It's November - Are you ready for some UC Davis women's basketball?
It's November - Are you ready for some UC Davis women's basketball?
Aggies picked third in Big West as they open at home Monday night against Simpson University
Picked to finish third in the Big West Conference and facing a rugged non-league schedule, the UC Davis women's basketball team will open its 2024-25 season Monday (Nov. 4) at home against Simpson University of Redding.
Game time in the University Credit Union Center is 6 p.m.
In an unofficial exhibition last Sunday, the Aggies overwhelmed Stanislaus State, 105-46.
In addition to 10 Big West games at home as part of the league's regular double round robin, 14th-year UCD head coach Jennifer Gross has lined up power-packed home dates against highly regarded San Diego State (Nov. 8) and Arizona State (Dec. 15).
Perennial national power Stanford highlights a difficult non-conference road schedule that includes Montana State, Santa Clara, Portland State and Idaho.
A quirk in the calendar has the Aggies playing two Big West opponents in early December with road games at Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara.
Last season the Aggies went 13-7 in Big West play and 20-14 overall while putting together a tremendous run in the conference tournament before losing in the final game to UC Irvine.
Needing four wins in four days, UCD defeated Cal State Fullerton and Cal Poly in the first two rounds, then upset No. 1 seed Hawaii, 51-48, before finally running out of gas late in the title game against No. 2 Irvine.
Hawaii and Irvine again top the coaches preseason poll, followed by the Aggies, Long Beach State, Cal Poly, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara, UC Riverside, Fullerton, Cal State Bakersfield and Cal State Northridge.
Tova Sabel, a 5-11 guard from Stockholm, Sweden, was named to the seven-person all-Big West preseason team after averaging 13.8 points as the only Aggie who started every game last season.
Veteran point guard Sydney Burns of Wilsonville, Oregon returns after starting 33 of 34 games a year ago and finishing second in the Big West with 108 assists and being named to the league's All-Academic team.
Incoming freshman Avery Sussex from Coquitlam in southern British Columbia was a member of Canada's U18 national team.
Gross, who was named Big West Coach of the Year five times in a row from 2017-2021, has had nine straight winning seasons, including 140-71 in conference play along with 237 career wins overall.
Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com