Head Coach Jennifer Gross - Postgame Press Conference
DAVIS, Calif. -- UC Davis sophomore
Evanne Turner hit her first seven shots -- including a trio of three-pointers -- en route to a team-high 19 points, while senior
Cierra Hall added a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds, as the Aggies posted a win in their season opener, 82-75, over visiting San Francisco on Wednesday night at The Pavilion.
UC Davis won its season opener — and posted its highest point total in an opener — for the first time since sinking Washington State, 91-76, to open the 2017-18 campaign. The Aggies also won their fifth straight in the series with the Dons, improving to 10-7 all time against their Bay Area rivals.
Along with Turner and Hall, junior
Sage Stobbart added 15 points and nine rebounds, while junior
Kayla Konrad and senior
Mackenzie Trpcic contributed 10 points apiece, giving UC Davis five players in double figures for the first time since a win over Nevada on Dec. 1, 2018.
Turner finished just two points shy of her career high of 21 set at CSUN last season, hitting on 7-of-10 from the field overall and 3-of-5 from three-point range. Hall posted her fourth career double-double, and her first since a 17-point, 14-rebound effort against UC Irvine on Feb. 15 of last season.
Newcomers
Lena Svanholm and
Allie Carreon also netted the first points of their Aggie careers, finishing with eight and three points respectively.
UC Davis trailed by no more than four points in the opening period and found itself behind by a single point after one quarter before an 8-0 spurt midway through the second quarter gave the Aggies a seven-point advantage. A three-point halftime advantage ballooned into a 12-point third quarter advantage thanks to another 9-2 burst with 2:52 remaining in the period, but the Dons would not go quietly.
A pair of free throws at the end of the third sparked a 10-2 run for San Francisco into the fourth as the visitors pulled to within a single point at 63-62 on a three-pointer by Ioanna Krimili with 8:12 remaining, forcing a UC Davis timeout.
That was just what the Aggies needed as they emerged from the pause with a vengeance. Turner drained a three-pointer that ignited a 12-0 run over the next two minutes as UC Davis went up 75-62 and never looked back. The Dons were unable to come closer than five points the rest of the way.
Krimili finished with a game-high 22 points on 7-of-11 from the field — six of those from beyond the arc — to lead San Francisco. Leilah Vigil added a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Amalie Langer (17 points) and Lucie Hoskova (12 points) were also in double figures.
Saturday's game against Simpson University, scheduled for 2 p.m. at The Pavilion, has been postponed. A make-up date as not been announced.
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Over 700 student-athletes across 25 intercollegiate athletics teams, following the addition of equestrian and women's beach volleyball in 2018, represent the fifth-ranked public school in the nation.
Centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and the Napa Valley, UC Davis is known nationwide as a leader in Title IX gender equity and leadership, ranks annually in the top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility and offers an unrivaled student-athlete experience that features the ideal combination of elite academics, Division I athletics and personal growth.
UC Davis is uncommonly committed to preparing student-athletes for life after graduation with Aggie EVO — an innovative student-athlete outcomes program that helps young women and men develop passions, gain real-world experience, and enjoy a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school. Through Aggie EVO, Intercollegiate Athletics provides unmatched resources and a vast network of working professionals to ensure post-graduation success for its student-athletes.
