UW’s hot second half sinks Aggie women

UC Davis got out to an early lead against a powerful Pac-12 foe on Friday, but Washington came on strong in the second half and eventually pulled away for an 81-56 women’s basketball victory at The Pavilion.

Sydnee Fipps led the Aggies (5-5) with 18 points and tied a career-high with eight rebounds while teammate Molly Greubel dished out a career-high six assists, but the Huskies (8-3) still managed to snap UCD’s three-game winning streak.

Fipps shot 7-for-15 from the field and finished in double figures for the 10th time this season. Cortney French and Alyson Doherty each finished with eight points for the Aggies.

For Washington, Jazmine Davis led all scorers, and four Huskies in double figures, with 25 points as she hit 6-of-9 from beyond the arc. Talia Walton scored 15 points, while Aminah Williams and Mercedes Wetmore added 12 and 10, respectively.

UCD jumped out to a 12-4 lead after hitting 4-of-6 from 3-point range to open the first half. French, Idit Oryon, Fipps and Aniya Baker connected on treys for the Aggies’ first four buckets of the game.

The Huskies scored seven unanswered points to pull to within one and the teams would trade baskets over the next few minutes before French sparked a 10-2 run at the 5:40 mark. She hit a layup off an assist from Fipps, then Blair Shinoda and Fipps each nailed 3-pointers before Fipps scored inside to put the Aggies up 25-17.

UCD still held a slim 29-27 halftime advantage.

However, Davis scored 20 of her 25 points in the second half to help UW take control. The Huskies shot 51.4 percent from the field and were 8-of-13 from 3-point range after the break.

The Aggies’ final lead (36-35) came on Doherty’s layup with 16:56 remaining.

Heather Corral hit a trey at the 12:51 mark to spark a 17-0 Washington run, as UCD was held scoreless for six minutes, putting the game out of reach. The Huskies led by as many as 27.

The Aggies close out their nonconference slate at Sacramento State on Sunday (2 p.m.) before Big West play begins at Pacific on Jan. 5.