Sabel, Epps lead Aggie women to victory in Big West basketball opener
Sabel has 20 points, Epps 15 as UCD takes 66-60 road win at Cal Poly
SAN LUIS OBISPO ... Tova Sabel tossed in 20 points as UC Davis opened the Big West women's basketball season with a 66-60 win over host Cal Poly Thursday night before a crowd of 518 at the Mott Athletics Center.
The win evens UCD's record at 4-4, while Poly drops to 3-5.
The Aggies used a sizzling first quarter to take a 22-15 lead, hitting eight of their nine field goal attempts in the opening 10 minutes.
UCD led 34-27 at half, but the Mustangs rallied to cut the deficit to 43-41 entering the final quarter.
Leading 51-48, the Aggies went on a 7-0 run with buckets by Sabel, Nya Epps and Sydney Burns, plus a free throw from Megan Norris to open a 10-point lead.
Sabel added five rebounds to her night's work, while Epps had 15 points and five rebounds, and Norris had six rebounds to go with her seven points.
The Aggies shot 51.1 percent from the floor to get conference play off to a winning start.
UCD will travel to UC Santa Barbara Saturday afternoon for another Big West showdown, then come home Dec. 15 for a 2 p.m. non-conference game against Arizona State.
In other Big West women's action Thursday night, UCSB defeated UC San Diego, 80-66, UC Irvine dropped Cal State Bakersfield, 65-40, Long Beach State stopped Cal State Fullerton, 67-56, and UC Riverside routed CSUN, 72-48.
Reach Bob Dunning at bobdunning@thewaryone.com