NORTHRIDGE ... Proving that they are among the elite in their final year in the Big West Conference, the UC Davis Aggie women’s basketball team overwhelmed Cal State Northridge, 85-66, Thursday night before a New Year’s Day gathering of 415 at the Premier America Credit Union Arena on the CSUN campus.
The win moves the Aggies to 9-4 overall and 2-0 in the Big West as UCD attempts to win its final Big West title before joining the Mountain West Conference on July 1.
Northridge is now 5-7 and 1-2.
The Matadors took a 3-0 lead on a 3-pointer from Kelly Tumlin, which would have been a good time to take a photo of the scoreboard and send everyone home, for the Aggies were simply unstoppable from that point forward.
Baskets by Megan Norris and Nya Epps followed by a trey from Avery Sussex produced a 7-3 UCD lead and the Aggies were on their way to a dominant road win.
Two free throws by Sussex gave UCD a 39-26 lead at the half and Theoni Tsami’s 3-pointer near the end gave UCD its biggest lead of the night at 83-62.
Ryann Bennett turned in another standout performance with a career-high 26 points, along with four steals and three assists in a stellar night’s work.
Sussex had 13 points and five assists, while Epps had 12 points, Tegan Young 11 and Norris 10.
Norris was a force on both ends of the court, pulling down 16 rebounds along with four assists and two blocks.
The Aggies shot with 55.4-percent accuracy from the field while holding CSUN to 38.1.
UCD stays on the road for a Saturday 2 p.m. game at Cal State Bakersfield, before returning home Jan. 8 for a 6 p.m. showdown with UC Santa Barbara, followed by a Jan. 10 date at 2 p.m. with Cal Poly.