Dec. 11, 2004

Box Score

IRVINE, Calif. - Ellen Porshneva and Jessica Campbell each scored 17 points Saturday as UC Davis rallied from a 21-point deficit in the second half to post a dramatic 76-73 win over UC Irvine in a nonconference women's basketball game at the Bren Events Center.

UC Davis snapped a three-game losing streak with the improbable come-from-behind win, improving to 3-6 overall, while the Anteaters remained winless at 0-4. Porshneva added 11 rebounds for a double-double while forward Lauren Yadon scored 27 points to pace UC Irvine.

The Aggies trailed 51-30 less than a minute into the second half after the Anteaters extended a 15-point halftime lead with a pair of three-pointers. However, UC Davis went on a 24-2 run to take a 54-53 lead with 11 minutes, 18 seconds remaining after a three-pointer by Kimberly Smith. The Aggies eventually posted a double-digit lead of their own down the stretch before holding off UC Irvine.

"It was really a huge momentum swing from early in the second half," said elated UC Davis coach Sandy Simpson. "We turned a 21-point deficit into an 11-point lead and we needed all of them at the end."

UC Davis trailed from the get-go on Saturday evening, giving up the first five points of the game and then going down by 12 at 17-5 with less than seven minutes gone. It briefly cut the lead to six on a pair of occassions midway through the half. Behind 18 first-half points from Yadon, UC Irvine twice ballooned the lead to 17 points before taking a 45-30 lead into the break. UC Davis had 11 turnovers in the first 20 minutes but only had four after intermission.

Three-pointers from Katie Curtis and Courtney Ferguson to start the second half gave the Anteaters their biggest lead at 51-30 with 19:09 to play. Porshneva, however, scored four straight points, Lara Gray and Smith had back-to-back three-pointers and UC Davis trailed just 51-40 less than three minutes later after a quick 10-0 run.

UC Irvine, meanwhile, went on a scoring drought, only picking up a short bucket by center Joanna Usher during a nearly nine-minute span. The Aggies continued to rally during that time, cut the lead to 53-51 on a layup by Smith with 11:45 left and then took the lead for the first time on Smith's three-pointer from the corner in front of an excited UC Davis bench.

The Anteaters tied the game, 55-55 but a 15-4 run by UC Davis put the Aggies in front 70-59 with just over four minutes to play. UC Irvine rallied down the stretch and had a chance to tie the game in the final seconds but could not convert a three-point attempt as UC Davis posted its biggest win of the year.

"It's hard to stop the flood and I'm sure (UC Irvine) ran into that during their second-half drought," said Simpson.

Still, he said there was no secret to what helped the Aggies come back.

"We had some times when we got extra possessions and we gave ourselves extra opportunities and that's pure hustle," he said.

Besides Porshneva and Campbell, UC Davis also had Gray and Smith in double figures. Gray posted 15 points while Smith had 12. Jackie Turpin, who had two key backcourt steals during the Aggies' comeback, had three assists and six points. Ned finished with 11 points for the Anteaters while Usher and Curtis each had 10. Center Ashley Biggins had 11 rebounds.

UC Davis converted 16 of 29 shots in the second half while UC Irvine was just nine of 30.

The Aggies return to action next Saturday, hosting Portland at 7 p.m. at Hickey Gym.

UC Davis Aggies Women's Basketball

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