# UC Davis Aggies women's basketball

The UC Davis Aggies Women's Basketball team represent the University of California, Davis in Davis, California, United States. The school's team currently competes in the Big West Conference.

## History

After taking part in an NCAA Division II program, the UC Davis women's basketball team transitioned to the NCAA Division I level in 2003–04, officially competing as a member of the Big West Conference in 2007–08.
Entering the 2020–21 season, the Aggies have won five Big West Conference regular season titles (2009–10, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20) and two Big West Tournament titles (2011, 2019) in their combined 13 Division I seasons. UC Davis is one of the three schools in league history to win at least four consecutive Big West regular season titles, joining UC Santa Barbara (1996–2005) and Long Beach State (1985–1989).
The Aggies have twice advanced to the NCAA Tournament (2011, 2019) as the automatic qualifier out of the Big West Conference. They have earned five berths to the WNIT, including an "Elite Eight" appearance in 2018 and a "Sweet 16" appearance in 2017.
As of 2020, UC Davis has posted a 248–160 (.608) overall record as a Division I program, including a 135–69 (.662) record in Big West Conference play.

### National Affiliations

* AIAW Division III: 1971–72 to 1980–81
* NCAA Division II: 1981–82 to 2002–03
* NCAA Division I: 2003–04 to present (provisional from 2003 to 2007)

### Conference affiliations

* Golden State Conference: 1977–78 to 1981–82
* Northern California Athletic Conference: 1982–83 to 1997–98
* California Collegiate Athletic Association: 1998–99 to 2003–04
* Independent: 2004–05 to 2006–07
* Big West Conference: 2007–08 to present

## Season records

| Season | Record | Conference record | Place | Coach | Postseason |
| 1971–72 | 14–3 | — | — | Deanna Sciaraffa | NCAIC Champions |
| 1972—73 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1973–74 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1974–75 | 9–7 | — | — | Pam Gill | — |
| 1975–76 | 13–7 | — | — | Pam Gill | — |
| 1976–77 | 5–11 | — | — | Pam Gill | — |
| 1977–78 | 15–8 | 12–2 | 1st | Pam Gill | — |
| 1978–79 | 17–8 | 10–4 | 3rd | Pam Gill | — |
| 1979–80 | 20–9 | 10–2 | T-1st | Royal Morrison | — |
| 1980–81 | 23–8 | 11–3 | 2nd | Pam Gill | AIAW Division III Quarterfinals |
| 1981–82 | 11–16 | 7–7 | 4th | Pam Gill | — |
| 1982–83 | 14–12 | 9–5 | 3rd | Pam Gill | — |
| 1983–84 | 15–12 | 11–3 | 2nd | Pam Gill | NCAC Shaughnessy First Round |
| 1984–85 | 7–19 | 6–8 | 3rd | Pam Gill | NCAC Shaughnessy First Round |
| 1985–86 | 17–10 | 10–2 | 1st | Pam Gill | NCAA Division II West Region First Round |
| 1986–87 | 16–12 | 8–4 | T-2nd | Ellen O'Connor | NCAC Shaughnessy Final |
| 1987–88 | 18–11 | 10–2 | T-1st | Pam Gill-Fisher | NCAA Division II West Region First Round |
| 1988–89 | 20–6 | 12–2 | 2nd | Jorja Hoehn | NCAC Shaughnessy First Round |
| 1989–90 | 20–8 | 11–3 | 2nd | Jorja Hoehn | NCAA Division II West Region First Round |
| 1990–91 | 26–5 | 13–1 | T-1st | Jorja Hoehn | NCAA Division II West Region Final |
| 1991–92 | 25–3 | 11–1 | 1st | Jorja Hoehn | NCAA Division II West Region Final |
| 1992–93 | 19–7 | 9–3 | T-1st | Jorja Hoehn | NCAA Division II West Region First Round |
| 1993–94 | 22–7 | 9–3 | 2nd | Jorja Hoehn | NCAA Division II West Region Second Round |
| 1994–95 | 25–4 | 11–1 | 1st | Jorja Hoehn | NCAA Division II West Region Final |
| 1995–96 | 25–4 | 14–0 | 1st | Jorja Hoehn | NCAA Division II West Region Final |
| 1996–97 | 29–3 | 14–0 | 1st | Sandy Simpson | NCAA Division II "Elite Eight" |
| 1997–98 | 23–7 | 12–2 | T-1st | Jorja Hoehn | NCAA Division II West Region Final |
| 1998–99 | 25–4 | 18–2 | 1st | Sandy Simpson | NCAA Division II West Region Final |
| 1999–00 | 17–8 | 14–6 | 2nd | Sandy Simpson | — |
| 2000–01 | 16–11 | 12–10 | T-6th | Sandy Simpson | — |
| 2001–02 | 18–9 | 14–8 | 4th | Sandy Simpson | — |
| 2002–03 | 17–10 | 13–9 | 4th | Sandy Simpson | — |
| 2003–04 | 16–12 | 11–11 | T-6th | Sandy Simpson | — |
| 2004–05 | 9–18 | — | — | Sandy Simpson | — |
| 2005–06 | 16–12 | — | — | Sandy Simpson | — |
| 2006–07 | 13–16 | — | — | Sandy Simpson | — |
| 2007–08 | 19–12 | 9–3 | 2nd | Sandy Simpson | WNIT First Round |
| 2008–09 | 11–18 | 7–9 | 5th | Sandy Simpson | Big West Tournament First Round |
| 2009–10 | 21–11 | 11–3 | 1st | Sandy Simpson | WNIT First Round |
| 2010–11 | 24–9 | 10–6 | 4th | Sandy Simpson | Big West Tournament Champions NCAA Tournament – First Round |
| 2011–12 | 17–13 | 9–7 | 4th | Jennifer Gross | Big West Tournament First Round WNIT First Round |
| 2012–13 | 12–18 | 7–11 | 7th | Jennifer Gross | Big West Tournament First Round |
| 2013–14 | 15–16 | 9–7 | T-4th | Jennifer Gross | Big West Tournament Quarterfinals |
| 2014–15 | 15–16 | 8–8 | T-5th | Jennifer Gross | Big West Tournament Semifinals |
| 2015–16 | 19–13 | 10–6 | 4th | Jennifer Gross | Big West Tournament Championship Game |
| 2016–17 | 25–8 | 14–2 | 1st | Jennifer Gross | Big West Tournament Semifinals WNIT "Sweet 16" |
| 2017–18 | 28–7 | 14–2 | 1st | Jennifer Gross | Big West Tournament Championship Game WNIT "Elite Eight" |
| 2018–19 | 25–7 | 15–1 | 1st | Jennifer Gross | Big West Tournament Champions NCAA Tournament – First Round |
| 2019–20 | 17–12 | 12–4 | 1st | Jennifer Gross | Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2020–21 | 13–3 | 9–1 | 1st | Jennifer Gross | Big West Tournament Champions NCAA Tournament – First Round |
| 2021–22 | 15–13 | 8–8 | 7th | Jennifer Gross | Big West Tournament Semifinals |
| 2022–23 | 16–14 | 12–7 | 4th | Jennifer Gross | Big West Tournament Quarterfinals |
| 2023–24 | 20–14 | 13–7 | 5th | Jennifer Gross | Big West Tournament Finals |

