RIVERSIDE, Calif.—A new year can only mean one thing. It's the start of Big West Conference play for the UC Riverside Women's Basketball team.

The Highlanders (6-8) begin conference play on Saturday with a 2 p.m. game vs. UC Davis (8-5) at the SRC Arena. This will begin a stretch of three straight home games. In a preseason poll, the Aggies were picked to finish first in the conference, while the Highlanders were picked to finish eighth.

UCR is on a two-game winning streak after beating New Mexico State and CSU Bakersfield. Much of that success is due to Jannon Otto. She won Big West Player of the Week on Monday and has combined to score 44 points and gone 16-for-17 from the free throw line over the last two games.

The teams faced each other three times last season, including the semifinals of the Big West tournament. UCR came up just short against the No. 1 seeded Aggies in a 49-46 loss.

The Aggies have won five of the last six meetings against the Highlanders, but have lost three of the last four games played in Riverside. The Aggies' last win at UCR came on March 2, 2017 in a last-second 61-59 victory.

"UC Davis is a very good team and they have once again begun the season quite well," head coach John Margaritis said. "We need to bring it in terms of energy and focus. It is all about our ability to finish."

ALL ABOUT THE AGGIES
The team carries a season-long five-game winning streak into its Big West Conference opener as the two-time defending league champion. The Aggies are once again led by Morgan Bertsch, who is averaging 23.3 points per game, which leads the conference. She's also won Player of the Week twice this season.

BLOCK PARTY
The Highlanders lead the Big West in blocked shots. Marina Ewodo has 32 of those and is averaging 2.3 blocks per game, which is second in the Big West. The team has out-blocked opponents 72-22.

TURNOVER MARGIN
The Highlanders have the second-best turnover margin (2.0) in the Big West, averaging 13.4 turnovers a game, while the opposition is averaging 15.4.

DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
UCR is first in the Big West in scoring defense (61.8 ppg) and second in defensive field goal percentage, with a .367 average.