STOCKTON, Calif. - For the third straight game, Chelsea Lidy set a new career high, as she finished with 23 points, but a big second-half by UC Davis allowed the Aggies to take a 95-87 win in the Alex G. Spanos Center Monday night.

The Tigers led by as many as 11, but UC Davis posted a big second half, outscoring the Tigers 56-43.

Najah Queenland added 17 points on 4-of-5 shooting and five assists, while Ameela Li added 11 points with four assists. Desire Finnie added eight points and five boards as the Tigers shot 53 percent for the gem (31-of-58).

UC Davis connected at 54.4 percent for the game (31-of-57) and 62 percent in the second half (18-of-29). The Aggies were led by Morgan Bertsch with 21 points, while four players finished with 16 each.

The Tigers owned a 30-26 edge in rebounding and a 38-34 advantage in points in the paint. But the Aggies forced 23 turnovers to the Tigers 15, and held a 30-13 advantage in points of turnovers.


Queenland opened with a lay-up and the Tigers took a 7-2 lead on an and-one from Lidy.

UC Davis pulled within 11-8 on a three from Pele Gianotti, before Queenland answered with a triple. Ameela Li and Jessica Blakeslee drained back-to-back triples for a 20-11 lead, but the Aggies whittled the lead down before the end of the first quarter, with four straight free throws and a three-pointer from Dani Nafekh with five seconds left. The Tigers shot 62.5 percent in the first quarter for a 26-20 lead.

The Aggies scored the first six points of the second quarter before Emily Simons finished strong inside. UC Davis snuck up in front on a three-pointer from Nafekh, before Lidy drove for two. Lidy hung and hit while being fouled, for a 33-31 lead. Simons drilled a triple from the wing as Pacific used a 10-0 run to stretch the lead to 38-31. Lidy posted another three-point play via the free throw line and Li canned a three-pointer from the corner for a 16-2 run and a 44-33 Pacific advantage. The Aggies closed the gap to 44-39 before the half.

Pacific shot 57 percent in the first half (16-of-28) while the Aggies connected at a 46 percent clip (13-of-28).  

UC Davis tallied seven-straight out of the break to take a 46-44 lead, as Pacific came up empty on each of the first three possessions. Finnie answered with a jumper, but a three from Gianotti put the Aggies up 54-50. Lidy connected on a three-ball to bring Pacific with 59-58. Lidy finished while being fouled yet again, with the free throw tying the gamy at 63-63. After a UC Davis bucket, the Tigers missed on their final possession as the Aggies led 65-63 after three.

In the fourth, Callie Owens connected on a jumper to tie the game at 65-65, but Rachel Nagel hit a three for the Aggies. Finnie brought Pacific within a bucket at 70-69, but Bertsch hit a pair of jumpers in the paint for a 78-73 Aggies advantage. UC Davis led by nine, before a lay-up from Finnie, and a pair of free throws from Queenland cut the gap to five. Gianotti added a lay-up before Simons finished inside to pull within 84-79 with 1:58 to play.

But Nagel and Bertsch hit lay-ups and a pair of free throws brought the lead to 10. Blakeslee added a put-back for the Tigers with 43 seconds to go. After a pair of UC Davis free throws, Li hit a three-pointer to cut the gap to 91-84, and after an Aggies free throw, Queenland delivered a three to bring Pacific within five, 92-87. But the Aggies hit their free throws to salt away the 95-87 victory.

Pacific falls to 2-2 on the year, while UC Davis remains unbeaten at 3-0.

The Tigers will play host to Marquette, Montana State and Santa Clara in a four-team field at the Tiger Turkey Tip-Off Thanksgiving Tournament starting Friday. Pacific and Santa Clara will not meet, with Santa Clara taking on Marquette in the opener Friday at 4 p.m., with Pacific meeting Montana State at 6:30 p.m. On Saturday, Santa Clara takes on Montana State at 1 p.m., with Pacific facing Marquette at 3:30 p.m.