Score: UC Davis 69, UC San Diego 58
Location: La Jolla, Calif. (LionTree Arena)
Records: UC Davis 19-11 (13-7), UC San Diego 17-15 (13-7)
The short story: A new career-high of 19 points from
Ryann Bennett led the UC Davis women's basketball team to a win over the UC San Diego Tritons on Saturday, Mar. 8. With their win, the Aggies have secured the third seed and a first round bye in the Big West Tournament.
OPENING TIP
- Bennett's 19 points smashes her previous career-high of 11.
- Tova Sabel also reached double figures with 18 points to go along with five rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and one steal.
- Megan Norris was the defensive anchor for her team, blocking two shots and pulling down six rebounds.
- The Aggies effectively spread the wealth all afternoon, logging 18 assists on 24 made baskets.
- Davis was clutch from the free throw line in the fourth, going 11-for-12 (92%) in the period, Sabel went 6-for-6 on her own.
- The Aggies stayed resilient the entire game, playing from behind and not taking a lead until halfway through the fourth quarter.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- With the Tritons up 8-0 to start the game, Bennett scored her team's first bucket on a driving layup.
- As UC San Diego continued to pile on, Bennett kept the Aggies in the game with back-to-back three pointers.
- Sabel joined her teammate with a pair of triples to put Davis down only four to end the first.
- At the start of the second, the threes continued to fall, with Mazatlan Harris tying the game at 20 on her first basket of the afternoon.
- However, the Tritons responded in droves, cobbling together an 11-2 run to find themselves up 31-22 going into halftime.
- Coming out of the locker room, UC San Diego continued to pace their lead, going up by as much as 12 in the third quarter.
- But the Aggies stayed resilient, using layups from the likes of Norris, Nya Epps, and Avery Sussex to cut the lead to only seven, 40-47, going into the final 10 minutes of play.
- With eight minutes remaining in regulation, Davis began to make their run, with Sydney Burns sparking a 10-0 run that gave her team their first lead of the day.
- But the Tritons continued to fight, using a three from Parker Montgomery to tie things up once again at 54.
- From there, the threes began to rain down once again, with a triple from Bennett putting things out of reach from their opponent.
- UC San Diego tried to get back into it with a myriad of fouls, but the Aggies would go on to clinch the 69-58 win.
UP NEXT: With a first-round bye secured, the Aggies will have five days to prepare for their Big West Quarterfinal game on Thursday, Mar. 13 at 2:30 p.m. PT against the winner of the Long Beach State/UC Riverside game from the previous day. The full Big West Tournament bracket will be released later tonight at 11:30 p.m. PT.
