Burns, Sabel fuel Aggie comeback in critical Big West women's basketball win over Hawaii
Aggies overcome 10-point second-half deficit in tense 74-66 win
Sydney Burns and Tova Sabel combined to bury eight straight free throws in the final 29 seconds as UC Davis rallied in the second half to take a 74-66 win over league-leading Hawaii in a critical Big West women's basketball showdown Saturday afternoon at the University Credit Union Center.
The win, before a raucous Senior Day crowd of 1,198, moves the Aggies to 12-6 in league play with two games remaining in the regular season.
Hawaii is now 14-4.
UCD finishes with two rugged road games at UC Irvine, 13-5, Thursday (6 p.m.) and at UC San Diego, 12-6, Saturday (2 p.m.).
The first time around in the Big West's double round-robin format, the Aggies lost to both Irvine, 52-49, and San Diego, 65-63.
Now tied for third with UCSD, the Aggies are in good position to gain one of the top four seeds to the Big West Tournament, March 12-15 in Henderson, Nevada, and still have a remote chance to finish in the top two.
Seeds 1 and 2 receive a double bye into the conference semifinals, while seeds 3 and 4 receive a single bye into the quarterfinals.
Seeds 5 through 8 must win four straight games to claim the championship and the Big West's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
UC Santa Barbara is close behind the Aggies at 12-7, with Long Beach State another step back at 11-7.
In what was perhaps the most satisfying win of the long campaign that began in early November, the Aggies twice overcame a 10-point deficit, then won going away with some clutch shooting down the stretch.
"I'm so proud of this team for hanging in there and finding a way to win," said Aggie head coach Jen Gross.
"There's still so much up for grabs next weekend, but the resolve we showed in this game was very encouraging."
After a stirring rendition of the Star Spangled Banner by 11-year-old January Karbowski of Danville, the crowd was ready for action, but things started poorly for the Aggies.
Hawaii raced to a 10-0 lead, holding the Aggies scoreless for nearly five minutes before Nya Epps finally broke the ice with a 3-pointer.
"I think there was a lot of emotion with the ceremony for our seniors and sometimes that's a good thing and sometimes it can work against you," Gross noted.
"I think maybe we were a little too juiced and it took us a while to settle down and then our defense allowed us to get back in it."
Seniors Burns, Sabel, Mazatlan Harris, Victoria Baker and Bria Shine and their families were honored just prior to tipoff as game film of their career accomplishments was shown on the giant message board at the north end of the arena.
It didn't take long for the Aggies to let their island visitors know that the 10-0 start was not indicative of what was to come.
Two consecutive baskets from Avery Sussex gave UCD its first lead at 22-20, but Hawaii went on a 9-0 run to close the half with a 37-27 advantage.
That lead, too, was short-lived as the Aggies came out of the locker room with an 18-3 burst to go ahead 45-40 before Hawaii responded to tie things at 49 heading into the final 10 minutes.
The lead was tied four times in the final quarter, with a layup by Burns tying it for the final time at 60.
Epps then converted a 3-point play the old-fashioned way for a 63-60 UCD lead.
Down 66-64 entering the final 30 seconds, Hawaii was forced to foul, but the strategy failed when Burns hit four straight throws and then Sabel did the same to put the game away and send the crowd home happy.
"Tova and Sydney certainly hit the shots when we needed them," said Gross.
"Tova had a couple of big shots late and then Sydney's confidence and poise down the stretch was phenomenal. This is a huge win for us and a fun win, but we have to keep it going now."
Four was seemingly Burns' lucky number Saturday as the senior point guard from Wilsonville, Oregon was 4-for-4 from the line and added four rebounds, four assists and four steals in a stellar all-around performance.
Sabel led all scorers with 18 points, while Megan Norris had 16, Epps 14 and Burns 10.
In other Big West action Saturday, Long Beach dropped Irvine, 73-52, San Diego routed Fullerton, 69-46, Cal Poly edged Cal State Bakersfield, 57-51, and Santa Barbara crushed Cal State Northridge, 74-52.
Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com
Each and every season there are games when a team displays its true character. We saw it from the Aggies on Saturday in one of the most exciting and joyous games I have seen in my 14 years following UC Davis Women’s basketball. It started on the perfect note with a brilliant performance of the Star Spangled Banner by January Karbowski, age 11. Had he been at courtside, Francis Scott Key would have remarked, “Now that’s what I’m talking about!” One important addition: the incredible Victoria Baker was also one of the pre-game honorees. Vic has been adding spark to this team for three years.