UC Davis walked off the floor following its win over the San Francisco Dons holding a three game home-court winning-streak.
The trio of victories each came by a margin of 14 points or more, but still the Aggies have the potential to play at an even higher level.
UC Davis downed the Dons by a score of 64-50, despite shooting around 35 percent on the game. This is a testament to the team’s strength in other areas, but Head Coach Jennifer Gross and her players have admitted their shooting has been a little sub-par recently.
“We’re doing a lot of shooting in practice, but we can’t catch fire,” Gross said. “I’m not too concerned about it; we just have to keep shooting with confidence. We’re great shooters and I know we’re going to be okay.”
The game began with UC Davis building an 11-2 lead only to yield 10 straight points and fall behind 12-11 with about nine minutes remaining in the half. The teams would exchange baskets until the Aggies went up 18-17 on a layup by senior Hana Asano and never looked back.
UC Davis closed the half ahead 26-19 and would hold onto the lead for the duration of the second half.
The Aggies used their trap-like defense to create the frenzied environment that Gross talks about, turning their 17 forced turnovers into 18 points over the game.
Senior Samantha Meggison, who led the team with 16 points agrees that it is just a matter of time before the Aggies find their shots.
“We’re doing so many other things well, it allows us to shoot the ball with confidence and keep shooting because we’re cleaning up the boards,” Meggison said.
The Aggies have been working on rebounding, and junior Blair Shinoda, who led the Aggies with 10 boards, says it all comes down to the determination and energy of the team.
“We’re a little smaller so everyone is hustling and rebounding,” she said.
Gross knows the team can improve its rebounding performances and shooting, in spite of the Aggies’ first 5-0 start since the 2007-08 season.
“We’re winning games and I feel really good, but we’re waiting for the night where everybody puts it together,” she said.
Indeed, hopefully that night will come in the upcoming week, as the Aggies have two big away games coming up, and will need the shots to fall in order to keep their unbeaten season alive.
UC Davis will travels to Santa Clara University today and then to Palo Alto on Wednesday to take on No. 3 Stanford in a rematch of last season’s NCAA Championship first round contest.
