Teams: UC Davis at Pacific
Records: Aggies 15-10 (7-6); Tigers 14-10 (7-5)
Where: Alex G. Spanos Center — Stockton, Calif.
When: Saturday at 4 p.m.
Who to Watch: UC Davis had two disappointing games this past week, but senior Samantha Meggison had a career weekend.
In the Aggies’ loss to Long Beach State, Meggison dropped a career-high 20 points, marking only the second time this season a UC Davis player has scored over 20 points.
Meggison then followed this performance with 19 points on Saturday, the bulk of which was her 11 free throws, also a career high.
Did you know? The UC Davis women’s basketball program finished last season at 10-6 in Big West play, good for 4th in the conference.
After this past tough week, they hold a 7-6 league record that places them 5th in the tight race for the title.
With three games remaining, the Aggies will be fighting for one of the top four positions, and with it, the home-court advantage for the first round of the Big West Conference tournament.
Preview: The Aggies sustained two losses this weekend on the road but are not in a position to panic. The worst-case scenario would have them losing the rest of their three games and still grabbing a seventh seed in conference.
UC Davis has beaten every Big West team at least once this season except UC Irvine, and head coach Jennifer Gross is confident in the team’s abilities late in the season.
“We feel good going down the stretch,” Gross said. “We’re fighting for that home game and every game is crucial.”
Gross is trying to get the team to focus on themselves and their performance rather than the standings. The past week, they had solid grasps on the games and let them slip away.
“You have to bring it for 40 minutes, the focus and the intensity,” she said. “At this point, it’s behind us and we have to keep moving forward.”
This upcoming week, the Aggies have some time to regroup and refocus for a lone game on the road against Pacific on Saturday.
Last time, UC Davis pulled out a 59-51 nailbiter over the Tigers at the Pavilion.
The Tigers have a record similar to that of the Aggies, at 14-10 overall and 7-5 in conference. Pacific is currently 3rd in the Big West Standings, which shows how close this race is.
Depending on how things go in other conference games, a victory over Pacific could potentially propel UC Davis to 3rd in the Big West.
If the Aggies can pull out a victory over the Tigers, they will be in good shape coming into the last two games at home. UC Davis holds a stellar 8-2 record when playing at the Pavilion.
— Matthew Yuen
