Highlanders Defeat Top-Seeded UC Davis 76-62 on Senior Night

Saturday, March 3

Riverside, CA

4:00 PM

UC Riverside

9-21, 6-10

UC Davis

24-5, 14-2

Team	1	2	3	4	F
UC Davis	22	12	13	15	62
UC Riverside	26	17	15	18	76

Highlanders Defeat Top-Seeded UC Davis 76-62 on Senior Night

3/3/2018 8:31:00 PM | Women's Basketball

Box Score

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – UC Riverside (9-21, 6-10) topped No. 1 seed UC Davis (24-5, 14-2) 76-62 on Senior Night Saturday behind the hot shooting of senior guards Lauren Holt (23 points) and Michelle Curry (20).

With the win, the Highlanders clinched the No. 6 seed in next week's Big West Tournament, as they ended a run of four consecutive losses to the Aggies.

KEY RUNS
The Aggies took their largest lead of the game, 9-4, in the opening minutes, but a 10-2 UCR run gave the home side the lead for good.

After coming out of halftime trailing by nine, UC Davis would cut the deficit to its lowest point of the second half, 52-47, on a Dani Nafekh three-pointer with 2:37 to go in the third. However, the Highlanders would score the final six points of the third, gaining momentum behind their most energetic crowd of the season heading into the final period.

A Jannon Otto jumpshot with 3:53 to go gave the Highlanders their largest lead of the game at 72-58. With the game in hand during the final minute, all four of the roster's active seniors (Holt, Curry, Clémence Lefebvre, Inara Nyingifa) were substituted out, receiving a standing ovation.

GAME NOTES
Lauren Holt bounced back from her lowest scoring outing of the conference season on Thursday to put up 23 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. The San Jose, CA native was on fire from the outside, connecting on a career-high 5-of-7 (.714) from downtown.

Michelle Curry balanced Holt's outside shooting with an 8-of-15 (.533) mark from inside the three-point line. Curry finished with 20 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists, putting up a 20-5-5 stat line for the fourth time this year. This also marks the fourth game this season that both Curry and Holt had 20 points.

The Highlanders earned their sixth home win out of their last seven outings at SRC Arena.

Sophomores Marina Ewodo (11 points) and Jannon Otto (10 rounded out UC Riverside's double-digit scorers. As a team, UCR shot 7-for-12 (.583) from range for its most efficient three-point shooting night of the year, and finished with its second-best shooting percentage overall (.500).

UC Riverside also enjoyed a 38-27 advantage on the glass, led by Curry's 7 boards and 6 apiece from freshmen Keilanei Cooper and Tianna Eaton, who both set new career-highs.

The Highlanders will their No. 6 overall seed with them into the Big West Tournament First Round on Tuesday, when they will face No. 7 seed Long Beach State.