DAVIS, Calif. — Following their first two road games of the season last week, UC Davis women's basketball returns to Northern California for a matchup against the Stanford Cardinal on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 7:00 p.m. PT.

HOW TO WATCH/LISTEN/FOLLOW
Nov. 20  — at Stanford | ACC Network Extra | Live Stats | @ucdaviswbb (X/Instagram)

Game Notes

GAME NOTES

• Last Time Out: The Aggies are 3-1 on the season after splitting their last two games against Weber State and Boise State. Last Wednesday against the Wildcats, UC Davis secured a victory behind a 20-point effort from Nya Epps, who went for 20+ in a game for the third time in her career. In a loss against the Broncos two days later, Avery Sussex secured a career-high 23 points and five made threes to lead the way.
• Weekly Honors: After scoring a career-high 21 points on Monday and matching it on Friday, Ryann Bennett was named the Big West Player of the Week on Monday, Nov. 10. The honor marks the first time in her career that Bennett has been given a weekly honor.
• Best in the (Big) West: Two weeks into the season, UC Davis ranks near the top of the Big West Conference in many categories, ranking second in team offense (78.3 PPG) and three-point percentage (.392 Pct.). Defensively, the team sits first among conference opponents with 32.8 RPG. Averaging 11.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, Megan Norris sits at the top of both categories among conference opponents. Her 18.3 PPG average puts Ryann Bennett second in the conference in scoring. A 20-point night against Weber State and 15 points against Boise State put Nya Epps sixth in the Big West at 16.3 PPG. Following another career-high, Avery Sussex is tenth with 13.8 PPG. The Aggies also continue to be efficient from beyond the arc, putting three in the top six in the conference for three-point field goal percentage. Sussex comes in fourth with .478, Epps is fifth with .381, and Bennett is sixth with .375.
• Rising Through The Ranks: Making her first start of her career in the team's season-opener against Jessup, Avery Sussex has continued to make her impact felt for the Aggies, setting a number of new career-highs. Against Boise State on November 14th, Sussex got her moment in the spotlight with a career-high 23 points and five made threes on seven attempts for an unbelievable 71% from beyond the arc. These performances have elevated Sussex among her peers in the Big West Conference, currently ranking tenth with 13.8 PPG and fourth with a .478 shooting percentage from three.
• Preseason Honors: After landing on the All-Big West Second Team and All-Tournament Team a season ago, redshirt senior Megan Norris was named by the conference as one of seven players to be selected to the Big West Preseason Coaches Team. In 33 games for the blue and gold last season, Norris led the Aggies with 251 rebounds, the most in a single season in school history, while also finishing first on the team with 52 blocked shots.
• A Look Back on 2024-25: 2024-25 was a year of milestones for the Aggies, seeing many career and single-season records fall across the board. Against Cal State Fullerton on February 8th, head coach Jennifer Gross made history by becoming the all-time winningest coach in program history, passing her former mentor, Sandy Simpson. A First-Team All-Big West performer, Tova Sabel made her mark in the program record book by becoming just the 21st player to ever score 1,000 career points as an Aggie. Over the summer, she also signed a professional contract with Fila San Martino Di Lupari in Italy. Long-time Aggie Mazatlan Harris also signed a pro contract during the offseason, joining McEvoy's Cavan Eagles in Ireland.
• 2024-25 Recap: UC Davis finished 21-12 last season, slotting in as the third seed in the conference tournament before losing in the championship game to UC San Diego.
• 2025-26 Poll: Aggies were picked third in the Big West preseason coaches' poll, receiving 83 votes and three first-place votes.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT

• Stanford is 5-0 on the season, coming off of road wins at Washington State and Gonzaga last weekend.
• The balanced Cardinal attack is led by double-digit point per game scorers Chloe Clardy, Nunu Agara, Hailee Swain, and Lara Somfai.
• Somfai has also made an impact on the defensive end, averaging 7.6 rebounds per game while securing back-to-back double-doubles to begin her freshman campaign. She's also one of only two freshmen to secure multiple double-doubles to begin the season. These accolades led to her being named the ACC Rookie of the Week following the first week of the season.
• UC Davis is 10-18 all-time against Stanford. Thursday night's matchup marks the third straight year the Aggies have traveled to Maples Pavilion.

SEASON NOTES

• This season marks year 15 for UC Davis head coach Jennifer Gross. Last season, Gross made Aggie history by becoming the winningest coach in program history, passing her mentor, Sandy Simpson, with 252 wins. She currently sits at 261 wins and counting.
• Gross returns all of her coaching staff from last season, including long-time associate head coach Joe Teramoto, now in his 20th year on staff, and 15th-year assistant coach Matt Klemin.
• Also returning is former Tennessee Volunteer Vicki Baugh, who works primarily with the post players, Director of Operations Mia Gallo, and Video Coordinator Dejza James.
• Despite the departure of names such as Tova Sabel and Sydney Burns, the Aggies bring back a number of big contributors from last season, including 2025 Second-Team All-Big West player Megan Norris, All-Freshman Ryann Bennett, and All-Defense Nya Epps.
• Other returners from last season include Sahana Kanagasabay, Ally Fitzgerald, Avery Sussex, Theoni Tsami, and Victoria Baker.
• Additionally, the team has also brought in a trio of talented freshmen, Carrington Davis from Rialto, Sophie Lentfer from Anchorage, Alaska, and Emmy Ersdala from Sweden, who was also a member of the Swedish National Team.
• Transfers Tegan Young and Helen Matthews have also been brought in to strengthen an already experienced Aggie squad. Young comes in after two years at Manhattan University, and Matthews is a graduate transfer who joins the team after five seasons at Wofford.
• This is the final season for UC Davis in the Big West before the team transitions to the Mountain West in 2026-27, and the team looks to end its long tenure in the conference on a high note with a championship and another appearance in March Madness.