Norris leads the way as UC Davis women rally late to stun UC San Diego, 66-62, in Big West basketball
Aggies' 11-0 run drops UCSD from the ranks of the unbeaten
LA JOLLA - Trailing for most of the game, UC Davis put together a strong fourth-quarter rally to stun UC San Diego, 66-62, in Big West women’s basketball Thursday night before a gathering of 537 at LionTree Arena.
The win moves the Aggies to 6-2 in the Big West and 13-6 overall, while UCSD is 7-1 and 12-6.
Coming off a difficult road loss to unbeaten Big West power UC Irvine last Saturday, the Aggies faced another Big West unbeaten and struggled mightily for three quarters before putting it all together over the final seven minutes.
The Tritons roared out to a 22-11 lead at the quarter, led 38-33 at the half and 48-44 after three quarters.
UCSD’s Sabrina Ma opened the final period with a trey to push the Tritons’ lead to 51-44 while holding the Aggies scoreless for the first three minutes before Ryann Bennett hit a bucket at the 6:55 mark.
As it turns out, Bennett’s score started an 11-0 run that included back-to-back-to-back treys from Nya Epps, Bennett and Tegan Young to give UCD a 55-51 advantage that they never gave up.
Victoria Baker’s layup and free throw pushed the lead to 60-54 with 2:40 remaining and UCD never looked back.
Megan Norris came up with an incredible effort to lead everyone on the floor with 23 points and 16 rebounds, along with three steals, three assists and three blocks.
Young had 11 points and nine rebounds, while Bennett finished with 10 points.
The Aggies come home Thursday, January 29, against Cal State Northridge at 6 p.m., then stay home Saturday at 2 p.m. against UC Riverside.
In other Big West action Thursday night, Cal State Fullerton topped Long Beach State, 84-66, UC Irvine slipped past UC Riverside, 74-68, Hawaii beat Cal State Bakersfield, 64-52, and UC Santa Barbara stopped Cal Poly, 61-51.