There is a saying in basketball that if you live by the three, you die by the three. This adage holds true in the case of the Aggies. The UC Davis women’s basketball team was an interesting squad this past season as they were filled with players who could shoot the long ball. At any given time, all five players on the court could be liable to hit a three-pointer. The high-scoring Aggies gave other teams a lot of headaches, as they were third in the conference in shooting the three-pointer, posting an impressive 31 percent as a team. Their long-range prowess caused many mismatch problems as all five players on the court were threats from beyond the arc. However, the reliance on three-point shooting to account for a majority of the team’s scoring led to inconsistent results. The characterization of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde reflects the nature of the team’s results. Some nights, the rim had a lid on it and the Aggies just could not buy a... ...

Women’s basketball finished their up-and-down season with a tough 61-40 loss to a thoroughly deserving Cal State Northridge team. UC Davis leaves the conference playoffs with a final overall record of 12-18. Though the Aggies have been able to put points up in a hurry at multiple points in the season, they really struggled with shooting the basketball in the past few games. It cost them big-time on Tuesday night. In the previous four games before the quarterfinal matchup, UC Davis shot a rough 32.99 percent from the field. Tuesday night was no exception to this trend as the Aggies once again struggled to find rhythm in their offense. They started off cold, shooting 28.6 percent from the field in the first half, and it would not get better in the second when they shot an even lower 18.8 percent from the field. Sophomore Sydnee Fipps led the Aggies in scoring and rebounding once again, with 13 points and eight boards. However, she lacked her usual efficiency, shooting a lackluster... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. Pacific Records: Aggies, 12-16 (7-10); Tigers, 23-6 (13-4) Where: The Pavilion — Davis, Calif. When: Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Who to Watch: Freshmen often struggle to get accustomed to the rigors of college. This sentiment holds true in sports as well. Most freshman athletes are not accustomed to the faster, taller and more talented players they face in college. However, freshman Molly Greubel is playing like a veteran. Her lack of experience has not hindered her at all this season, as she has played at an impressive level. Her maturity was on display during the last game between UC Davis and Pacific, as she had a career night. Greubel’s impressive stat line included three assists, three steals and a career-high 18 points. She contributed two of the Aggies’ total five three-pointers. Greubel is going to be a key for the Aggies if they hope to pull off an upset against the Tigers. She needs to be a consistent threat on offense in order to free up... ...

The Aggies had an up-and-down weekend, splitting their two-game home stretch. They played three good halves of basketball, but the final of the weekend cost the Aggies the second game. After splitting the weekend games, the Aggies are now 11-15 overall and 6-9 in conference. They are now seventh in the conference, just ahead of UC Irvine. Thursday — UC Davis 70, UC Riverside 56 Sophomore Sydnee Fipps had a fantastic performance with 27 points and seven rebounds. Fipps and senior Cortney French, who added 13 points of her own, led the Aggies past the Highlanders. It was a back-and-forth affair for most of the game. The Aggies went into halftime with a 27-23 lead. This lead was due to their superb defense, which held the Highlanders to 25 percent from the field in the first half. Despite the Highlanders’ poor shooting performance, they managed to stay in the game with offensive rebounds. Their second-chance opportunities and determined play allowed the Highlanders to come back and gain a one-point lead... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. UC Riverside; vs. Cal State Fullerton Records: Aggies, 10-14 (5-8); Highlanders, 11-12 (4-8); Titans 7-17 (3-9) Where: The Pavilion — Davis, Calif. When: Thursday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 4 p.m. Who to watch: Senior Cortney French is UC Davis’ three-point specialist. The Aggies took down the Titans with 39 points coming from beyond the arc, 12 of which were from the hands of French. If the Aggies come in with the same confidence from beyond the three-point line as they did last time they matched up with the Titans, they will be in good shape. French’s hot hand can easily put up high numbers on the board for UC Davis. Did you know: The last time UC Davis faced off with Cal State Fullerton, it put 88 points on the board and shot 60 percent from the field, its highest shooting percentage and point total this season. The Aggies shot 30-50 and 13-22 from beyond the three-point line for almost 60 percent from the arc.... ...