## Coaches

Source
All coaching records as of the 2022–23 season.
| Coach | Seasons | Years | Wins | Losses | Pct. |
| Deanne Sciaraffa | 1971–1972 | 1 | 14 | 3 | .824 |
| Pam Gill-Fisher | 1975–1979 1981–1986 1987–1988 | 12 | 164 | 129 | .560 |
| Royal Morrison | 1979–1980 | 1 | 20 | 9 | .690 |
| Ellen O'Connor | 1986–1987 | 1 | 16 | 12 | .571 |
| Jorja Hoehn | 1988–1997 | 9 | 205 | 51 | .801 |
| Sandy Simpson | 1996–1997 1998–2011 | 14 | 251 | 153 | .621 |
| Jennifer Gross | 2011–present | 12 | 252 | 162 | .609 |
Head coach Pam Gill–Fisher was a student-athlete (basketball, softball, volleyball, tennis, and field hockey), coach, and administrator, at UC Davis. She was inducted into the Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame twice, once as a student-athlete in 1984 and once as a coach and administrator in 2012. She led UC Davis women's basketball to a total of 164 wins over 12 seasons, earning Northern California Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honours in 1986. She also served as head coach for the Aggies' women's volleyball and tennis teams, including an NCAA Division II national title in tennis in 1990.
Jorja Hoehn ranks second in wins with 205 victories in nine seasons, won the WBCA 1995 Division II National Coach of the Year, and Northern California Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1995 and 1996. The Aggies reached the NCAA Division II West Regional Final six times and reached the NCAA Tournament in eight of her nine campaigns. She was inducted into the Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005.
Sandy Simpson coached the team for 14 seasons and holds the school record for coaching victories with 251. He played for the Aggie men's team and was an assistant for the women's program before becoming the interim head coach for the 1996–97 where he was named the Northern California Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 1997. He was the interim coach again in 1998–99, earning the California Collegiate Athletic Association Coach of the Year, and was named the permanent head coach in 1999. He was the coach during the transition to Division I and earned the Big West Conference Coach of the Year in 2008 and 2010. In 2008, he led UC Davis to a second-place finish in the standings and advanced to the Big West Tournament championship game, becoming only the second team in league history to reach the championship game and earn a postseason berth in its first year in the conference. In his final season, led fourth-seeded UC Davis to the Big West Tournament Championship over top-seeded Cal Poly in 2011 and the program's first berth in the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
Jennifer Gross served as an assistant and associate head coach under Sandy Simpson from 2004 until he retired in 2011. She has since won both the Big West Conference Championship and the Big West Conference Coach of the Year in five consecutive seasons from 2017 to 2021 and was a finalist for the WBCA 2018 National Coach of the Year Award. She was inducted into the Cal Aggie Athletics Hall of Fame in 2003 as a student-athlete for her four seasons with the Aggies from 1993 to 1997, setting school records for career assists (448), steals (300), and three-pointers made (163). Gross, along with her assistant coaches, Joe Teramoto, Matt Klemin, & Des Abeyta lead the program to 2 Big West Championships in 2019, and 2021. On February 8th, 2025, Gross became the winningest coach in program history, when her Aggies beat CSU Fullerton. This was Gross's 252nd win, passing the previous head coach, Sandy Simpson. Gross is currently married to assistant coach, Joe Teramoto and they have 2 kids, Josh and Amelia.

