The Aggies reopen conference play in Southern California on New Year’s Day evening. UCD continues to feature four players averaging double figures: Ryann Bennett at 17.3 ppg, Nya Epps 11.9, Megan Norris at 11.8, and Avery Sussex with 11.5. Norris paces the Aggies in rebounding at 10.4 a game. Davis averages 70 ppg, while giving up 64.

CSUN sits in 6th place in the Big West, and with a win, would jump past the Aggies, at least temporarily. The Matadors average 68 ppg, and allow 64. Rita Nazario is the leading scorer (13.9), with everyone else averaging under 8 ppg. Nadia Bernard and Jite Gbmuotor both pull down 5.6 boards. Northridge plays a lot of people - Nazario averages 29 minutes per game;, but no one else plays more than 20 mpg.

Looking Ahead:
With the end of preseason play, UCD is tied for 4th place in a potentially very competitive Big West. Santa Barbara and Irvine look like the teams to beat, with another 6 - lead by the Ags - in the “on any given night” tier. Riverside, Cal Poly and The Beach look like they’ll bring up the rear, but all could pull an upset or two. IF the young Ags can consistently bring their game, they look capable of challenging UCSB and UCI.

Aside from inexperience, Davis needs to guard against relying on “big comebacks” to win games in conference. Secondly, UCD needs to do a better job against a zone defense, and against physical play, than they did in the last game vs. Northern Colorado. Finally, consistency will be super important. The bench needs to become reliable, both as individuals and as a unit; the starters, especially Norris would benefit from a little more rest. And the Big 4 - Bennett, Epps, Norris and Sussex need to show up every game. The losses and unnecessarily difficult games have come when a couple of them disappeared or couldn’t get going until late in the contest.