Hornets get a wild win over UCD

In a matchup of two rivals who each entered the game with identical records, it came as no surprise that Sunday’s women’s basketball version of the Causeway Classic was an exciting contest.

But despite UC Davis’ Cortney French sinking a clutch 3-pointer with 10 seconds remaining in overtime, Sacramento State scored with just 1.2 ticks left to claim a 66-65 victory over the Aggies at the Hornets’ Nest.

UCD closed the nonconference portion of its schedule at 5-6, while the Hornets improved to 6-5 on the year.

Aggie Sydnee Fipps registered her first career double-double in the loss, scoring 19 points to go with 12 rebounds, with French and Heidi Johnson adding 12 points apiece. Johnson also contributed six rebounds to set her career high in both categories.

Though Sac State picked up the available 10 points in the Scholarshare Causeway Cup, UCD continues to hold a 45-17.5 lead in the annual rivalry.

“That was a great basketball game (Sunday),” said Aggie head coach Jennifer Gross. “Both teams gave everything they had and competed from start to finish. I was proud of our energy and focus throughout the game. You always hope to reward yourself with a win when you play well, but we are going to take so many positives from (Sunday) and keep growing.”

Trailing 34-28 at intermission, UCD opened the second half on a 12-2 run to take a 40-36 lead with 16:31 left in the game. The scoring stretch was dominated by Alyson Doherty, who scored five points including a trey in the opening seconds of the half, and Fipps, who scored the other seven points in the run. Fipps then tacked on a layup with 15:54 left to put the Aggies up by six.

Johnson extended UCD’s advantage to eight with a layup at the 12:35 mark, but Sacramento State began chipping away. Eventually, the Hornets came all the way back, tying the game on Kylie Kuhns’ late three-point play and sending it to overtime.

With Sac State up 64-62, French nailed the big 3-pointer to give the Aggies a brief one-point lead. However, Alle Moreno drove down the lane and went up and under Johnson to make a scoop shot and get the victory for the Hornets.

UCD opens Big West play on Saturday, traveling to Stockton to face Pacific at 4 p.m.