UCD women sizzle in Fullerton

FULLERTON — These girls were on fire.

Freshmen Aniya Baker and Alyson Doherty scored 16 points each as the UC Davis women’s basketball team shot 60 percent from the field and a season-high 59 percent from 3-point range and cruised to an 88-44 victory over Cal State Fullerton on Thursday at Titan Gym.

Doherty and Baker each set career-high marks in scoring after combining to hit 12-of-16 from the field and 4-of-7 from beyond the arc for the Aggies (7-10, 2-4 Big West Conference).

Cortney French added 14 points as every UCD player registered points in the win. The senior also tied a career high with eight rebounds.

Another Aggie freshman, Celia Marfone, likewise matched a career-high mark with eight rebounds and scored nine points to finish just shy of a double-double. Doherty also grabbed six rebounds.

UCD’s 88 points are a season high and the most for the program since a 91-72 win over UC Irvine on Jan. 29, 2011. The 44-point margin of victory is the largest for the Aggies since the 2001-02 season.

The large margin was due not only to UCD’s hot shooting, but a defense that held Fullerton (7-11, 3-3) to a 25 percent shooting clip and limited the Titans to a 3-of-17 performance from long range.

The locals hit their first four field goals of the game, including two 3-pointers, and never looked back. Doherty sparked a 9-0 run with a jumper in the lane at the 14:08 mark, and the Aggies held the Titans scoreless for nearly four minutes.

Later, with just 30 seconds left in the first half, Baker swished her second trey of the half as the shot clock expired and UCD took a 37-22 lead into halftime.

The Aggies shot 55 percent from the field before intermission and made 5-of-9 from long range. The hot shooting carried over into the second half as UCD finished strong.

Next up for the Aggies is a Saturday (2 p.m.) matchup at UC Riverside.