Score: UC Davis 61, UC Riverside 50
Location: Henderson, Nev. (Lee's Family Forum)
Records: UC Davis 20-11 (13-7), UC Riverside 17-15 (12-8)
  
The short story: A 20-point day from Tova Sabel led the UC Davis women's basketball team to a victory over the UC Riverside Highlanders in the Big West quarterfinals on Thursday, Mar. 13. The Aggies advance to the semifinal round against UC Irvine on Friday.
 
OPENING TIP 

• 20 points from Sabel marks the seventh time this season she's scored 20+ in a contest.
• Sabel was effective from the field, cashing in on 8-of-13 (62%) shooting while going 3-of-4 (75%) from three.
• Leading the defense, Megan Norris tied a career-high four blocks to go along with her 15 points and six rebounds.
• Ryann Bennett came off the bench to round out the double-digit scorers for the Aggies, scoring 10 points and dishing out a career-best nine assists.
• The three-point defense was strong all afternoon, with UC Davis holding UC Riverside to 20% from beyond the arc.
• The defense was especially stifling in the second quarter, with the Highlanders being held to only seven points.

 
WHAT HEAD COACH JENNIFER GROSS HAD TO SAY

"We've been in this tournament for a number of years, and we know that the first one is tough, especially when another team has played. So I was really proud of our team, it wasn't perfect at the start, they had to get through some adversity, but we had so many different players step up. Once we got settled in and got the momentum I was really proud of how our team competed from start to finish."

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• After the Highlanders opened the game on a 5-0 run, Sydney Burns got the scoring started on a layup.
• A few plays later, with Riverside up 12-4, Sabel went on a solo 9-2 run to help the team tie things up at 14 to end the first.
• In the second, the threes began to fall, with triples from Victoria Baker and Bria Shine helping give the Aggies their first lead of the day.
• Through the first seven minutes of the period, Davis held their opponent to only one point, but a 6-0 run from their opponent brought them back within six at the half, with the score reading 27-21.
• Coming out of the locker room, the Highlanders continued to fight, getting as close as three in the third.
• However, a combined 17 points from Bennett, Norris, and Sabel held off each Riverside scoring run, giving the Aggies a five-point advantage going into the final quarter.
• A Highlander layup put them back within one possession to open the fourth.
• But a midrange jumpshot from Sabel kicked off another scoring run, with threes from Nya Epps and Norris putting the team up by as much as 12.
• Riverside tried to crawl back into it, but it wasn't enough as the third-seeded Aggies would go on to claim a 61-50 victory.

UP NEXT: UC Davis moves onto the Big West semifinals as they prepare to take on the UC Irvine Anteaters on Friday, Mar. 14 at 2:30 p.m. PT. The game will be streaming live on ESPN+ and KDVS 90.3.
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