DAVIS, Calif. -- Senior Cierra Hall led all scorers with 17 points and sophomore Evanne Turner joined her in double figures with 11 more, while the defense limited visiting UC Santa Barbara to just 28 percent from the field on the night, lifting UC Davis to a 61-49 Big West Conference victory on Thursday night at the University Credit Union Center.

The Aggies claimed their first Big West win of the year, improving to 7-6 overall and 1-2 in league play. The Gauchos, who had won six of seven coming into the night, fell to 8-5 overall and 2-2 in the Big West.

Thursday's .278 field goal percentage for UCSB was the lowest for a UC Davis opponent this season and marked the third time this year that the Aggies have limited an opponent to under 30 percent from the floor. UC Davis held the Gauchos to just three field goals in each of the first three quarters, before a 17-point fourth quarter allowed UCSB to cut into a 25-point advantage.

Hall finished 6-of-11 from the floor, adding nine rebounds and a season-high seven assists, in 32 minutes. The seven helpers were just one shy of her career high. Meanwhile, Turner drained a trio of three-pointers, finishing 4-of-6 from the field for the night, adding a pair of rebounds and three assists.

Senior Sage Stobbart tied a season high with four blocks to go with five points, seven rebounds, and three assists, while while Kayla Konrad and Sydney Burns chipped in nine points apiece.

UC Davis' offense clicked early and often en route to their big lead, shooting 50 percent through the first three quarters, including a 54 percent clip in the second to bulid a 38-22 lead at the break. The Aggies scored seven of the first 10 points and closed the first quarter on a 10-2 run after the Gauchos had tied the game at nine apiece, then used an 11-4 run to close the second en route to the 16-point advantage.

Another burst -- this one an 11-2  run -- opened the third quarter for UC Davis, which build it's largest lead of the night at 49-24 with just under five minutes to go in the period, and the Aggies cruised from there.

UC Santa Barbara answered with a 14-1 run of its own to cut the deficit down to just 11 points with 2:41 to play, but UC Davis was too far gone by that point, holding the Gauchos to just three more attempts from the floor the rest of the way.

UCSB was led by Danae Miller's team-high 14 points, while leading scorer Ila Lane was held to 0-for-5 from the field and nine rebounds.

UC Davis closes out the week on Saturday (Jan. 22) at 2 p.m., hosting CSUN in another Big West battle at the University Credit Union Center.
 

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