HENDERSON, Nev. — A game-high of 23 points from
Avery Sussex tied her career-high and led UC Davis women's basketball to a 70-59 victory over UC Riverside in the Big West Quarterfinals on Thursday, Mar. 12.
Score: UC Davis 70, UC Riverside 59
Location: Henderson, Nev. (Lee's Family Forum)
Records: UC Davis 23-9 (15-5), UC Riverside 11-21 (8-12)
OPENING TIP
- Sussex's 23 points mark the third time this season the sophomore has hit that mark, previously going for 23 against Gonzaga on Dec. 6.
- She also served as the offensive spark in the second half, scoring 21 of her 23 in the final two quarters of action.
- Defensively, she also led the team with three steals.
- The first half spark was Ryann Bennett, who scored all 15 of her points in the first 20 minutes.
- 12 points and 14 rebounds from Megan Norris gives her a 19th double-double on the season.
- Coming off the bench, Victoria Baker brought energy in 14 minutes of action with eight points on two made treys.
WHAT HEAD COACH JENNIFER GROSS HAD TO SAY
"We knew we were going to be in for a battle today, and I'm really proud of our team. It wasn't easy, we got out to a lead and Riverside began to come back, but we continued to find a way. With the adversity that we faced, I'm happy that we were able to get stops and continue to score. We're very excited to be back here tomorrow."
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Off the tip, Bennett got things going with her first bucket of the day.
- She continued by scoring seven of the first nine, with a balanced effort by Norris, Sussex, and Nya Epps giving the Aggies a 13-7 lead seven minutes into the game.
- Tegan Young got on the board with a layup, giving her team a 19-9 lead after one.
- Hot shooting from the Aggies continued into the second period, as Bennett would lead the way once again with six.
- A triple from Baker halfway through the quarter would give the team their largest lead with a 28-15 advantage.
- But the final eight points of the half belonged to the Highlanders, who would push the deficit to six entering halftime.
- Riverside's momentum carried into the third quarter, opening the period on a 9-2 run to take their first lead of the day.
- Another three from Baker sparked the Aggie offense once again, helping jump start an 8-0 run to give her team the lead back.
- Both clubs battled back and forth down to the end of the third, with Davis holding a slim 45-39 lead.
- The Highlanders offense continued to produce in quarter number four, outscoring the Aggies 12-8 in the first five minutes to get within one at the media break.
- From there, it was a battle of free throws, with 11 makes from UC Davis proving to be the difference as the team would pull out a 70-59 victory.
UP NEXT: UC Davis moves onto the Semifinal round on Friday, Mar. 13 when they take on No. 2 UC San Diego at 2:30 p.m. PT. The game will be streamed 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/.