Teams: UC Davis at Hawai’i; at Cal State Northridge Records: Aggies 10-12 (5-6); Rainbow Wahine 11-11 (7-4); Matadors 12-11 (6-5) Where: Stan Sheriff Center — Honolulu, Hawaii; The Matadome — Northridge, Calif. When: Thursday at 9 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m. Who to watch: The last time the Aggies played Hawai’i, they were out-rebounded by a 48-31 count. Freshman Alyson Doherty has provided some of the much-needed height for the Aggies on the boards, grabbing 63 defensive and 39 offensive rebounds to bring her season total to a team-leading 102. Doherty’s 4.9 rebounds per game leads the team, who will need all the height they can get to be competitive in those second-chance opportunities. Did you know: It will be a grueling weekend for UC Davis, who will be traveling to two very different playing environments this weekend. The Stan Sheriff Center can house 10,300 fans and can serve as a multi-purpose arena for other events such as concerts or other competitions or conferences. On the other hand, the Matadome... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. UC Santa Barbara; vs. Cal Poly Records: Aggies, 9-11 (4-5); Gauchos, 9-12 (5-4); Mustangs, 12-8 (6-3) Where: The Pavilion — Davis, Calif. When: Thursday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m. Who to watch: The Aggies’ free-throw percentage is nothing too special, but what is most impressive about it is where most of those buckets have come from. Freshman Molly Greubel has the highest free-throw percentage on the team, sinking 45 out of 54 this season. The Santa Ana, Calif. native pieced together a neat 22 free-throws in a row before missing one last game against UC Irvine. Greubel has emerged as one of the Aggies’ most prominent offensive presence, seeing that she has scored in every game she has appeared in, with double-digit totals in five of those. Did you know: The Aggies are averaging close to 700 fans per game at the Pavilion which is quite impressive compared to the number they get when they don’t play on their home court. When UC Davis... ...

The UC Davis women’s basketball team had quite an up-and-down weekend of games. The Aggies took down the then-fourth place team in the conference, but dropped a tough contest to the last place UC Irvine. The game against Long Beach State featured teams that had both won their two most recent games, and it turned out to be a back-and-forth game until the end. After taking down the 49ers on Thursday — a confidence booster, no doubt — UC Davis came out flat against UC Irvine and lost by a 13-point margin. With the split weekend, UC Davis moves to 9-11 with a 4-5 record in the Big West Conference. Thursday — UC Davis 68, Long Beach State 62 Coming off two road wins, the Aggies brought the momentum back home to the Pavilion on Thursday when they took down Long Beach State. The 49ers brought a 4-3 conference record into the game, but the Aggies clawed their way to a victory. The two teams battled for the duration of... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. Long Beach State; vs. UC Irvine Records: Aggies, 8-10 (3-4); 49ers, 11-8 (4-3); Anteaters 4-15 (0-7) Where: The Pavilion — Davis, Calif. When: Thursday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m. Who to watch: As the Aggies continue their quest to back up sophomore Sydnee Fipps’ shooting, freshman Aniya Baker has emerged as a consistent scorer for the UC Davis women’s basketball team. Baker dropped 16 points in the Aggies’ destruction of Cal State Fullerton, then followed that up with five points in UC Davis’ victory over UC Riverside. The Perris, Calif. native has scored in every game she has appeared in except the match-ups against Stanford and UC Santa Barbara, and has been credited as one of the quickest players on the team by head coach Jennifer Gross. Did you know? UC Davis has three veteran players eating up minutes for the Aggies. Fipps, along with seniors Cortney French and Blair Shinoda have been leading the young team. Yet, aside from these three players that... ...

The UC Davis women’s basketball team got two impressive wins this weekend. They’re not there just yet. But they’re close. The Aggies brought their overall record up to 8-10 with wins over Cal State Fullerton and UC Riverside this weekend. On Thursday, UC Davis thrashed the Titans by a score of 88-44, then dished out an equally convincing beating of the Highlanders on Saturday. The 61-49 win over UC Riverside completed the Aggies’ undefeated weekend, pushing them to 3-4 in the Big West Conference, propelling them from ninth place to sixth. Thursday — UC Davis 88, Cal State Fullerton 44 Entering the weekend, the Aggies stood at an underwhelming 6-10 and 1-4 in conference. UC Davis’ struggles on the road were apparent in their 1-5 road record. Yet the Aggies came out hot against CSU Fullerton, putting on a show that dispelled any thoughts that the Aggies belonged at the bottom of the conference standings. The Titans entered the game 3-2 in the Big West, but couldn’t do much against... ...

