The Aggies, 15-9 in the Big West and 26-22 overall under 11th-year head coach Erin Thorpe, dropped the Gauchos, 8-3 and 2-1, on Saturday, before losing Sunday’s series finale, 3-0.

The top six teams in the 10-team league qualify for the double-elimination Big West tournament, with the winner moving on to the NCAA championships through regional play.

Fullerton is running away with the regular-season crown with a 22-2 mark, with one of those losses coming to the Aggies.

Hawaii is second at 18-6, followed by UC Santa Barbara at 17-7, with the Aggies and Long Beach State tied for fourth at 15-9.

UC San Diego is sixth at 9-15.

The Aggies finish the season with three weekend games at Cal Poly, 4-20, with a doubleheader Friday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and a single game Saturday at 1 p.m.

Should the Aggies tie with either Santa Barbara or Long Beach in the final standings, they would win the tiebreaker based on head-to-head play with those schools.

UCD swept Long Beach State earlier this month.

Gia Felice, a senior from Hollister, leads the Aggies with a .367 batting average, with Sydney Polli at .366 and Alyssa Dethlefson at .308 with five home runs and 29 RBI. Dethlefson also leads the team with 23 steals on 28 attempts.

Naomi Kalanetra, who starred at Davis High School, leads the Aggies with six home runs.

Ashley Sawai has been lights out in the circle with an 11-4 mark and 3.26 earned run average.

Caroline Grimes is 13-14 with a 3.43 ERA and 106 strikeouts in 157 innings of work.

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While team members and program insiders have known of the decision for several weeks, it was kept under wraps until last Saturday and has been greeted with enthusiasm by Aggie officials.

Porter Connors is a standout linebacker for the Aggies, while brother Rex, a defensive back, has already set the UC Davis career record for tackles with 313.

The two are considered integral pieces of what is expected to be a stellar Aggie defense in 2026 under highly regarded defensive coordinator Matt Coombs.

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The Tritons dominated Friday night’s opener, 9-4, scored late to steal a 3-2 win Saturday night, then took Sunday afternoon’s finale, 9-5.

UCSD leads the Big West at 8-1, while the Aggies slipped into a tie for sixth at 5-7.

UCD will host USF in a non-conference game Tuesday at 6 p.m. on what is being billed as $2 Tuesday.

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The loss, before a gathering of 438 at the Firestone Fieldhouse on the Pepperdine campus, ended the UC Davis season at 23-11. Pepperdine is now 20-12 and moves on to a second-round matchup with Utah Tech Sunday afternoon in Malibu. Had the Aggies won, they would have hosted Utah Tech.

This was a back-and-forth battle for the ages.

“I couldn’t be more proud of this team,” said Aggie head coach Jen Gross, who has been directing UCD hoop fortunes for the last 15 years.

With a nod to departing seniors Megan Norris, Nya Epps and Victoria Baker, Gross noted each of their contributions and said she will miss this talented trio.

“That’s what you hope for as a coach, that you’re sad to see your seniors leave and you know you’re going to miss them, but they’ll always be a part of your life.”

Pepperdine coach Katie Faulkner was ecstatic with the last-second turn of events.

“March is fun,” Faulkner noted. “I am really proud of our togetherness. This is a team that thrives on growth and is dedicated to getting better.”

The Aggies led early at 18-11, but an 8-0 run gave Pepperdine its first lead of the night, a lead that changed hands eight times before the Waves emerged with a 39-36 lead at the half.

UCD regained the lead at 41-39 early in the third quarter on a 3-pointer from Epps and UCD enjoyed its biggest lead of the fourth quarter at 56-52 on a layup by Ryann Bennett.

At that point, however, Pepperdine went on a devastating 14-3 run and appeared to be in firm control with a 68-60 lead entering the final 90 seconds.

The Aggies had other ideas.

Noted Gross, “One of my mentors, Jim Sochor (former Aggie head football coach), always said to find joy in everything you do, so it was a great opportunity to get back into the game.”

Avery Sussex was fouled attempting a 3-pointer and sank all three free throws to cut the deficit to 68-63 with 1:28 remaining. Then, after a shot-clock violation on Pepperdine, it was Sussex again with a successful trey to trim the advantage to 68-66 with 39.3 seconds left, and suddenly it was game on.

Pepperdine tried to work the clock, but Epps swiped a Pepperdine pass and Gross called a timeout with 12.0 remaining to set up either a tying field goal or a game-winning trey.

The ball went quickly to Bennett, who hit a short bank shot to tie things at 68, leaving Pepperdine 6.8 seconds to respond.

And respond the Waves did, finding Taija Santa Maria for a step-back, 3-point dagger that left her hands just before the final buzzer sounded and the backboard turned red.

Speaking of Norris, Epps and Baker, Gross noted, “They are just amazing human beings, amazing players and great teammates. They are everything we look for when we recruit players to our program.”

That trio will certainly be missed, but the cupboard is by no means bare as UCD takes a bold step into the Mountain West Conference next season.

