Sussex catches fire in second half as Aggie women defeat Riverside in Big West women's basketball tournament
70-59 win moves UC Davis into Friday afternoon's semifinal round against UC San Diego
HENDERSON, Nevada - Avery Sussex erupted for 17 points in the fourth quarter as UC Davis staved off a spirited UC Riverside rally to emerge with a 70-59 win in the Big West women’s basketball tournament Thursday afternoon at Lee’s Family Forum.
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.
Sussex was amazing!
It is wonderful that at almost every game, a spark materializes from one or more of the teammates who takes the lead bringing an energetic inspiring spirit throughout the team. Avery was that light today, and had an incredible game with her 23 points!