## Postseason
### NCAA Division I tournament results

UC Davis has advanced to the NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament three times, all as an automatic qualifier from the Big West Conference. The Aggies are 0–3 in NCAA Tournament play.
| Season | Seed | Round | Opponent | Result | Location |
| 2011 | #16 | First Round | #1 Stanford | L, 86–59 | Stanford, California |
| 2019 | #15 | First Round | #2 Stanford | L, 79–54 | Stanford, California |
| 2021 | #12 | First Round | #5 Missouri State | L, 70–51 | San Antonio, Texas |

### Women's National Invitation Tournament results

UC Davis has made five appearances in the Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT). The Aggies are 5–5 all-time in the WNIT, including an "Elite Eight" appearance in 2018 and a "Sweet 16" appearance in 2017. The wins over Utah and Colorado State in 2017 were the program's first postseason wins as a Division I program. The five WNIT victories overall are the most of any Big West Conference school as of 2019–20, while the "Elite Eight" berth in 2018 marked the furthest that any Big West Conference school had advanced in that tournament under its current format that began in 1998.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result | Location |
| 2008 | First Round | Gonzaga | L, 81–60 | Spokane, Washington |
| 2010 | First Round | California | L, 74–69 | Berkeley, California |
| 2012 | First Round | Oregon State | L, 66–48 | Corvallis, Oregon |
| 2017 | First Round Second Round "Sweet 16" | Utah Colorado State Washington State | W, 72–62 W, 58–57 L, 71–62 | Salt Lake City, Utah Fort Collins, Colorado Pullman, Washington |
| 2018 | First Round Second Round "Sweet 16" "Elite Eight" | Idaho Wyoming Kansas State Indiana | W, 82–62 W, 74–64 W, 71–69 L, 81–66 | Davis, California Laramie, Wyoming Manhattan, Kansas Bloomington, Indiana |

### NCAA Division II Tournament results

UC Davis made 12 appearances in the NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament with a 12–12 record. The Aggies advanced to the "Elite Eight" of the 1997 NCAA Division II Tournament, reaching the semifinals before falling to Southern Indiana, 70–62, and finishing third nationally with a 76–61 win over Bentley in the third-place game.
| Season | Round | Opponent | Result | Location |
| 1986 | First Round | Cal State Northridge | L, 68–57 | Northridge, California |
| 1988 | First Round | Cal Poly Pomona | L, 88–52 | Pomona, California |
| 1990 | First Round | Stanislaus State | L, 78–70 | Davis, California |
| 1991 | First Round Regional Final | Stanislaus State Cal Poly Pomona | W, 64–45 L, 58–56 | Turlock, California Pomona, California |
| 1992 | First Round Regional Final | Cal Poly Pomona Portland State | W, 69–49 L, 83–56 | Pomona, California Portland, Oregon |
| 1993 | First Round | Portland State | L, 64–61 | Portland, Oregon |
| 1994 | First Round Second Round | Cal Poly Pomona Cal State San Bernardino | W, 58–56 L, 85–62 | Pomona, California Portland, Oregon |
| 1995 | First Round Second Round | Cal State Dominguez Hills Portland State | W, 52–42 L, 82–71 | Portland, Oregon |
| 1996 | Second Round Regional Final | Chico State Portland State | W, 80–52 L, 70–66 | Davis, California |
| 1997 | Second Round Regional Final "Elite Eight" 1st Round "Elite Eight" Semifinal "Elite Eight" 3rd Place | Cal Poly Pomona Seattle Pacific West Texas A&M Southern Indiana Bentley | W, 79–52 W, 74–69 W, 73–70 L, 70–62 W, 76–61 | Davis, California Davis, California Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks, North Dakota |
| 1998 | First Round Second Round Regional Final | Cal Poly Pomona Montana State Billings Seattle Pacific | W, 72–61 W, 69–66 L, 91–82 (OT) | Seattle, Washington |

### AIAW Division III tournament results

The Aggies made one appearance in the AIAW National Division III basketball tournament, with a combined record of 0–1.
| Year | Round | Opponent | Result |
| 1981 | First Round | Concordia (OR) | L, 52–68 |