to single digits in a quarter and tied for the second-fewest in a period this year behind only the four allowed to Hawai'i on Jan. 11.
SWAT TEAM: Thanks to its two swats on Thursday against Long Beach State, UC Davis has now posted at least one blocked shot in 67 consecutive games dating back to Jan. 11, 2018, against UC Riverside. The Aggies rank fourth in the Big West with 46 blocks and 2.88 blocks per game entering this week's contests.
DIALED IN: UC Davis has made a three-pointer in 510 consecutive games dating back to Feb. 15, 2003, at Cal State San Bernardino. Since then, the Aggies have shot .350 (3,541-for-10,109) from beyond the arc.
MINUTE WOMEN: UC Davis has seven players averaging better than 20 minutes per game this season -- led by
Katie Toole's 28.7 minutes per contest -- showcasing depth that hasn't been seen since the 2015-16 season when the Aggies finished the year with seven players averaging better than 20 minutes per.
ROLLIN' IN THE DEEP: The Aggies enter the week with a Big West-best 148 made three-pointers (27 better than second-place UC Irvine) and 9.25 per game ranking among the top 50 in the nation in both categories at No. 20 and No. 9, respectively, entering the week.
DEEP FROM DEEP: Entering Thursday's clash with UC Santa Barbara, senior
Katie Toole, sophomore
Makaila Sanders, and freshman
Evanne Turner, rank 1-2-3 in the Big West in three-point percentage, with junior
Mackenzie Trpcic giving the Aggies four of the league's top five sharpshooters. Toole leads the league at 53 percent, followed by Sanders' 49 percent, and Turner's 45 percent. Trpcic, in fifth, is shooting 42 percent, helping UC Davis rank No. 20 in the country in three-point percentage.
WINDEX WOMEN: UC Davis is one of only three schools (UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton being the others) with three players ranked among the top 15 in the Big West in rebounding entering this week's games:
Cierra Hall (7th - 6.8 rpg),
Kayla Konrad (12th - 5.9 rpg), and
Sage Stobbart (15th - 5.5 rpg).
CLAMPING DOWN: Since allowing a season-high 83 points at Saint Mary's back on Nov. 19, the Aggies' defense has slowly become stingy, allowing fewer than 60 points in three of its last four contests and 66.6 ppg overall. In Big West play only, UC Davis ranks second in the league at 59.7 ppg allowed, surrendering a league-low 179 points over three games -- leading the league in field goal percentage defense (.346) and second three-point percentage defense (.281) -- and standing behind only CSUN (58.3 ppg in four games) entering the week.
THE RIGHT TOOLE FOR THE JOB: For the first time all year, senior
Katie Toole was held in check, limited to only nine points in the win over Long Beach State -- the first time this season that the Utah native has not scored in double figures. Nonetheless, Toole -- who scored a total of 50 points in 23 games a season ago -- continues to enjoy the finest season of her collegiate career, entering the week ranked fifth in the league in scoring (15.2 ppg), while also standing in the top 10 in the Big West in points (3rd - 243), field goal percentage (2nd and No. 53 in the nation at .537), field goals made (4th - 94), three-point percentage (1st - .529), and three-pointers made (t9th - 27).
NO REST FOR THE WEARY: UC Davis' non-conference opponents have had ample time to ramp up to face the Aggies. Not counting the season-opener against Montana State, UC Davis' opponents have had an average of 7.3 days off inbetween games before facing the Aggies, while UC Davis has had just 4.5 days to prep for its next foe. Aside from the 13 days of preparation for William Jessup, Pepperdine had 11 days, Saint Mary's and Boston University each had nine days, while Portland State and Northern Arizona each had a full week. UC Davis has had at least a week to prepare for an opponent only twice this year (Minnesota and Stanford).
MILESTONE WATCH: Bessolo is the closest active Aggie to the 1,000 career point milestone, entering this week with 761 points, looking to become the 21st player in program history to achieve the feat after scoring 287 points en route to All-Big West honorable mention honors a season ago. With a minimum of 15 games remaining on the schedule, Bessolo would have to average 15.9 ppg over that span to reach the threshhold.
THE HIGH CIERRA: Hall's 32-point, 13-rebound, outburst against Boston University marked a career-high scoring night for the Cypress, Calif., native, etching her name into the record books in the process. In addition to being the second 30-point game by an Aggie this year (teammate
Katie Toole had 30 at Saint Mary's), Hall's 32 points rank in a tie for eighth in a single game in school history and fourth in the program's Division I history. In addition, her 13 rebounds are tied for the fourth-highest single-game total in the program's Division I history, matching her career high set last year against Sacramento State.
HISTORIC FINISH TO RING IN 2020: UC Davis' 64-point win over William Jessup marked the program's largest margin of victory in the Division I era and the ninth-largest all-time, posting its largest margin since an 84-point win over Patten College in 1996. Wednesday's margin topped the Aggies' 55-point win over Cal State Monterey Bay in 2015-16 for the best since officially becoming a Division I member in 2007-08.
BESSOLO BOMBING AWAY: The Hayward, Calif., enters the week with 144 made three-pointers for her career -- good for ninth on the school's Division I career chart (
Kourtney Eaton is eighth with 152) and stands just 11 away from breaking into the all-time top 10. Her five makes from beyond the arc against William Jessup set a new career mark, besting her previous career high of four accomplished nine other times in her career.
SHARING IS CARING: UC Davis has posted more assists than its opponents in every game but three this season. The Aggies, who posted a season-high 22 against William Jessup (the most since dishing out 28 against Dominican on Dec. 29 last year), rank No. 50 in assists per game (15.6 apg), while also ranking second in the Big West entering this week.
SEASON OF GIVING...: Junior guard
Mackenzie Trpcic is a giver. Her 77 assists and 4.81 assists per game entering the week rank second in the Big West, and No. 74 and No. 60, respectively, in the NCAA in those categories. It's not uncharted territory for the Hamilton, Ontario, native, who finished her sophomore year at Albany No. 14 in the nation in assists per game (6.47) following a school sophomore season record 207 helpers in 2017-18 -- which also ranked No. 15 in the country at the end of the year.
#STATSINCREDIBLE: The Aggies' 16 makes from beyond the arc against William Jessup, along with their 38 field goals overall and .593 three-point percentage, are the second-highest in a single game in the Big West this season... The 21 makes from the line against Sacramento State are tied for the second-most in a game... Hall's 11 makes from the line against Boston University are tied for the most in a game in the conference... Hall is one of six players in the league to score more than 30 points this year, a list which also includes teammate
Katie Toole, who had 30 at Saint Mary's.
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 15 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.
MARYA WELCH INITIATIVE
Named after the former physical education instructor, coach and Dean of Women who founded women's sports on the campus 25 years before the passage of Title IX, the Marya Welch Initiative for Women's Athletics provides comprehensive support for UC Davis' 16 women's athletics programs. Through the support of the Marya Welch Initiative and its group members, student-athletes are provided the best possible opportunity to succeed inside the classroom, and in competition, through special project gifts and by increasing visibility and participation at women's events throughout the year. All gifts to the Marya Welch Initiative are matched 1:1, doubling the impact on our women's programs. Visit https://give.ucdavis.edu/ATHG/324041 for more information.
