Score: UC Davis 63, UC Irvine 56
Location: Henderson, Nev. (Lee's Family Forum)
Records: UC Davis 21-11 (13-7), UC Irvine 21-10 (15-5)
  
The short story: Megan Norris' 12 point, 10 rebound game sets the Aggie single-season Division I rebound record and helped push the UC Davis women's basketball team to victory over the UC Irvine Anteaters on Friday, Mar. 14. The Aggies advance to play the UC San Diego Tritons for Big West supremacy on Saturday.
 
OPENING TIP 

• Norris' 10 rebounds puts her at 244 on the year, topping the single-season record set by former Aggie Cierra Hall back in the 2021-22 season.
• Today's performance was also double-double number 10 for Norris in her Aggie career.
• For the second straight game and the eighth time this season, Tova Sabel scored 20+ points. She also pulled down four rebounds and grabbed one steal in only 30 minutes played.
• Mazatlan Harris rounded out the Davis double-digit scorers with 11 on the afternoon, also bringing in nine rebounds to tie her season-high.
• The Aggie defense remained strong for the second straight tournament game, holding the Anteaters to under 25% shooting in the first half.
• The defense was especially stifling from beyond the arc, holding UC Irvine to 5-of-22 (23%) throughout the game. The Anteaters were held to 1-of-17 (6%) from three in the first, second, and fourth quarters.
• Despite the second half rally from their opponent, the Aggies never trailed in this game.

 
WHAT HEAD COACH JENNIFER GROSS HAD TO SAY

"Happy to be preparing for another game tomorrow. Incredibly proud of our team and our ability to get through the adversity of this game and come away with a win. To beat (UC Irvine) in this game is big for us and we're excited to be back playing here tomorrow."

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• In the first, UC Davis picked up where they left off yesterday, using threes from Norris and Harris to build a 15-2 lead in the first four minutes.
• Despite the deficit, Irvine used their defense to crawl back within single digits, holding the Aggies to only four points in the final six minutes of the quarter.
• Up 19-9 at the start of the second, Davis continued to rain down threes, with Ryann Bennett joining in on the attack.
• With their defense holding the Anteaters to only seven points the entire period, the Aggies led by as much as 21 in the period.
• A triple from Nya Epps wrapped up the quarter with Davis going into the locker room with a 35-16 advantage.
• Coming out of the half, Irvine began to make their run, opening the third quarter with an 11-0 run.
• In the last five minutes of the period, the Anteaters continued to chip into the Aggie lead, pulling within five on a last second jumper to enter the final quarter down only five, 42-47.
• At the start of the fourth, Irvine refused to back down, responding to each Aggie basket with points of their own.
• With less than five minutes remaining, a layup from Ines Gnahore put the Anteaters within one.
• Looking for an answer, Davis turned to Sabel once again, who hit back-to-back shots to bring her team back up six.
• As UC Irvine got back within two, Epps put the game on ice with a layup off of a dime from Norris, leading the team to a 63-56 win.

UP NEXT: The Aggies are set to battle for the Big West Championship on Saturday, Mar. 15 as the team faces off against the UC San Diego Tritons. Tipoff will be at 3:00 p.m. PT and will be streamed live on ESPN+ and KDVS 90.3.
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