Teams: UC Davis at Cal State Northridge
Records: Aggies, 10-17 (6-9); Matadors, 6-21 (3-11)
Where: The Matadome – Northridge, Calif.
When: Today at 7 p.m.
Who to watch: Sophomore Paige Mintun had a career day her last time out against Cal State Northridge.
The Valley Center, Calif. native dropped 25 points on the Matadors in a Jan. 4 matchup at the Pavilion. She also grabbed 10 rebounds and dished out seven assists in an 86-66 victory.
Mintun is the Aggies‘ leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 12.8 points and 6.2 boards per contest. She also leads the team with 65 assists.
Did you know? Northridge may be just 6-21 this season, but UC Davis knows it’ll be getting quite the test from the Matadors tonight.
Only a win over the Aggies will guarantee Northridge a berth in the Big West Conference Tournament. Should the Matadors lose, their conference tourney fate will lie in the hands of UC Irvine.
Preview: The Aggies have already solidified their spot in next week’s Big West Tournament, but their seed is not set in stone yet.
A win guarantees UC Davis the No. 5 seed in the tournament, and could match the Aggies up against the Matadors again in the first round of the tourney. If UC Irvine were to capture the last spot as the No. 8 seed, the Aggies would instead face the Anteaters on Mar. 11.
The Aggies are not worried about possible tournament scenarios quite yet. For now, the only thing that UC Davis is focused on is Northridge.
“It will be Senior Night on their court,” said coach Sandy Simpson. “They are going to have the emotion working for them so we really are going to have to be ready. It is a big game.“
The Matadors‘ leading scorer is senior Whitney Ligon, who averages 11.0 points per game. Northridge senior guard Tonicia Tademy leads the team in assists, averaging 6.7 per contest.
Ligon and Tademy are two of the four seniors that will be honored on Senior Night at the Matadome.
– Max Rosenblum