Teams: UC Davis at Cal State Fullerton; at UC Riverside Records: Aggies 6-10 (1-4); Titans 7-10 (3-2); Highlanders 9-7 (2-3) Where: Titan Gym — Fullerton, Calif.; SRC Arena — Riverside, Calif. When: Thursday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m. Who to watch: Senior Cortney French is a pure shooter. The Aggies’ three point specialist has knocked down 33 three-pointers this season and has shown why she is a leader for UC Davis. The Aggies will need more contribution from players other than sophomore Sydnee Fipps if they are to get back into the win column. Last time out, French put in nine points in her 23 minutes of play, though it was a cold night from behind the ARC. She hit one out of her seven attempts from three-point range and will try to get back on track against the Titans. Did you know? The Big West Conference is showing a particularly strong field of teams. At this point last year, the Aggies were standing at a 12-6 overall... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. Cal State Northridge; vs. Hawai’i Records: Aggies, 5-9 (0-3); Matadors, 10-5 (4-0); Wahine, 7-8 (3-1) Where: The Pavilion — Davis, Calif. When: Thursday at 7 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. Who to Watch: Head coach Jennifer Gross has been preaching tough defense to her team all year. While offense can bring hype, defense wins championships and the Aggies have been improving theirs with each game. Freshman forward Alyson Doherty is one of six freshmen on the UC Davis squad this year, and has already shown that she can be the defensive presence the Aggies have been looking for. With a solid six-foot-three frame and battle-ready mentality, Doherty has provided a defensive leadership that the team has lacked so far. She posted 11 rebounds against Santa Clara University early in the season, and led the team with seven against USC in one of the Aggies’ most impressive wins so far this year. With the Aggies still looking for their first conference win this season, look for the... ...

UC Davis played in two very different games this weekend, unfortunately coming up with the same result in both. The Aggies started the road trip by traveling down to San Luis Obispo on Thursday to face Cal Poly. These two squads have held extremely competitive and close games in the past and their matchup on Thursday was no different. Three pointers rained down from the sky and tough battles in the paint raged on throughout the evening, but the Mustangs came away with the win in the end by a score of 73-71. The Aggies next traveled to UC Santa Barbara, where they took on their southern UC rivals — the Gauchos. UC Davis entered the contest with the same preparedness and confidence as any night; however, the buckets just wouldn’t fall. The Gauchos came out aggressive, taking advantage of a well-traveled and exhausted Aggie team. UCSB took the lead early and never gave it back in a match that featured zero lead changes in favor of the Gauchos. “The... ...

Teams: UC Davis at Cal Poly; at UC Santa Barbara Records: Aggies, 5-7 (0-1); Mustangs, 7-6 (1-1); Gauchos, 5-9 (1-1) Where: Mott Gym — San Luis Obispo, Calif.; Thunderdome — Santa Barbara, Calif. When: Thursday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m. Who to Watch: The “Sophomore Slump” is characterized by a player who had an extremely successful rookie season, but for one reason or another, ends up having subpar numbers as a sophomore. Sophomore forward Sydnee Fipps certainly has beat back this stereotype. The 5’10” forward is not only vastly exceeding her numbers from last season, but she is also leading the entire team offensively and has proven to be a reliable overall leader down the stretch. “Sydnee’s consistency has been incredible,” said head coach Jennifer Gross. “Last year she had a role as a spot-up shooter and this year she came onto the scene as a sophomore and became a dominant presence both offensively and defensively.” Of the last six games, Fipps has led the team in scoring... ...

While most students were at home filling their stomachs with holiday treats, the UC Davis women’s basketball team remained hard at work. With just a few days off here and there, the lady Aggies continued to prepare for what remains to be a long season ahead. They took on five opponents this December and compiled a 3-2 record for the month. While the season remains in its infant stages, the team inevitably grew a great deal together and produced some spectacular play on both sides of the court. UC Davis kicked off the holiday season against the Broncos of Santa Clara earlier in the month, taking home an impressive win by a score of 70-59. Sophomore forward Sydnee Fipps led all scorers with 19 points, but what brought home the win for the Aggies were the hours of hard work put in when no one was watching. “The exciting thing about our team is that we analyze our games and if there is something that we struggle with in a... ...