Even though the Aggies scored first, they were unable to equalize against UCSB
By DANIELLE WIRNOWSKI — sports@theaggie.org
On Jan. 8, the UC Davis women’s basketball team faced UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) for their first home game in the new year. Although the Aggies scored first, they fell to the Gauchos, with a final score of 55-47.
The Aggies started the game off strong, as they led in points throughout the first quarter. The quarter ended with a tied score of 13-13, giving the Aggies a fighting chance to pull ahead. Unfortunately, the second quarter saw the Gauchos leading in points, as it took the Aggies 4 minutes into the quarter to score a 3-pointer. Ryann Bennett, a second-year psychology major, helped the Aggies bring the score up to 19-16 with just over 6 minutes left in the quarter.
After this boost, the Aggies went on a scoring drive, proceeding to score three more points while shutting out the Gauchos for 2 minutes. The Aggies ended the second quarter with a score of 29-24, with the Gauchos leading by five points.
Megan Norris, a Master’s of Management graduate student, scored a 3-pointer for the Aggies under 30 seconds into the third quarter. The Gauchos quickly followed up her score with a layup and a 3-pointer of their own. UC Davis then shut out UCSB for the next several minutes, with Nya Epps, a fourth-year communication major, scoring a free throw.
The last couple of minutes of the quarter saw another scoring drive by the Aggies, in which they accumulated six points. By the end of the third quarter, the score was 40-34, with UC Davis trailing behind by six points.
Similar to the third quarter, the Aggies started the fourth off strong, as Avery Sussex, a second-year psychology major, scored a 3-pointer in the first 8 seconds. The Gauchos were unable to score until the fourth minute of the final quarter due to the Aggies’ strong offensive plays. However, the next scoring drive from the Gauchos allowed them to accumulate four points, while the Aggies were only able to score two points in between the Gauchos’ drive.
This brought the score to 46-39, with only 4 minutes and 30 seconds left in the last quarter. The Aggies then went on the attack, attempting multiple 3-pointers and layups. Unfortunately, the Aggies were unable to stop UCSB from going on an additional scoring drive in the last few minutes of the game, in which they accumulated nine more points. By the end of the fourth quarter, the finalized score was 55-47, with the Aggies losing the match by eight points.
Next, the Aggies play California Polytechnic State University San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly SLO) on Jan. 10 at 2 p.m. at the University Credit Union. The team is then set to play California State University, Fullerton, on Jan. 15 at 7 p.m in Fullerton, CA.
Written by: Danielle Wirnowski — sports@theaggie.org
