THIS WEEK: Let the gauntlet begin. The UC Davis women's basketball team opens a five-game run featuring four opponents that are either ranked or receiving votes in the national polls on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m., facing off against No. 18/16 Oregon at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Ore.

GAME 6
WHAT: UC Davis (3-2) at #18/16 Oregon (3-2)
WHEN: Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021
TIME: 3:30 p.m. PT
WHERE: Eugene, Ore.
ARENA: Matthew Knight Arena (12,324)
WATCH: Pac-12 Network Oregon
LISTEN: KDVS 90.3 FM
STATS: UCDavisAggies.com
GAME NOTES: UC Davis Weekly Release

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 189-115(.622) overall and 107-49 (.686) in the Big West.
OREGON: Kelly Graves is in his eighth season at Oregon with a record of 173-65 (.727) and his 28th season overall, posting a career record of 600-267 (.692).

WE'LL DO IT LIVE!: Wednesday's game will be televised on Pac-12 Network Oregon, streamed via Oregon's Pac-12 Network Live Stream page, and broadcast live locally on KDVS 90.3 FM. Links to the stream and live stats are available on the women's basketball schedule page at UCDavisAggies.com.

IN THE RANKINGS: After opening the season ranked No. 9 in the nation according to the preseason College Insider Mid-Major poll, UC Davis has slipped to No. 18 in the country according to the Nov. 23 poll... The No. 9 preseason ranking marks the highest for the program in that poll since the Aggies stood at No. 8 in the Feb. 27, 2018, poll, and UC Davis has been ranked every week dating back to the final poll of the 2019-20 season... Updated rankings will be released on Nov. 30... Meanwhile, Oregon is tied for No. 18 in the most recent Associated Press poll along with Ohio State, and stands No. 16 in this week's USA Today Coaches Poll.

ABOUT THE DUCKS: Oregon enters the week with a 3-2 overall record, coming off a gauntlet of games at the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas where it defeated Oklahoma (98-93) in a shootout before falling to No. 1 South Carolina (80-63) and No. 23 South Florida (71-62)... Prior to that, the Ducks opened the season with wins over Idaho State (91-34) and Dixie State (84-35) at home... Junior forward Nyara Sabally leads a quartet of players in double figures at 22.0 ppg, shooting 61 percent from the floor and grabbing 7.5 rpg... Ahlise Hurst (12.4 ppg, .429 FG%), Sedona Prince (12.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg), and Sydney Parrish (11.6 ppg, 2.8 rpg), are all also shooting better than 40 percent from the floor... Oregon is averaging 79.6 ppg as a team and shooting .490 from the field, holding opponents to just 62.6 ppg and .341 shooting from the floor.

SERIES NOTES: UC Davis and Oregon have met on only one other occasion in the history of the two programs, with the Ducks posting a come-from-behind 63-57 win over the Aggies last season in Eugene... UC Davis led that game, 46-42, entering the fourth quarter before an 11-0 run by Oregon erased the deficit and the Ducks held off a late rally that saw the Aggies close to within a point with 4:27 to play... Evanne Turner finished with 19 points, while Sage Stobbart (11) and Kayla Konrad (10) also added double figures to go along with Mackenzie Trpcic's 13 assists.

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 11 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' 189 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.