THIS WEEK: For the first time in the history of the series, the Causeway rivalry between UC Davis and Sacramento State will take the stage at the Golden 1 Center in Downtown Sacramento, facing off in their annual rivalry contest on Tuesday (Nov. 23) at 5 p.m. The game is the first half of a doubleheader featuring both school's men's teams, who tip-off at 7:30 p.m.

GAME 4
WHAT: UC Davis (1-2) vs. Sacramento State (2-2)
WHEN: Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2021
TIME: 5 p.m.
WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
ARENA: Golden 1 Center (19,000)
LISTEN: KDVS 90.3 FM
STATS: UCDavisAggies.com

COACHES...
UC DAVIS: Five-time reigning Big West Conference Coach of the Year Jennifer Gross is in her 11th year (18th overall at UC Davis) with a record of 187-115(.619) overall and 107-49 (.686) in the Big West.
SACRAMENTO STATE: Mark Campbell is in his first season as the head coach at Sacramento State, posting a 2-2 record thus far.

A "GOLDEN" OPPORTUNITY: This year's Causeway battle with rival Sacramento State will have a slightly different look to it as the Aggies and Hornets will take the floor at the Golden 1 Center -- home of the NBA's Sacramento Kings. It will be the first opportunity for the two women's programs to compete at the venue after the men's programs have had their annual rivalry game held at the arena since the 2016-17 season.

IN THE RANKINGS: After opening the season ranked No. 9 in the nation according to the preseason College Insider Mid-Major poll, UC Davis slipped to No. 12 following the first week of the regular season according to the Nov. 16 poll. Updated rankings are scheduled to be released on Nov. 23. The No. 9 ranking marks the highest for the program in that poll since the Aggies stood at No. 8 in the Feb. 27, 2018, poll, and has been ranked every week dating back to the final poll of the 2019-20 season.

ABOUT THE HORNETS: Sacramento State enters the week with a 2-2 overall record, posting wins over San Jose State (75-65) and Sonoma State (76-53), while falling to Cal (90-71) and Seattle U (71-67)... Guard Lianna Tillman, a graduate transfer from Pacific, leads a trio of Hornets in double figures, averaging 23.8 points and 5.0 assists per game while shooting 41 percent from the floor... Sophomore center Isnelle Natabou (13.5 ppg, 10.0 rpg) and senior guard Summer Menke (13.0 ppg) are also in double figures... Sacramento State is averaging 72.3 ppg and shooting .432 from the field for the year as a team, while surrendering 69.8 ppg and a .431 field goal percentage -- including a .434 mark from three-point range -- through four contests.

SERIES NOTES: UC Davis holds a narrow, 31-29, leads the series with Sacramento State dating back to the 1971-72 season, but the Aggies have won the last four straight in the series dating back to the 2016-17 campaign... The Aggies posted a 77-75 win in double overtime against the Hornets at home in 2019 in the last meeting between the two... This is the first neutral site meeting (although it is Sacramento State's home game) between the two since the 1987-88 season, won by the Hornets, 63-61, at a tournament in San Luis Obispo, Calif., hosted by Cal Poly... UC Davis has won the last three road games against Sacramento State dating back to an overtime loss in 2012.

MILESTONE WATCHES
• Head Coach Jennifer Gross needs 13 more wins for 200 career
• Cierra Hall needs 63 more points to reach 1,000 for her career (21st in program history)
• Cierra Hall needs six more rebounds to tie Lisa Jo Kellogg (1988-91) for fifth on the all-time list
• Cierra Hall needs 16 more rebounds to tie Alyson Doherty's (2012-16) Division I program record for career rebounds
• Cierra Hall needs 12 steals to tie Blair Shinoda (2009-13) for ninth on the program's Division I list
• Sage Stobbart needs five more blocks to tie Janae Henning (1998-2002) for fifth on the all-time list

RECYCLED NOTES
AGGIES INK EPPS: Nya Epps, a 5-foot-10 wing from El Cerrito, Calif., has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue her academic and athletic career at UC Davis beginning in 2022-23. Epps is entering her senior season at Carondelet HS, fresh off a 2020-21 campaign that saw her average 16 points, six rebounds, and six assists, for the Cougars as a junior, earning her a slew of awards for her performance. For more on the signing, visit: https://ucdavisaggies.com/news/2021/11/11/womens-basketball-aggies-ink-epps-to-national-letter-of-intent.aspx.

