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(March 14, 2008) –
UC Riverside's bid to win their third straight Big West Tournament
championship fell short as the Highlanders dropped a 63-53
decision to #2 seed UC Davis in Friday’s semifinal round
of the Big West Conference Tournament. Junior guard Seyram
Gbewonyo led all scorers with 17 points for UCR ending the
season with a 14-16 overall record.
The Highlanders could not
overcome a tough night of shooting, making only 15-of-55 (27.3%)
of their shots. UCR battled tough against the Aggies (19-10)
pressure defense. UCD knocked down seven three’s and
forced 18 Aggie turnovers. UC Davis played a nearly perfect
game, shooting 21-of-36 (58.6%) from the floor and out-rebounding
the Highlanders 32-29.
Both teams took turns holding
leads no larger than five throughout the first half before
UCD’s Jessica Campbell's layup in the final seconds
closed out the first-half with the Aggies up 24-22. The Highlanders
overcame a 5-of-26 (19.6%) first-half shooting performance
to trail by only two at the break.
It seemed that UCR might
have worked out the kinks in their offense during the break
by opening the half with a 9-0 run. Junior forward Amber Cox,
Gbewonyo, and sophomore guard Brittany Waddell knocked down
consecutive threes to give the Riverside a 31-26 lead just
over two minutes in.
But more of the same shots
began to roll out later in the half for the Highlanders and
the Aggie’s shots continued to find ways to fall. UCD
produced a 6-0 run to regain the lead, 38-37 ending at the
11:04 mark. UC Davis would slowly build up their lead the
rest of the way by limiting UCR to 34.5% in the second half.
Riverside again struggled down the stretch, not recording
a basket for a five minute stretch before junior forward Roney
Friend’s layup cut the UCD lead to 56-49 with 1:45 left.
Two possessions later, with
the shot clock under three seconds, Aggie guard Anna Harp
threw up a prayer and banked a shot in from well beyond the
arc to take the air out of the Highlander last-minute rally.
UCD made their next four free-throws to seal up the victory
and move on to Saturday’s championship game against
UC Santa Barbara.
Cox finished with 13 points,
Waddell scored 12 points, and junior forward Tainoisouti Lott
brought down a team-high eight boards. Davis had four players
score in double-figures with Haylee Danaghe and Heather Bates
leading the way with 13 points apiece.
It is the first conference
tournament loss in the past three seasons for this group of
Highlanders who played most of the season without 2006-07
Big West Conference Player of the Year Kemie Nkele.
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