HONOLULU — UC Davis junior post
Sage Stobbart came within a single block of a piece of school history on Friday night, finishing with 12 points, 13 rebounds, and a school single-game record nine blocks, but homestanding Hawai'i turned away a late Aggie charge and held on for a 70-60 victory at SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.
The loss was the first in Big West Conference play for UC Davis this season, which fell to 9-2 overall and 8-1 in league play. The Rainbow Wahine improved to 8-6 and 7-5 in the Big West with the win.
Stobbart, who had five blocks in the first half and four more after the break, shattered the previous record of seven swats set by Janae Henning at San Francisco State in 2001, tied by Paige Mintun against Pacific in 2011, and matched by Stobbart at UC Irvine in 2020. The nine blocks are tied for the sixth-most in the single game in the nation this season, with only five other players in the country accounting for more than what Stobbart finished with entering Friday night.
The North Vancouver, B.C., native's 13 rebounds were a season high and just one off her career best set in that seven-block game against the Anteaters last season, while the 12 points marked her eighth double-digit scoring performance of the year. The only recorded triple-double in school history was accomplished by Kari Sivesind, who finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists against Emporia State on Dec. 1, 1995.
Overall, the Aggies finished with 11 blocks as a team, falling just one shy of the single-game mark of 12 set at Utah in a 2017 Women's National Invitation Tournament match-up in Salt Lake City.
Stobbart was joined in double figures by senior
Cierra Hall, who finished with a game-high 18 points — 13 of those coming during a furious third-quarter Aggie rally — and five rebounds before fouling out midway through the fourth, while senior
Mackenzie Trpcic added 13 points and five assists while playing all 40 minutes for the second time this season.
UC Davis trailed by as many as 16 points at 34-18 with just under two minutes to play in the first half, but the Aggies continued to claw back, finishing the second quarter on a 7-0 run to make it a nine-point game at the break. A three-pointer by Hall out of the locker room kept the run going as UC Davis continued to reel the Rainbow Wahine in, using another 7-0 spurt at the end of the third to make it a two-point game at 49-47 heading into the final 10 minutes.
The two teams traded blows to start the fourth, with UC Davis hanging in down just four following a Stobbart basket inside with 6:06 to play before Hawai'i began to inch away. A three-pointer by Kelsie Imai answered the Stobbart basket and a three-point play by Meilani Mcbee pushed the lead to eight as the Aggies would come no closer than six points the rest of the way.
A 43-34 advantage on the glass for the Rainbow Wahine — 12 of those from Imai — included 13 offensive rebounds, and Hawai'i drained nine three-pointers for the game, with seven of those coming in the first half to get the home team off to a fast start.
The two teams close out the regular season with the series finale on Saturday (March 6) at 8 p.m. PT
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.
