Teams: UC Davis vs. Saint Mary’s; at Santa Clara; at USC; vs. Duke; at Washington; at Sacramento State; at Pacific Records: Aggies, 2-3 (0-0) When: Dec. 6 to Jan. 5 Who to Watch: You can dance or you can’t. You can paint or you can’t. You can shoot or you can’t. UC Davis senior shooting guard Cortney French can flat-out shoot. The Stockton native recently garnered Big West Player of the Week honors after posting career numbers in the first week of this young season. This is the first such award given to French in her long history here as an Aggie and a well-earned one at that. French came out firing in the season opener for the Aggies, scoring a career-high 23 points en route to an action-packed overtime win against Navy. The team would go on to win the Houston Baptist Husky Tournament later that weekend and French took home the MVP award, boasting a .471 three-point percentage, establishing herself as a team leader and a force to... ...

Many teams have and will suffer the same fate as the Aggies against Stanford, the best team in the country. In front of 2,612 fans — the ninth largest home attendance at UC Davis in history — the UC Davis women’s basketball team fell 87-38 to the Cardinal, a team that currently holds the No. 1 ranking in the NCAA. Unfortunately for the Aggies, they were simply outmatched and outsized against the powerhouse Cardinal, which now stands at 7-0 on the season. “This was a win-win for us, we got to compete against the best and see what it looks like,” said head coach Jennifer Gross. “They’re no. 1 for a reason, they have weapons at every spot and one of the best players in the country.” Stanford junior Chiney Ogwumike led the Cardinal with 27 points and 13 rebounds, achieving a double-double 16 minutes into the game by the 3:49 mark. The Cardinal set the tone early, jumping ahead 8-0 to start the game before senior Cortney French put... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. Stanford Records: Aggies, 2-2; Cardinal, 6-0 Where: The Pavilion — Davis When: Friday at 7 p.m. Who to watch: Senior Blair Shinoda hasn’t put up the offensive numbers she is capable of this season. Not yet. Shinoda heads the UC Davis offense from the point guard position, and has the most assists on the team. As she had in the past, Shinoda is taking time in the beginning of the season to warm up. Once she finds her stroke, though, she can be very dangerous. The Santa Ana, Calif. native led the team in points scored three times last year and has always been one of UC Davis’ strongest defensive assets. Shinoda will be familiar with Stanford, since the Aggies have played them every year since the 2006-07 season. UC Davis will look to their point guard, and her experience from three matchups against the Cardinal, to figure out how to play the top team in the nation. Did you know: UC Davis has quite a... ...

The UC Davis women’s basketball team didn’t spend Thanksgiving break at home this past week, but will return to school with much to be thankful for. The Aggies traveled to Texas to participate in the Houston Baptist Husky Classic for the two-day tournament. UC Davis faced off with Navy and then Houston Baptist and walked away with two wins. Senior Cortney French put down 23 points in the first game and then 16 in the second to earn herself the Husky Classic Tournament MVP honor. Sophomore Sydnee Fipps also had strong performances in both games and was named to the All-Tournament team. With the two wins this weekend, the Aggies evened their record on the season to 2-2. Friday — UC Davis 66, Navy 63 (OT) UC Davis got its first win of the season on Friday when it took down Navy in an overtime thriller at Sharp Gym in Houston. French, in her first game of the season, went eight for 11 from the field, including 5-7 from beyond... ...

Slug: 121121_sp_WBasketballPreview Edit: HRS RT Notes: Teams: UC Davis vs. Navy; at Houston Baptist Records: Aggies, 0-2; Midshipmen, 1-2; Huskies, 1-3 Where: Sharp Gym — Houston, Texas When: Friday at 3 p.m.; Saturday at 11 a.m. Who to watch: UC Davis graduated five players last year, each of them with their own legacy. With some of the top-scorers in the Aggies’ history leaving, UC Davis needed someone to put points on the board. Enter Sydnee Fipps. The sophomore showed promise last year but never truly got the opportunity to display her full capabilities. Fipps has stepped up in big ways for UC Davis two games into the season, setting a career-high of 19 points scored in the season opener, then shattering that mark with 26 points in the ensuing games. UC Davis has dropped both of the games, but Fipps’ 45 points on the season is an encouraging statistic for the Aggies as they look for different ways to replace the holes left by last year’s graduating seniors. Did you... ...

Consistency is the word that embodies the decorated career of senior Kasey Riecks. Ever since she broke through as the only true freshman to start every game back in 2008-09, Riecks has been a mainstay in the UC Davis roster. Riecks dropped her 1000th career point midway through this season and stands 14th all-time on the Aggies all-time scoring list. Riecks was named to the all-tournament team at the Rainbow Wahine shootout this year, where her 21 point performance against Denver proved to be the highest scoring game for any UC Davis player this season. Two days later, Riecks would contribute 16 points as the Aggies captured the tournament title. Riecks’ statistics in every category at each stage in her career are impressive, but her contributions to the UC Davis women’s basketball program, as it made the tough transition to Division I, are truly immeasurable. — Matthew Yuen ...

March Madness is in full bloom, but the Aggies have been knocked out of their respective bracket. The UC Davis women’s basketball program traveled to Oregon State for their first round matchup in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament but could not get the victory that would keep their season alive. The Aggies fell for the final time in the 2011-12 campaign by a score of 66-48 to end with a 17-13 overall record. “We had some really remarkable wins and a lot of great moments that we can take with us,” said Head Coach Jennifer Gross. “I really enjoyed coaching this team — this group of players stayed together all year.” UC Davis continued its streak of slow starts that stretches back over four games. The Aggies came out and were unable to breakdown the Beavers’ defense. UC Davis held tight, though, kept afloat by its three-point shooting. The Aggies put up a 3-0 lead when senior Kasey Riecks drained one from behind the arc less than a minute into... ...

