Anaheim--In their last meeting, UCR (23-8, 16-0, 0-1) held off a second charge from the Aggies to win at UC Davis (18-12,10-6, 2-0). Today, in the Semifinals of the Big West Tournament, the Aggies outscored the Highlanders, 28-14, in the fourth quarter to claim an, 81-72 victory.

The first half was back and forth until Brittany Crain went on second quarter scoring spree. With 5:24 to play in the second period, trailing 26-20, Crain made a jumper, then followed it up by taking a charge on the defensive end of the floor. On the next Highlander possession, she knocked down a three to make it a one point game, 26-25. UCR then forced UC Davis into two straight turnovers and Crain made two more from long distance to give the Highlanders a five point lead, 31-25.

Crain's 11 point outburst gave the Highlanders the momentum going into the break leading, 38-30. She tallied 24 first half points for the Highlanders, who got six from Simone DeCoud in the first 20 minutes of play. Morgan Bertsch had eight points and five rebounds to pace the Aggies.

Midway through the third quarter with the score, 38-30, UC Davis went on a 10-2 run led by Kourtney Eaton and Rachel Nagel, who each had traditional three-point plays in the run that make just a two point UCR advantage. Inara Nyingifa and Rejane Verin picked up the fouls on those buckets for the Aggies, Nyingifa's third and Verin's second.

At the 1:14 mark in the third Verin picked up her third foul and Bertsch sank both free throws. Akilah Martin connected from long distance to push the Highlander to four, 55-51. Just 26 seconds later Verin was whistled again for her fourth and Bertsch again would make both shots at the charity stripe.

Entering the fourth, UCR was struggling to keep UC Davis off the boards and their two post defenders (Verin-4. Nyingifa-3) were in foul trouble. In the opening possession of the period Nyingifa picked her fourth foul, sending Alyson Doherty to the line for two, which she would convert. The Aggies then took the lead, 63-62 on a pair of Eaton free throws. UC Davis led, 72-66, when Crain hit a three to close the gap, but the Aggies responded with five straight points to put the game out of reach in the final minute and go on to win, 81-72.

The Aggies more than doubled up the Highlanders on the boards, 46-21 for the game, and they outscored them in paint 14-8 in the final frame, while shooting 10-of-12 from the floor. Five UC Davis players finished in double figures, and Doherty (21 points, 11 rebounds) and Celia Marfone (11 points, 10 rebounds) each posted point-rebound double doubles. Bertsch narrowly missed out on a double double with 14 points, nine rebounds, as did Eaton with 14 points, nine assists.

"I felt that Davis came to play. They played very, very well. We played hard to the very end, but I really think that Davis earned this win and that's why they are moving on. I'm very proud of this team", said Head Coach John Margaritis.

Crain's game-high 36 points were the sixth highest in a Big West history and her 13 made field goals are ninth. Verin nearly logged the first triple double in the history of the event, with 11 ponts, eight steals and seven assists to go along with five rebounds. Her eight steals rank fifth in Big West tournament history. Michelle Curry contributed 12 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

When asked about senior Brittany Crain's performance, Margaritis said, "She works exceptionally hard, is focused and does not shy away from competition. I wish some of our other student athletes had a better game to help her along".

UC Davis will take on Hawai'i, who prevailed, 76-60, over Long Beach State in the second semifinal if the day, tomorrow in the Big West Championship game at 3 pm.