LA JOLLA, Calif. – Evanne Turner and Tova Sabel combined for 44 points in UC Davis' statement 72-49 road victory over UC San Diego to leapfrog the Tritons in the Big West standings.
 
For the first time since early November, UC Davis (13-12, 9-6) will enjoy an overall record above the .500 mark. With the convincing victory on Monday afternoon, the Aggies currently sit in a tie for fourth place in the conference standings as the regular season nears its end.
 
UC Davis was dominant from start to finish in a game where the Aggies couldn't seem to miss from the perimeter. The Aggies made 13 three-pointers in the contest, with 10 of those shots coming from the hands of Turner and Sabel. It was also quite an efficient shooting night as UC Davis shot 43.1% as a team and 40.6% from beyond the arc. The Aggies took care of the basketball and recorded a season-low nine turnovers, but brought some serious pressure on the defensive end, forcing 20 Triton turnovers.
 
Turner ascended to 16^th on the UC Davis women's basketball all-time scoring list following her 22-point showing in La Jolla. The junior guard matched a career-high six three-pointers while going 8-of-13 from the field. Turner also showed her unselfishness and ability to get her teammates involved with a team-high four assists.
 
Matching her on the offensive end was Sabel, who also dropped 22 points on the day. Her four three-pointers equaled her best outside shooting display of the year. She hit eight of her 10 field goal attempts, grabbed five boards, and went a perfect 2-for-2 from the free throw line. The Swedish guard has now posted four straight double-digit scoring hauls with two consecutive games over the 20-point mark.
   

How It Happened
After surrendering an early 5-0 run to the hosts, the Aggies absolutely dominated the first quarter behind a blistering hot Turner and Sabel, who scored 10 points each in the opening period. The duo was a combined 8-for-11 from the field to lead a massive 23-0 run for UC Davis. Turner buried a three to get things started before Sabel caught fire, nailing a couple triples of her own.
 
 
The Aggies continued to scorch the nets when Turner nearly dropped her defender before hitting a step-back three-pointer. Campbell Gray got in the action by making the team's fifth shot from beyond the arc, capping off the incredible scoring run to give her team a 23-7 lead after 10 minutes. Not to be overlooked was the effective defensive game plan drawn up by Head Coach Jennifer Gross, holding UC San Diego to just 3-of-12 to start the contest.
 
The Tritons responded well in the second quarter, rallying for a 10-0 run to cut the lead to just six points. UC Davis went cold, starting the period just 1-for-9 before Victoria Baker's driving layup finally ended the scoring drought. Tess Sussman got involved with back-to-back layups in dying minutes of the half and the Aggies would carry a nine-point lead (35-26) into the locker room.
   

The threes continued to rain down in the third quarter as Turner buried three trips for nine straight points. This sparked another tremendous scoring run (16-0) to put the Aggies completely out of sight. UC Davis started to get some solid contributions from the bench when Baker and Makaila Sanders started to feel the shooting touch by finding the bottom of the net from long range, and Nya Epps followed by finishing off a fantastic 'and-one' near the end of the period.

The Aggies would cruise the rest of the way, trading baskets with the Tritons until the final buzzer sounded, taking an important win back to Davis.
 
Game Notes
» UC Davis' 13 three-pointers matches its second-best mark of the season.
» Tess Sussman was a heavy contributor with eight points, five rebounds, four steals, and three assists.
» The Aggies saw nine different scorers in the contest.
» UC Davis took care of the basketball and posted a season-low nine turnovers.
» UC San Diego struggled with the defensive pressure and turned the ball over 20 times.
 
Up Next
UC Davis will host its final home games of the 2022-23 season next week, beginning with a tilt on Feb. 23 against Cal State Fullerton. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.