“It’s been such an incredible journey in the Big West and the thing I’ll miss most are the friendships with so many great coaches,” Gross said.

“But at the same time I’m excited about this opportunity and the new challenges and the future of UC Davis.”

Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com

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However, shortly after the game concluded, Aggie head coach Jen Gross hinted that the Aggies hoped to get a bid to the postseason Women’s National Invitation Tournament, a hope that turned into reality when the WNIT revealed its 48-team field Sunday evening.

The Aggies will open play in the single-elimination WNIT Thursday at 6 p.m. at Pepperdine University in Malibu.

The game will be telecast live on ESPN+ and broadcast live on radio station KDVS (90.3 FM).

The game will be held in the 3,104-seat Firestone Fieldhouse on the Pepperdine campus.

The Waves finished sixth in the West Coast Conference and were defeated by the University of San Francisco, 86-69, in their opening game of the WCC tournament.

Pepperdine finished the regular season 19-12 overall and 10-8 in the WCC and had a 2-0 mark in nonconference games against Big West opponents, with wins of 69-63 over Cal State Northridge and 84-70 over Cal State Fullerton.

The Aggies are 23-10 overall and finished third in the Big West at 15-5.

If the Aggies get past Pepperdine, they will host Southern Utah on Monday night. SUU has a first-round bye. UCD officials say the Monday game will offer free admission to everyone.

Ryann Bennett leads the Aggies in scoring with 15.1 points a game and is also the team leader in assists with 133 and in steals with 52.

Nya Epps adds 13.0 points a game, while Megan Norris, UCD’s all-time career rebounding leader, averages 12.3 points and 12.7 rebounds a game, along with 47 of the team’s 81 blocks.

Avery Sussex, who made the Big West’s all-tournament team after exploding for 50 points in two games, contributes 12.2 points per game, 107 assists and 45 steals for the Aggies.

For the uninitiated, the WNIT is not the NCAA tournament, which announced its 68-team field earlier on Sunday. It’s also not to be confused with the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament, the WBIT, which is owned and operated by the NCAA and also announced its 32-team field before the WNIT made its selections from the schools remaining.

Between the three tournaments, 148 of the NCAA’s 355 women’s basketball teams will be playing in the postseason.

The Aggies may want to take a map of California with them to explain to their hosts exactly where the UC Davis campus is located.

According to an official press release from Pepperdine, “The Waves will host UC Davis out of the Bay Area.”

Which is like saying Malibu is located in the Mojave Desert.

Live and learn.

Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com

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The 84-79 loss dropped UCD to 23-10 on the season after the Aggies finished third in the Big West regular season. San Diego, which advances to Saturday’s championship game against Hawaii, is now 23-8.

“I just wanted so badly for this team to win the championship,” said an emotional Aggie head coach Jen Gross at the post-game press conference, where she was accompanied by star senior Megan Norris.

“When I think of this team, the one word that comes to mind is pride. They worked so hard all year and were so deserving of this championship. I’m tremendously proud of everything they accomplished this year.”

Norris, whose stellar career saw her set UCD’s all-time rebounding record, echoed her coach’s heartfelt sentiments.

“I am so grateful to have been a part of this program for the last five years,” said Norris, who finished her final game with 13 points and 13 rebounds.

“This is family. Everyone knows what a special program this is.”

Added Gross as she gestured toward Norris on the podium, “I love you, Megan. You’re one of the most amazing people I’ve ever known. In the years to come, I’m not going to remember this game, but I am going to remember this team and how they came together. This is a special group. I couldn’t ask for anything more. They came to practice every day and did it at an elite level. They took so much ownership of the program.”

Gross noted that while the Aggie women will not be in the NCAA tournament, they might possibly earn a trip to the postseason WNIT, with pairings to be announced after the NCAA reveals its March Madness brackets.

Gross had high praise for Friday’s victors, a team the Aggies had defeated twice in close games during the regular season.

“Congratulations to San Diego,” said the Aggie coach. “They stepped up and played well. They made some big plays.”

The Aggies came out on fire in this one, racing to an early 11-2 lead as Norris, Ryann Bennett and Nya Epps all contributed on the offensive end, but just as quickly, the Tritons struck back, going on an electrifying 20-4 run to finish the quarter with a 22-17 advantage.

A basket by Victoria Baker narrowed the UCSD lead to 29-28, but again the Tritons responded to go into halftime with a 42-35 cushion.

San Diego led by as many as 12 points in the second half, but Norris on defense and Avery Sussex on offense rallied the Aggies one final time, with a basket by Sussex cutting the deficit to 63-60 with 7:24 remaining in the game.

Sussex, coming off a career-high 23 points in Thursday’s quarterfinal win over UC Riverside, outdid herself with 27 points, including five long-range bombs. Epps had another stellar effort with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

UCSD, however, responded to the Aggie rally with a 14-5 run to push the margin to 77-65 and UCD came no closer than five points the rest of the way.

UC San Diego head coach Heidi VanDerveer was gracious in victory.

