Norris' double-double keys Aggie win over Fullerton in Big West women's basketball battle
UC Davis stays in the thick of the title hunt by dropping the Titans, 70-64
With the UC Davis women clinging to a two-point lead, Megan Norris hit two clutch free throws with 12.9 seconds remaining to seal a heart-stopping Big West basketball win over Cal State Fullerton Thursday night before a gathering of 584 at the University Credit Union Center.
The 70-64 victory keeps the Aggies alive in the race for the conference’s regular-season title and the top seed in the Big West tournament next month in Henderson, Nevada.
UCD is now 13-3 in conference with four games to play and 20-7 overall.
Fullerton, which battled all the way, drops to 11-5 and 15-11.
Asked what she was thinking as she stepped to the foul line, Norris laughed and said she was trying not to think.
“That’s a good team and they really kept the pressure on us,” said the Aggie senior, who had 17 points, 12 rebounds, three assists and two blocks in her evening’s work.
And, oh by the way, she has now eclipsed both 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in her incredible Aggie career, with more certain to come.
“We’re gunning for first place and this really helps,” Norris added.
“I thought we stayed composed down the stretch and that made the difference.”
UC Irvine, which stopped Long Beach State, 77-62, Thursday night, is tied with UC San Diego atop the standings, both at 13-2.
Both of UC San Diego’s losses were to the Aggies.
The Aggies took a quick early lead and seemingly had things under control when Tegan Young’s 3-pointer gave them a 30-20 advantage late in the second quarter.
The Titans had other ideas.
After cutting the deficit to 32-28 at half, Fullerton hit the first two buckets of the second half to tie things and it was suddenly game on.
Fullerton enjoyed its biggest lead of the night at 48-44, but a trey from Nya Epps and a basket by Young put UCD back on top at 49-48.
After the Titans reclaimed the lead at 52-49, UCD went on a 12-0 run and led the rest of the way, though the Titans did not go quietly into the night.
Aggie head coach Jen Gross noted that there are no easy outs in the Big West.
“Every time we thought we had a little breathing room, they came back,” said Gross.
“I thought our defense did a tremendous job and carried us at the end for a big win. They’re all big at this point. In each game we have to find a way and every game is so important now.”
Epps led the Aggies with 19 points, while Ryann Bennett had 16 points, six assists and three steals. Young added 10 points.
UCD returns to action at home Saturday at 2 p.m. against UC Riverside.
In other Big West action Thursday night, UC Santa Barbara defeated Cal State Northridge, 74-58, UC Riverside edged Cal State Bakersfield, 62-58, and Hawaii overwhelmed Cal Poly, 71-54.
Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com