After a dominant start to the season, a difficult second quarter left the Aggies struggling
By COLINA HARVEY — sports@theaggie.org
The UC Davis women’s basketball team took on the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos on Jan. 18 for yet another home game this season. The UC Davis Aggies have had a dominant season so far, ranked fourth in Big West standings and going 6-1 in their conference games. While they had gone 12-6 overall, only one of those losses was at a home game.
The Gauchos, on the other hand, were only 3-3 in conference play and ranked sixth in Big West standings, making the Aggies the favorite going into the game.
At the start of the game, UC Davis looked strong, showing home fans why they have been so successful during this season. They racked up five quick points with a layup from Mazatlan Harris, a fourth-year animal science major, and a three-pointer from Nya Epps, a third-year undeclared major.
The Aggies, also strong on defense, only allowed the Gauchos to go 4-15 from the field in the quarter. An offensive rebound and layup from Harris brought the Aggie lead to double digits with only a few minutes left in the first quarter. While a Santa Barbara layup and a three-pointer in the last two minutes decreased the UC Davis lead, the Aggies had a comfortable six-point lead entering the second quarter.
However, as the second quarter began, the Gauchos quickly tied the game with two layups and a jumper in the first three minutes. At the same time, the Aggies were 0-3 from the field and committed two turnovers.
A Gaucho two-pointer, with about seven minutes left in the quarter, marked the first lead change of the game, prompting an Aggie timeout. A UCSB layup and deep three-pointer and a UC Davis offensive foul brought their lead to seven, putting an end to the Aggies’ momentum. With four minutes left in the quarter, Megan Norris, a third-year political science major, was fouled, sending her to the line. Norris made the first of two free throws, marking the first points of the second quarter for the Aggies.
The Gauchos’ lead reached double digits when a UC Davis foul sent UC Santa Barbara’s Alyssa Marin to the line. With less than a minute to go, Epps went for a two-pointer but was blocked by Santa Barbara’s Flora Goed. Increasing the UCSB lead, Zoe Borter hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer to end the half and bring the score to 32-19.
The Aggies went the entire second quarter without making a single shot, despite 14 attempts — their only three points from free throws. Meanwhile, UC Santa Barbara put up 22 points in the quarter. Coming out of halftime, the Aggies needed to pick up their shooting and defense in order to mount a comeback from a 13-point deficit.
Unfortunately, the Aggies did not have a strong start to the third quarter, with five turnovers in the first four minutes. They were, however, fouled twice in those first four minutes, resulting in three points off of free throws.
About halfway through the third quarter, Harris ended the Aggies’ field goal drought by shooting a three-pointer. With about four minutes to go, the UC Davis defense called a 24-second violation for the Gauchos and then secured a layup on the other end of the court, building some momentum for UC Davis.
The Aggies’ shooting did improve in the third quarter, as they were 50% from the field overall. UC Davis also capitalized on free throws to chip away at UC Santa Barbara’s lead, going 9-12 from the line, while the Gauchos did not make it to the line once. The Aggies managed to win the quarter 15-20 but still trailed by eight going into the fourth.
Two quick Gaucho three-pointers in the fourth quarter put Davis in a 12-point deficit. Despite a relatively even fourth quarter, the Aggies could not generate enough momentum to surpass UCSB’s lead, and they lost the game 50-63.
The lack of success in the second quarter created an unbeatable obstacle for the Aggies, resulting in their first home conference loss of the season. UCSB’s 38.5% three-point shooting accuracy average outperformed UC Davis’ 26.3%. The Aggies not only had a worse shooting percentage overall but were also unable to get as many shots off, shooting only 46 compared to the Gauchos’ 60.
Up next, the UC Davis Aggies will travel to the University of Hawai’i to take on the Rainbow Warriors on Jan. 23 and then come home to play UC Riverside on Jan. 30, hoping to secure an at-home redemption win.
By (Colina Harvey) — sports@theaggie.org