“I have the utmost respect for Jen and how they run their program,” VanDerveer said. “They do everything the right way and are always well prepared. They bring out the best in us.”

Although UC Davis will join the Mountain West next season and UCSD will be moving to the West Coast Conference a year after that, both coaches say this is an intense, but respectful rivalry they’d like to continue as non-conference opponents.

Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com

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The 82-70 loss ended the Aggie season at 19-14 overall after UCD went 11-9 in Big West play.

UCD opened the tournament with a hard-fought win over UC Santa Barbara Wednesday night, but couldn’t maintain the momentum in the quarterfinal round against Fullerton.

Both teams were cold from the start, putting up enough bricks to add another wing to the arena.

At one point in the early going, Fullerton went over six minutes without scoring a point, but still led the game, 5-4, as the Aggies matched the Titans miss for miss for miss.

The Aggies managed to take a 16-13 lead on a basket from Isaiah Chappell and two free throws from Omer Suljanovic, but the advantage was short-lived.

Fullerton finally found its footing and went on a blistering 25-6 run, taking a 38-26 lead into halftime.

The Titans steadily expanded that lead to 70-49 with five minutes remaining, but the Aggies weren’t yet ready to call it a season.

UCD used a pressing, hounding defense to put together an 11-0 run and managed to cut the deficit to 74-68 with 2:04 remaining before Fullerton held on down the stretch.

“Congratulations to Fullerton,” said Aggie head coach Jim Les.

“I thought they played really well right from the start. We’ve had a tough stretch of games and some key injuries and it finally caught up with us. On both ends of the floor we were a little bit slower and a little bit behind and Fullerton made the most of it.”

Fullerton head coach Dedrique Taylor, who played two years for the Aggies in the late 90s and graduated from UC Davis with a degree in sociology, was thrilled with the win over his alma mater.

“The game tonight obviously wasn’t pretty, but our guys found a way to get it done,” said Taylor, who was named Big West Coach of the Year this season in a vote of the league’s coaches.

The game marks the Aggies’ final appearance in the Big West Conference, with UCD moving the majority of its athletic programs, including men’s and women’s basketball, to the rugged Mountain West Conference beginning July 1.

“This has been a great league for us,” noted Les.

“I’ve enjoyed its competitive nature and the rivalries we’ve created. I’m excited about where we are going, but grateful for the experiences we had in the Big West. I’m more sentimental, however, about the guys in the locker room who have meant so much to me and to our program.”

Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com

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The win moves the No. 3 Aggies into Friday’s semifinal round for a 2:30 p.m. game against No. 2 UC San Diego.

The Aggies finished 15-5 in Big West regular season play, while San Diego tied for first with UC Irvine, both at 17-3.

However, UCD was 2-0 against UCSD, winning 66-62 in San Diego and 88-80 in triple overtime a month ago in Davis.

“Obviously, we handled them easily in triple overtime,” Aggie head coach Jen Gross said with a laugh about Friday’s forthcoming battle.

“We know how good they are and how well coached they are, but it’s going to be fun. I still think our best basketball is ahead of us.”

The Aggies made it to the tournament title game a year ago, but ended their season with a 75-66 loss to UCSD. Gross hopes to reverse that result this time around.

In Friday’s other semifinal, No. 1 UC Irvine takes on No. 4 Hawaii. The title game is scheduled for Saturday at 3 p.m.

The tournament winner moves on to next week’s NCAA tournament.

UCD had defeated Riverside twice during the regular season, but the Highlanders put up a fierce battle before the Aggies finally pulled away down the stretch.

Ryann Bennett took the opening tip from Megan Norris and drove for an easy layup with the game just five seconds old. Bennett had another basket and a 3-pointer as the Aggies took an 11-4 lead and looked as if they might make quick work of UCR.

A trey from Victoria Baker and two free throws from Norris gave UCD a 30-16 advantage, but UCR closed the second quarter on an 8-0 run to trim the deficit to just six points at the half.

Two free throws from Hannah Wickstrom gave the Highlanders their first lead of the night at 33-32 and suddenly it was game on.

A Baker 3-pointer and a pair of free throws from Sussex gave the lead back to UCD, but the Aggies led by just a single point when all-everything Megan Norris fouled out with just under four minutes to play.

But that’s when the Aggies put together a run for the ages.

Sussex started things by hitting three straight free throws after she was fouled on a long-range attempt, then 30 seconds later hit a 3-pointer. When Nya Epps followed with a pair of free throws, the Aggies had gone on an 8-0 run in a matter of 49 seconds to take a 62-53 lead with 2:48 remaining.

“It was a heck of a game and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy,” said Gross.

“I just felt like our team kept finding a way to get through the adversity.”

Sussex admitted to having a slow start in the first half, but credited her teammates for her second-half performance.

“I just needed to get going and they really helped me,” said the sophomore from Coquitlam, British Columbia.

Sussex finished with 23 points, while Bennett had 15 and Norris added 12 points and 14 rebounds. Sussex was especially deadly on free throws, finishing 11 of 13 at the line.

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