A last-minute jumper by Cal State Fullerton’s Chante Miles helped the Titans pull away from UC Davis with a 65-62 victory on Feb. 13 at the ARC Pavilion.
UC Davis was led by junior forward Sydnee Fipps, who scored 20 points, including five three-pointers, to notch her fourth-consecutive 20-point game. Sophomore forward Alyson Doherty added 10 points and five rebounds, while junior guard Kelsey Harris finished with 14 points.
It was the second time that the Aggies played against the Titans this season; last time, UC Davis finished with a 69-67 overtime victory. This time, they weren’t so lucky, falling to the Titans and suffering back-to-back losses, including a tough overtime loss at UC Irvine.
Back-to-back three-pointers by Fipps helped the Aggies gain an early lead, 13-9, with five minutes into the first half, but soon Cal State Fullerton’s Alex Thomas and Samantha Logan put the Titans ahead, 17-13, after knocking down back-to-back three-pointers. The Aggies would once again retake the lead, 30-22 with two minutes to play, by hitting clutch shots including eight first-half three pointers.
The Aggies ended the first half with three-point lead, 30-27. UC Davis shot 40 percent from the field while Cal State Fullerton shot 24.3 percent.
As the second half started, both teams traded baskets, with UC Davis’ largest lead only being five points. The Titans were finally able to gain the lead, 52-50, as Logan nailed a corner three-pointer with 9:15 left to play in the half.
The Titans managed to pull ahead with a five point lead, 57-52, but soon the Aggies came back to even the match. They went on an 8-0 run, taking the lead, 60-57. However, Cal State Fullerton again bounced back to recapture the lead, 61-60, with only two minutes to go in the game.
With 26 seconds left to play, the Aggies led by one, but Chante Miles drove to the basket and converted, giving Fullerton a one-point lead, 63-62. After Thomas converted a pair of free throws, the Titans led by three with eight seconds left. This was too much for the Aggies, as they eventually fell 65-62.
In this game, the Aggies shot 42.3 percent from the field and 37.1 percent from three-point range, while he Titans shot 31.8 percent from the floor on the night and 30 percent from behind the arc.
With this loss, UC Davis falls to a 13-10 record overall on the season and 5-5 in conference play. The Titans improved to 9-13 overall and 5-4 in Big West play.
The next game for UC Davis will be on Feb. 20, as the Aggies head back on the road and visit the fourth-placed Long Beach State.
— Janet Zeng
