UC Davis women’s basketball secures the last home game of the season, winning 74-66
By COLINA HARVEY — sports@theaggie.org
On March 1, the UC Davis women’s basketball team took on the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Rainbow Wahine. As it was their final home game of the season, the game was deemed Senior Night, honoring the team’s graduating fourth-year players.
The Rainbow Wahine have been putting on impressive performances this season, making them a competitive matchup for the UC Davis Aggies. Up until Feb. 27, when they were beaten by UC Riverside, the Rainbow Wahine were on a 14-game winning streak, including a win against the Aggies on Jan. 23.
However, the Aggies have also had a lot of success this season, taking many victories and even going on an eight-game winning streak.
The Aggies got off to a shaky start as the game began, and despite the effort, the players struggled to score. For nearly five minutes, the Aggies remained scoreless while Hawaiʻi racked up 10 quick points.
Nya Epps, a third-year undeclared major and guard, finally ended the scoring drought with a three-pointer. Another three-pointer from first-year Ryann Bennett put the Aggies right back in the game. Even though the Aggies failed to net many of their shots in the first quarter, they showed good off-ball hustle and movement.
On Hawaiʻi’s last possession of the first quarter, the Aggies played strong defense and ran out the Rainbow Wahine’s shot clock. This defensive performance allowed the Aggies to only trail by two going into the break.
In the second quarter, a three-pointer followed by a layup by Avery Sussex, a first-year undeclared major and guard, took the Aggies to their first lead of the game. The two teams traded points for a while with the score staying very even. However, for nearly six minutes in the quarter, the Aggies failed to make a single basket. This allowed Hawaiʻi to make a nine-point run and lead by 10 at halftime.
Going into the second half, the Aggies were determined to close the point deficit. Right out of the gate, Megan Norris, a fourth-year political science major and center, netted a three-pointer from the corner of the court. A pair of layups from Epps left the Aggies just three points behind Hawaiʻi.
Sydney Burns, a fourth-year international agriculture development major and guard, began to heat up in the third quarter, as a steal followed by a layup on the other end of the court tied the game. Burns made a mid-range jumper on the next play, allowing the Aggies to gain the lead.
The crowd’s excitement grew when Norris made a three-pointer, putting the Aggies ahead by five points. UC Davis’ momentum grew in the third quarter, as the crowd became more and more engaged. However, the Rainbow Wahine managed to come back, turning the deficit against the Aggies by 10 points.
Tova Sabel, a fourth-year psychology major and guard, and Burns were the stars of the fourth quarter, both making clutch plays. Sabel shined early with a steal and seven points in the first six minutes of the quarter.
Then, Burns took over the court for crunch time. With three minutes to go, Burns stole a Hawaiʻi inbound and hurled it down the court to Epps for a game-tying score. She then went on to bank in a two-pointer and tip a crucial rebound to Norris.
With the game tied at 60-60, Hawaiʻi fouled Epps on a layup, and she made the free throw. Hawaiʻi fought back with a two-pointer on the other end.
Then, Sabel made a three-pointer as the shot clock ran down, increasing the lead to four points for the Aggies with less than one minute to go. In the last 30 seconds, Burns was fouled. The Aggies narrowly held their lead, thus making these free throws crucial. Burns made both, effectively winning the game for the Aggies. The game ended with a score of 74-66.
Beating the No. 1 seed in the Big West Conference on Senior Night was a triumph for the Aggies. In addition to Burns and Sabel, Mazatlan Harris, a fourth-year animal science major and forward, and Bria Shine, a fourth-year neurobiology, physiology and behavior major and guard, were also honored as graduating players. The women’s basketball team will have two more games in the regular season and will then head to Henderson, Nevada on March 12 for the Big West Conference Championships.
Written by: Colina Harvey — sports@theaggie.org
