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We've all become accustomed to jack-knifing launch motion when Nina Bessolo lets fly with a 3-pointer.

Or Sophia Song's hard-nosed defense and her ability to unsheath the dagger at just the right moment.

And then there's Katie Toole — the transfer from Utah State — who this year, er, retooled her game, becoming one of the top scoring threats on the West Coast.

The three UC Davis seniors will take what should be their final bows at The Pavilion as the Aggies close out their regular-season home schedule with UC Riverside on Saturday. The 2:30 p.m. tipoff is part of a doubleheader with the Aggie men (5 p.m.) against Long Beach State. Fans will get a chance to bid adieu to the four Aggie senior men on March 5 when Hawaii comes for a visit.

For Bessolo, the 6-foot swingman by way of Castro Valley High, her senior year didn't materialize as planned. A member of the Big West All-Freshman Team in 2017, Bessolo was a conference honorable mention last season before being picked as a BWC preseason all-leaguer last autumn.

Averaging 10.4 ppg, Bessolo injured her thumb, required surgery and missed nine games. She's back on the court, but UC Davis head coach Jennifer Gross has eased her long-range player back into the fray.

Averaging 14 points a game, Toole, a native of Farmington, Utah, is the sixth most prolific scorer in the league. Improved on defense and rock-solid while driving to the hoop, Toole has been a force in the Aggies' march to what they hope will be a fourth-straight Big West regular-season title and second consecutive visit to the Big Dance.

And what can you say about Monterey Park's Song? She's worked through personal tragedy, a handful of injuries and being used as a starter or coming off the bench. In a litany of big shots made during her career, fans will most remember her 3-pointer against Hawaii in last year's Big West Tournament. That trey — her only basket of the game —brought Davis all the way back from a 17-point deficit and sent the Aggies into March Madness.

"This group of seniors will go down as one of the winningest groups in Aggie history," Gross points out. "They have contributed to multiple Big West championships and helped us earn NCAA and WNIT berths. Katie, Nina and Sophia have each had different journeys here at UC Davis, but they all have something in common — a strong sense of Aggie Pride.

"They are selfless, smart, special student-athletes who have grown so much and helped this program excel during their time here."

Take Bessolo, for example.

"It has been really rewarding to be part of Nina's growth and maturing during her time at Davis," Gross says. "From the second Nina stepped on the court as a freshman, she has had a tremendous ability to impact a game. We are going to miss her deep-range 3s, the way she puts pressure on defenses by running and scoring in transition, and her ability to make big plays on defense.

"But the thing we will miss most about Nina is her heart. She has a deep care about this program and always wants to help her team have success."

The Hayward native is an American studies major.

Toole played in the shadow of Aggie all-time leading scorer Morgan Bertsch, but came to 2019-20 camp with a resolve. After averaging just 2.2 points per game last campaign, she met her promise.

"I'm so happy for Katie that she is having the kind of season that we knew she was capable of," Gross offered. "She has always been an elite athlete but it's been fun watching her develop into an elite basketball player. She's added a consistent 3-point shot to her game, which makes her very difficult to defend — and she has also become a high-level defender.

The Aggies have relied on Toole to be the go-to scorer, but her defense has also helped UC Davis keep its place at or near the top of the BWC defensive table.

Toole says she plans to play overseas upon graduation. A 2019 league all-academic selection, Toole is a communications major.

"Sophia is going to be someone we talk about in our program for a long time," the ninth-year coach continues. "Yes, we will be mentioning how clutch she was and the big 3-point shot she hit to help us earn the NCAA tournament berth last season. But more often, we will talk about the kind of teammate that Sophia Song was throughout her career at UC Davis."

With a young team looking for leadership this winter, Gross says "Sophia is always about the team. She has had a lot of different roles on this team… someone who didn't play a ton of minutes early in her career, then becoming a spark off the bench, developing herself into a defensive stopper and ultimately becoming one of our most reliable players.

"And in each of those roles Sophia was exactly the same: 100 percent positive and willing to do whatever she could to help the team. Sophia has been the glue on a number of our championship teams and we will miss her positive outlook, compassion for her teammates and her competitive fire in the years to come."

With three games remaining, through Thursday the Aggies (15-11, 10-3) have a two-game lead on Hawaii. When the Highlanders (8-18, 4-8) visit The Pavilion on Saturday, Gross and her three seniors probably wouldn't mind a big sendoff.

(Note: I chatted with men's basketball coach Jim Les to talk about his four seniors — Stefan Gonzalez, Joe Mooney, Matt Neufeld and Rogers Printup. You'll hear what Les had to say about his quartet next week, right here in "Inside Aggie Nation.")

One of the most well-known and respected sports writers in the industry, former Davis Enterprise sports and managing editor Bruce Gallaudet joined the UC Davis Athletics staff as its feature writer in the summer of 2018. Since then, visitors to UCDavisAggies.com have enjoyed his unique perspective on campus student-athletes, coaches, teams, individuals, programs, events and projects that represent the fifth-ranked public school in the nation.