Looking back at the four seasons Samantha Meggison has played for the UC Davis women’s basketball program, there is not much she hasn’t accomplished. Meggison had a highlight year for the Aggies this season and earned All-Big West Conference First-Team honors for her prowess on offense and defense. The senior led the team in points 11 times this year and in rebounds 12 times. Her 149 rebounds and 323 points — including 110 from the free-throw line — were the highest totals on the team. But to confine Meggison’s impact on the Aggies to one season would to ignore everything that has put her in the UC Davis record books. Meggison has only gotten better with time over her career, and her steady improvement was apparent late this season, as she led the team in scoring in five of the last six regular season games. Not just an offensive player, Meggison is also on UC Davis’s top-10 all time list in steals. Meggison is UC Davis’ all time career leader... ...

Teams: UC Davis at Oregon State Records: Aggies (17-12); Beavers 18-12 (9-8) Where: Gill Coliseum — Corvallis, Ore. When: Thursday at 7 p.m. Who to Watch: After the pain the UC Davis seniors felt following last week’s loss to Pacific, you can expect senior Samantha Meggison to come out firing on Thursday. Meggison earned first team All-Big West honors after leading the Aggies in scoring and rebounds. The Orange, Calif. native will be a considerable threat to opposing teams, as she and the other seniors lead the charge in the last push of their careers. Did you know? The Aggies have been in this situation before. Of course, an NCAA Tournament appearance for the second year in a row would have been nice, but the Women’s National Invitation Tournament is the next best thing. UC Davis has been in the WNIT for three of the past five years, including 2008 and 2010. Preview: “We’re hopeful — we’ll wait to see. If we do [get selected for the WNIT], watch out... ...

The women’s NIT announced Monday evening that UC Davis women’s basketball will take on Oregon State in the tournament’s first round at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Corvallis, Ore. This marks the third time in five years the Aggies have made an appearance in the WNIT. UC Davis was one of four Big West Conference teams to make the WNIT this season, up from three in 2011. The Aggies had been awaiting the announcement of the WNIT bracket since they were eliminated from the Big West Tournament in the first round by Pacific last Thursday. Should UC Davis come away victorious, it will face the winner of UNLV vs. Saint Mary’s in the tournament’s second round. — Trevor Cramer ...

When the final seconds ticked off the clock, the UC Davis women’s basketball program trailed on the scoreboard, but by no means did it ever accept defeat. The Aggies were knocked out of the Big West Conference Tournament by Pacific in a hard-fought, first-round defeat. The loss can be attributed to several factors, but lack of effort is not one of them. “[Pacific] is a good basketball team and we both wanted this really badly; we brought every ounce of effort to the floor and tonight it went their way,” said head coach Jennifer Gross. “But I couldn’t be more proud of our team.” UC Davis got its first point when senior Kasey Riecks knocked down a three just over two minutes into the game. They would not score again until junior Cortney French came into the game and hit one of her own from behind the arc three minutes later. The drought that crippled the Aggies came in the ensuing 12 minutes, in which UC Davis failed to score.... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. Pacific Records: Aggies, 17-11 (9-7); Tigers, 16-12 (9-7) Where: The Pavilion When: Tuesday at 7 p.m. Who to Watch: If defense is one of the focuses of the UC Davis women’s basketball program, then junior Hannah Stephens is one of the essential catalysts that makes it work. Never mind that in the Aggies’ previous two meetings with Pacific this year Stephens dropped 13 and 12 points, respectively. The team has stressed that it truly is its defense that wins games. Stephens put up seven steals against the Tigers this season, and had six in the first round of the Big West Conference tournament last year. Did you know? Senior Samantha Meggison is a strong scoring threat for UC Davis, and other teams know it. She has 109 points from the charity stripe, and her 143 attempts are more than double every team member’s except Stephens’ 75. Preview: Lucky for UC Davis, its loss in the final game of the regular season will not be the last... ...

Head Coach Jennifer Gross had said that the final two games were going to have “a high level of intensity and urgency.” This ended up being a drastic understatement. The UC Davis women’s basketball program came into its final two games of the regular season vying for a spot in the top four in the Big West Conference. Of the many outcomes that were possible from the tight race to the finish, the Aggies ended up splitting the two crucial games of the week and closed the regular season fourth in the conference. The fourth-place finish gives the Aggies a first-round home game in the Big West Tournament against Pacific on Tuesday. Thursday –– UC Davis 65, Cal Poly 61 On Thursday, visiting Cal Poly took advantage of a slow UC Davis start and built up a double-digit lead to begin the game. The Aggies played a consistent ball game and did not let the early struggles affect their outlook. The Mustangs had a 15-5 lead before it looked like... ...

Teams: UC Davis vs. Cal Poly; vs. UC Santa Barbara Records: Aggies, 16-10 (8-6); Mustangs, 15-12 (11-3); Gauchos, 13-14 (7-7) Where: The Pavilion When: Thursday at 7 p.m.; Saturday at 2 p.m. Who to Watch: Senior Kasey Riecks had a strong showing against Pacific on Saturday with 13 points, potentially marking the end of her recent struggles. Riecks has been consistent for the Aggies and has 1,044 career points to show for it, placing her 14th on the UC Davis all-time career points list. She is chasing assistant coach Des Abeyta, who has 1,080 in 13th. Did you know? Other seniors are also chasing milestones as the last season of their UC Davis careers wind down. Hana Asano has 281 assists in her career, placing her in 9th all-time. She also has 194 steals, seven short of 7th place all-time. Closely trailing Asano in the steals column is Samantha Meggison, who is currently 10th in UC Davis history with 158. Two more steals would move her up to 9th. One... ...