Teams: UC Davis at Pacific
Records: Aggies, 7-11 (3-4); Tigers, 10-9 (4-3)
Where: Alex G. Spanos Center – Stockton, Calif.
When: Saturday at 7 p.m.
Who to watch: After dropping two games this past weekend, the Aggies look to get back on track with help from leading scorer Paige Mintun as the midway point of the Big West Conference season approaches.
The sophomore from Valley Center, Calif. averages 13.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game, leading the team in both categories.
Mintun scored 22 points, grabbed eight rebounds, had three assists and two steals in a 64-60 loss at Cal Poly on Saturday.
Did you know? UC Davis would like to forget its last matchup with Pacific. After defeating the Tigers at the Pavilion 58-54 on Feb. 2 of last season, the Aggies held a late two-point advantage in Stockton four weeks later.
But then junior Amy VanHollebeke hit a half-court shot as time expired to give Pacific a 72-71 victory.
Preview: The Aggies had a difficult weekend.
After losing to first-place UC Santa Barbara, who is undefeated in Big West play (7-0), UC Davis headed to Cal Poly to play a team that had won its previous two home contests.
The Aggies found themselves down by two with less than a minute to play against the Mustangs, and the ball in the hands of freshman Lauren Juric, who was 4-for-4 from beyond the arc up until that point.
But her next shot was a miss – her only miss – and Cal Poly escaped with the narrow margin of victory.
“[The players] played hard,” said coach Sandy Simpson. “They laid it all out there. We were down by two. Lauren Juric was shooting well but missed. I will take that shot any day.“
The Aggies shift their focus to conference-rival Pacific, which is also recently off road losses to both UCSB and Cal Poly.
But now the Tigers return to the friendly confines of the Alex G. Spanos Center, where they are 3-0 in conference play and 9-0 overall. They are a mere 1-7 away from home.
Pacific is led by senior Amber Simmons, who averages 18.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. She also has a team-high 18 blocks on the season.
The forward from Chico, Calif. will most likely be guarding Mintun in a matchup that pits the No. 1 and No. 5 scorers in the Big West, respectively, against each other.
–Max Rosenblum
