As teams head into the last half of conference play, each game takes on added importance. When the Aggies visit the Thunderdome on Thursday, it’s not quite a “must-win” game, but it’s pretty close. The 2nd place Ags, want to stay on the heels of 1st place UCSD, which comes to Davis next week, as well as stay ahead of UC Irvine. And, since the Gauchos won the first meeting in Davis, UCD returning the favor in Santa Barbara could be crucial in determining seeding for the Big West Tournament.

Beating the Gauchos, especially on their home court won’t be easy. UCSB sits ahead of the Aggies in most team stat categories, though it’s close in many. The Gauchos average 69 ppg to UCD’s 70, but concede only 59 while the Aggies give up 64. Santa Barbara also holds a significant advantage in shooting and defending the 3-ball. Zoe Borter and Olivia Bradley lead UCSB in scoring, both right at 15 ppg. Bradley (6.4) also paces her team on the boards, followed by Julia Puente-Valverde (6.1) and Chauncey Anderson (4.5). Though rebounding is one area the Aggies are clearly superior, the Gauchos out-border Davis by three in their previous contest.

The Ags counter with a quartet of players averaging double digits: Ryann Bennett (15.1) ppg, Megan Norris (12.9), Nya Epps (12.6), and Avery Sussex (11.2). Norris also paces the Aggies in rebounding at 12.3 rpg, far and away tops in the Big West - and 3rd nationally - with Tegan Young adding 4.5 boards a contest. The problem for Davis has been inconsistency from three of its four top scorers. Megan Norris has been incredibly consistent, both scoring and rebounding, during conference play. Unfortunately, the recent pattern has been that one of the others has a huge game, while one or two have a poor shooting night and score well below average. And while the bench has provided valuable minutes in many ways, picking up the scoring load has seldom been one of them. Not surprising when four of the five available substitutes are freshmen.

Fatigue is likely a big factor in the lack of consistency. All five starters are playing more minutes than they ever have, particularly Ryann Bennett (almost 2x), and Avery Sussex (more 3x) But to win games down the stretch, all of Davis’ best players will have to get a second wind, and play well more consistently at the offensive end. Or the bench will need to become more of a factor offensively.