Teams: UC Davis at Cal State Fullerton; at UC Riverside
Records: Aggies 6-10 (1-4); Titans 7-10 (3-2); Highlanders 9-7 (2-3)
Where: Titan Gym — Fullerton, Calif.; SRC Arena — Riverside, Calif.
When: Thursday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m.
Who to watch: Senior Cortney French is a pure shooter. The Aggies’ three point specialist has knocked down 33 three-pointers this season and has shown why she is a leader for UC Davis.
The Aggies will need more contribution from players other than sophomore Sydnee Fipps if they are to get back into the win column.
Last time out, French put in nine points in her 23 minutes of play, though it was a cold night from behind the ARC. She hit one out of her seven attempts from three-point range and will try to get back on track against the Titans.
Did you know? The Big West Conference is showing a particularly strong field of teams. At this point last year, the Aggies were standing at a 12-6 overall record with a 4-2 ledger in Big West.
UC Davis is still getting used to the roster it has, after graduating five key players from last year’s roster.
Preview: UC Davis will embark on a road trip for the first time as it plays at Fullerton and at Riverside in a single weekend.
Last year, on separate trips, the Aggies took down the Highlanders and dropped a close game to the Titans.
This year is an entirely different year from the last, a statement which has both bad and good implications. The Aggies have fought hard in each game, but have come up short quite a lot recently.
UC Davis has gone 1-6 in its past seven-game stretch, but is in no way outmatched by the upcoming opponents.
The Aggies had a strong offensive performance against Cal State Northridge, the third place team in the conference. This, as head coach Jennifer Gross will always say, proves that UC Davis is a dangerous team that can play with the best.
Still, there have been encouraging signs of a bright future for the Aggies. In the victory over the Matadors, freshman Aniya Baker dropped 15 points and four steals. This contributed to the defense that the Aggies have tried to piece together this year. Another freshman, Alyson Doherty led the team with eight rebounds in the win.
The Aggies are currently in ninth place in the Big West with a 1-4 record.
Yet, it is still very early in league play and UC Davis is not a team to check out of the season. Two wins this weekend could vault the Aggies up a couple places in the standings.
UCR is on a hot streak after winning both their games this past weekend, while CSU Fullerton is an extremely tough team to play.
The Titans are the top team in offensive rebounds in the league, which matches up well with the Aggies’ rebounding struggles. UC Davis will also need to find a way to put points on the board, seeing that CSU Fullerton has kept opponents struggling to score 60 points per game, which is the third-lowest average in the conference.
The Aggies have shown signs of breaking through with their young talent. This will be a tough road trip for them, but could potentially be a turning point, as two road wins would flip their conference standing as well as their confidence.
—Matthew Yuen
