Score: UC Davis 89, Idaho 76
Location: Davis, Calif. (University Credit Union Center)
Records: UC Davis 2-0, Idaho 1-1
The short story: A record-breaking crowd of 5,567 witnessed UC Davis women's basketball secure a win over the Idaho Vandals on Friday, Nov. 7. The Aggies start the season 2-0 for the first time since 2020-21.
OPENING TIP
- The crowd of 5,567 beat the previous record set by the team back on November 14, 2014, when Davis hosted then number one-ranked UConn in front of a crowd of 4,712.
- Today marks win number 260 for Aggie head coach Jennifer Gross.
- Ryann Bennett led all scorers once again with 21 points, tying the career-high that she set on Monday night.
- After a career-best 17 rebounds and six blocks against Jessup, Megan Norris came back with another big performance, putting in her second straight double-double (14 pts, 11 rebs) while blocking three Vandal shots.
- In 24 minutes played, Avery Sussex set a new career-high with 12 points.
- Tegan Young matched her career-high with eight rebounds, coming just two boards short of her first career double-double.
- Nya Epps exploded offensively in the second half, scoring 17 of her 19 on the day in the final 20 minutes.
WHAT HEAD COACH JENNIFER GROSS HAD TO SAY
"First of all, I just want to give a huge thank you to everybody who made this day possible. Our athletic department for pouring in the resources necessary to create such an atmosphere, and the Davis and surrounding school districts for bringing the kids out. This is exactly what I was hoping it would be for our student-athletes, and it was a ton of fun. That's a really good Idaho team. We were a bit short-handed today, and I was so proud of how we competed. We played together, we created for each other, I thought we just played a high level of urgency the whole game."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- After seeing both teams go scoreless in the first three minutes, Bennett got the crowd rocking with the first Aggie basket of the game before following it up with a three on the next possession.
- Idaho attacked the basket with a 9-0 run late in the quarter, forcing Davis to take a timeout.
- Out of the break, the Aggie defense stifled the Vandals, holding them to no points in the final minute, with threes from Norris and Sussex making it 18-19 after one.
- The offense was all Young to start the second quarter, as she scored eight of the first ten points to open the period.
- Threes from Bennett and Young put the Aggies up by as much as 15, but the Vandals got the offense rolling in the final three minutes, scoring the last eight to make the score 39-32 in favor of the home team after 20 minutes of play.
- Idaho's attack continued into the second half, going on a 7-2 run to cut the lead to two.
- But free throws from Epps got the senior going, following up her trip to the line with a three to extend her teams lead.
- The Vandals continued to pour on the pressure, leaving the game tied 52 apiece with three minutes left in the stanza.
- Threes from Bennett and Sophie Lentfer made the difference as Davis ended the third up 65-63.
- An Idaho jumper tied the game at 65 to open the fourth period.
- But Epps and Norris took over the offense, combining for an 11-0 run to build another double-digit lead for their team.
- From there, the Vandal offense had no answer, as blocks from Bennett and Norris held them to only eight points in the final five minutes.
- A free throw from Emmy Ersdala finished the Aggie scoring, as the team improved to 2-0 in a 89-76 victory..
UP NEXT: UC Davis begins its first road trip of the season when it travels out to Utah to take on Weber State on Wednesday, Nov. 12. Tipoff against the Wildcats is set for 5:00 p.m. PT, and the game will be live on ESPN+ and KDVS 90.3.
