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Weber State's Lanae Billy drives to the rim during a women's basketball contest against UC Davis on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Photo supplied, WSU Athletics

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Weber State's Paris Lauro puts up a shot during a women's basketball contest against UC Davis on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Photo supplied, WSU Athletics

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Weber State's Antoniette Emma-Nnopu, left, goes up for a layup against UC Davis center Megan Norris during a women's basketball contest on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Photo supplied, WSU Athletics

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Weber State's Lanae Billy dribbles toward the rim during a women's basketball contest against UC Davis on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Photo supplied, WSU Athletics

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Weber State's Sydney White directs her teammates during a women's basketball contest against UC Davis on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.during a women's basketball contest against UC Davis on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.

Photo supplied, WSU Athletics

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OGDEN — Lanae Billy’s 19 points flirted with her career-high of 22 as a Wildcat, but Weber State women’s basketball struggled with UC Davis defensively in a 75-52 defeat Wednesday night at the Dee Events Center for a second step backward in nonconference play.

Transferring to WSU (1-2) from Fort Lewis College last year, Billy helped shake the Aggies (3-0) early but Davis proved themselves capable with the deep ball, hitting 7 of 12 from downtown in the third quarter to seize control, and the Wildcats gave up 75 points for a second time this season.

Inside, WSU senior forward Antoniette Emma-Nnopu stacked a floor-high 16 rebounds and lended nine points to the effort. Still, the Wildcats struggled to reciprocate their stops offensively and finished the night with 13 team fouls to UC Davis’s eight.

Davis senior guard Nya Epps led the floor with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Sophomore guards Ryann Bennett (16 points, five rebounds), Avery Sussex (15 points, five rebounds), and redshirt senior center Megan Norris (nine points, nine rebounds) kept the pedal down for the Aggies.

The Wildcats quickly herded a 9-0 lead (comprised of a Billy 3-point jumper and two field goals between junior guard Sydney White and junior forward Paris Lauro) to force a Davis timeout less than 2 minutes from the jump.

Storming back, the Aggies bounced ahead with an 18-7 rally and ended the first quarter without a single foul. WSU coach Jenteal Jackson said a fast, dominant start — even short-lived — was a true gift considering the weapons on hand at Davis.

“I’m proud of our start,” Jackson said. “They really focused on that defensive start, and we held them to zero points in that first (2-3 minutes), so that was great. Hit some shots early, but it didn’t continue to go that way for us.

“That’s a (Davis) team that’s going to make runs. They’ve got a lot of offensive firepower, and they run their offense really efficiently. (We) expected them to make a pushback.”

Bennett ascended to 13 points before halftime, and a contentious defensive foul, called against Davis, saw WSU trail by eight with 3:43 left in the second quarter. But neither side exited the half shooting above 37%, including a combined 7 of 28 from 3-point land.

The Aggies committed three turnovers inside the final two minutes of the half, and WSU workshopped a 3-pointer by junior guard Hannah Robbins (her first of the game) inside 30 seconds. Billy led the Wildcats with 10 points and her team trailed 32-28 at the half.

Billy’s first-half contributions are only a glimpse into her full ceiling, Jackson said following her 19-point performance.

“I’m excited for the year ahead for Billy,” Jackson said. “I think people will see, too, that she’s not just a 3-point shooter this year. She really is a three-level scorer that’s going to be able to be more dynamic, so I’m excited to see that for sure, and she just needed a little more help from some others tonight.”

Two 3-point jumpers by Bennett and Epps saw Davis surge ahead by 10 in roughly the first five minutes back, as WSU opened the third quarter just 2 of 10 from the floor. WSU junior guard Makenna Shaffer-Lauer hopped off the bench for her first basket, a 3-point jumper, cutting the Aggies’ lead to 13 with little under two minutes left in the third quarter.

Epps, drilling back-to-back 3s to end the third quarter, raised Davis to 7 of 12 behind the arc in those very same 10 minutes. Epps and Bennett each reached 16 points apiece before the fourth quarter, as the Wildcats stared down a 17-point hole and a second non-conference loss.

“If you find yourself out of position, they’re going to find the open kid and they’re probably going to knock it down,” Jackson said of UC Davis at the 3-point line. “They really exploited us there in the third quarter.”

The Wildcats continue their preseason schedule with the first of four in-state preseason contests, beginning Saturday at home against Utah Tech. The Trailblazers are another heavy 3-point shooting team that Jackson anticipates testing her defense at a similar level as Davis.

It’ll also be former All-State Richfield star and Utah Tech transfer forward Nichole Willardson’s first contest against her former school. Willardson led WSU with 18 points in an 84-47 home win against Westminster last week.

“There’s going to be nights where we’re hitting and that’s feeling really good,” and we’re going to be really tough to contain,” Jackson said. “But when it’s not going down at the lick that we would like or need, we’ve got to find ways to score interior a little bit more and get some paint touches.”

Tipoff for Saturday’s home game is slated for 2 p.m. on ESPN+.

Connect with reporter Conner Becker via email at cbecker@standard.net and X @ctbecker.