Score: UC Davis 53, UC Riverside 55
Location: Riverside, Calif. (SRC Arena)
Records: UC Davis 15-9 (9-5), UC Riverside 11-13 (7-7)
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The short story:
Tova Sabel led her team with 16 points and 10 rebounds, but the UC Davis women's basketball team fell in their second matchup of the season to the UC Riverside Highlanders.
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OPENING TIPÂ
- Sabel's double-double marks her fifth of the season, also the seventh double-double of her collegiate career.
- Nya Epps also hit double figures for the second time in three contests, scoring 11 points on 5-of-10 (50%) shooting.
- Sydney Burns effectively set up her teammates, bringing in a team-high five assists.
- Megan Norris had another strong day on the defensive end, collecting three blocks and one steal.
- The Aggies effectively controlled the paint, scoring 32 points down low compared to the Highlanders 18.
- Davis also stayed vigilant on missed shots, pulling down eight offensive rebounds and scoring eight second-chance points.
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HOW IT HAPPENEDÂ
- After Riverside opened the scoring, baskets from Sabel, Burns, and Victoria Baker got the offense humming with an early 7-2 lead.
- But the outside shooting of the Highlanders kept them in the game, using a 10-5 run with two triples to tie things up at 12 apiece at the end of the first.
- The second quarter started much of the same, with each team exchanging buckets through most of the period.
- With two minutes remaining, Ally Fitzgerald drained her first shot of the game from beyond the arc to put her team up six, but Riverside responded with a three of their own to find themselves down only three at the break, 25-22.
- On the other side of the half, Davis maintained their lead with a pair of baskets from Sabel and Epps.
- However, the three-ball continued to fall for Riverside, giving them their first lead since the opening seconds of the game and allowing them to hold a 39-34 lead at the end of the third.
- In the fourth, the Aggies jumped back in front on a 6-0 scoring run, with a layup from Norris tying it up and another layup from Sabel moments later putting them ahead.
- As both squads exchanged baskets once again, a clutch driving layup from Ryann Bennett put Davis up two before a triple and a jumper from the home team put them up three, their biggest lead since the beginning of the period.
- The Aggies used free throws to try and climb back into the contest, but it wouldn't be enough as they would fall 53-55.
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UP NEXT: Davis returns to University Credit Union Center for their final home game of February against the UC San Diego Tritons on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 2:00 p.m. PT. Aggie fans can tune into the action live on ESPN+ or KDVS 90.3.