THIS SOUNDS FAMILIAR: The five-time defending Big West champions were picked to win their sixth consecutive league title in 2021-22, unanimous selections by both the head coaches and the media according to a vote released on Nov. 2 by the conference office. UC Davis received nine of the 11 first-place votes and 99 points overall from the coaches, while picking up six of the 11 first-place nods from the media and 104 points overall.

HALL EARNS PRESEASON NOD: Back for a fifth season in an Aggie uniform after the NCAA granted 2020-21 winter sports student-athletes an additional year of eligibility due to the pandemic, senior forward Cierra Hall was one of five unanimous selections to both the coach's and media's preseason All-Big West teams for the second straight season. One of only three players in league history to win both the conference player and defensive player of the year awards in a career, Hall averaged 14.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game last season while shooting .463 from the field.

AGGIE STORYLINES...
• UC Davis returns 11 letter winners and four starters off of last season's squad that finished 13-3 overall -- it's sixth consecutive winning season -- and 9-1 in Big West Conference play during a pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign that featured a two-month layoff due to Yolo County health restrictions.
• The Aggies have won the last five consecutive Big West regular season titles, making them one of only two schools in league history to accomplish such a feat (UC Santa Barbara from 1996-2005).
• Last year marked the first time in school history that UC Davis won five consecutive OUTRIGHT league titles. The Aggies did win five straight league crowns during their Division II days -- four in the Northern California Athletic Conference and one in the California Collegiate Athletic Association -- from 1994-99, but shared the 1997-98 NCAC title.
• UC Davis is one of four active schools to have won at least five straight conference regular season titles: UConn (7 in the American Athletic Conference, 1 in the BIG EAST), Baylor (11 in the Big 12), and Gonzaga (5 in the West Coast Conference).
• UC Davis is a combined 64-10 in Big West play over the last five years entering the 2021-22 season, with the next-closest school, in terms of wins, being Long Beach State at 42-40 in conference play.
• UC Davis became the sixth program in conference history to win at least three Big West Tournament titles and the first repeat champion since 2014-15.
• Head Coach JENNIFER GROSS has won the last five consecutive Big West Coach of the Year awards -- the first time in conference history that has happened -- and stands behind only Mark French of UCSB (7) for the most in league history.
• Together for 11 years, Gross, Associate Head Coaches JOE TERAMOTO and DES ABEYTA, and Assistant Coach MATT KLEMIN make up the longest-tenured Division I coaching staff in the nation.
• With her 11 years at the helm, Gross is the third-longest tenured head coach in school history behind only Sandy Simpson (14 years) and Pam Gill-Fisher (12 years).
• Gross stands 13 wins shy of 200 overall for her career, and clinched her 100th career Big West win on Jan. 23 at home against UC San Diego.
• Gross' 187 wins ranks third in school history and fifth in league history, while her 107 league wins stand seventh in the Big West annals. She trails only Simpson (251) and Jorja Hoehn (205) in school lore.
• UC Davis' trip to the NCAA Tournament in 2021 marked the program's eighth postseason appearance in 14 years as a Division I program.
• The team's No. 12 seed in the tournament was the highest in program history and the highest for any Big West school since 2004 ( UC Santa Barbara - No. 11).
 

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ABOUT UC DAVIS
Centrally located between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, over 700 student-athletes across 25 teams enjoy an unrivaled undergraduate experience at the fifth-ranked public school in the country. 

Ranked annually in the nation's top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility, UC Davis and its innovative Aggie EVO System helps student-athletes develop passions, connect with a comprehensive network of alums and industry leaders, gain real-world experience and thrive as a young professional following a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school.