SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — 17 points from
Ryann Bennett led the way for UC Davis women's basketball, but it wasn't enough as the team fell 61-69 to UC Santa Barbara on the road on Thursday, Feb. 5.
Score: UC Davis 61, UC Santa Barbara 69
Location: Santa Barbara, Calif. (The Thunderdome)
Records: UC Davis 16-7 (9-3), UC Santa Barbara 16-5 (8-4)
OPENING TIP
- Bennett's 17 points marked one of three Aggies to score in double figures on the night. Avery Sussex was close behind with 16 while Nya Epps rounded things out with 10.
- Sussex was also the led distributor for her team, dishing out six assists.
- Megan Norris led the defensive effort with 13 rebounds.
- Epps was also effective on the boards, pulling down a career-high eight rebounds, coming just two away from her first double-double.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Off the tip, Tegan Young got things going with a three ball from the corner.
- Following a Gaucho response, both teams battled back and forth with a three from Victoria Baker tying things up at eight with four minutes remaining in the first, and the first two from Bennett giving her team a lead.
- Bennett would secure another layup a couple minutes later, leading her team to a 14-12 lead after one.
- In the second, Norris would get on the board with a layup a minute into the quarter.
- Three pointers from Santa Barbara would push their lead to as much as eight, but the Aggies would fight back with a trey from Sussex halfway through the period.
- A late layup from Epps would add to her tally, but the Gauchos entered halftime with a 31-23 advantage.
- Coming out of the break, Bennett continued the onslaught with her first three of the day.
- But the home team would attack the basket to put them up by as much as 19 halfway through the third.
- A couple more layups from Bennett and Baker cut into their opponents advantage before a last second trey from Sussex would cap a 12-2 run and put her team within single digits, 38-47, heading into the final period.
- Sophie Lentfer would get on the board to open the fourth on a layup to cut her teams deficit to seven.
- Throughout the quarter, both teams battled back and forth, with neither club scoring more than four straight.
- Sussex led the way with her third three pointer, but a flurry of free throws wouldn't be enough as the Aggies would fall 61-69 to the Gauchos.
UP NEXT: The road trip continues for the Aggies as they head to San Luis Obispo on Saturday, Feb. 7 to take on Cal Poly at 2:00 p.m. PT. The game will be streaming live on ESPN+ and KDVS 90.3.
ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS:
UC Davis, the No. 2 ranked public university by the Wall Street Journal, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked No. 1 in Agriculture and Forestry as well as No. 1 in Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis is located in a true California college town nestled between world-class destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe. Over 650 Aggie student-athletes compete in 25 Division I varsity sports, with 16 sports transitioning to the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026–27.
For more information, visit
https://ucdavisaggies.com/.
