Although junior forward Sydnee Fipps and sophomore forward Alyson Doherty scored in double figures for the Aggies, a 22-6 run in the second half lifted the Hawai’i Rainbow Wahine over the Aggies with a 64-50 victory on Jan. 23.
Both teams started well in the Big West. UC Davis won three consecutive games heading into the matchup with Hawai’i, including two wins on the road, and the Rainbow Wahine had a two-game winning streak heading into the game against the Aggies.
UC Davis and Hawai’i traded buckets at the beginning of the first half. Hawai’i started off badly, just scoring four out of their 23 shots in the first 15 minutes of the game. This allowed UC Davis to gain a 15-11 lead with 5:00 to play in the first half.
Then two back-to-back three-pointers from Hawai’i’s Kamilah Jackson and Marissa Wimbley, and a layup from Shawna-Lei Kuehu helped the Rainbow Wahine tie the game at 19-19 with 2:49 left in the half. With five seconds left on the clock, a fade-away jumper from Kuehu gave the Rainbow Wahine a 25-22 lead to end the first half.
Both teams struggled from the field in the first half. UC Davis shot 38.1 percent from the field in the first half, while Hawai’i shot 26.7 percent. Fipps scored seven points, including six free throws.
The Rainbow Wahine started strong in the second half, especially Jackson, who scored 10 of Hawai’i’s first 13 points in the second half, after only scoring four points in the first half. On the other hand, the Aggies struggled to make shots from the solid defense of the Rainbow Wahine.
A 22-6 run within 10 minutes helped Hawai’i extend its lead to as many as 19 points with 10:45 to play. The Aggies chipped the deficit down to 11 points with a three-pointer from freshman guard Taylor McGuire and a jumper from sophomore forward Celia Marfone, 55-44, with 5:18 left to play.
However, the Rainbow Wahine defense stifled the Aggies, and in the last four minutes UC Davis could only score points from the free throw line. The Aggies eventually fell to the Rainbow Wahine by the final score of 64-50.
Fipps scored a team-high 17 points to go with five rebounds and a pair of steals. Doherty added 11 points and another five rebounds. UC Davis fell to 8-10 on the season and 3-2 in Big West play. Hawai’i won its third-straight and improved its record to 9-7 overall and 3-1 in conference play.
The Aggies will return to the court to host Cal Poly on Thurday, Jan. 30 and UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Feb. 1. Both games will take place at the UC Davis Pavilion.
— Janet Zeng
