MERCED, Calif. - Junior Mia Belvin poured in 18 points and delivered eight assists to propel the University of California, Merced women's basketball team to an 83-76 win over Oregon Tech Saturday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
The win improved the Bobcats (3-1) to 3-0 at home this season and 11-3 at home in the last two years.
Overall, five Bobcats scored in double figures, including Cierra McClain and Raniah Smith who both turned in career highs with eleven and ten points respectively. Senior Deja Jackson pitched in 14 points, while senior Aubrey Hayes buried a pair of triples en route to a ten-point effort.
Both teams were receiving votes coming into Saturday night's showdown and each of it's offenses took their turn exchanging buckets in the first quarter. There were ten different lead changes in the first ten minutes, including two in the final minute. However, it was Oregon Tech who ended up with a 23-22 lead heading into the second quarter.
The Bobcats came out of the huddle with a lot of energy and opened the next ten minutes on an 11-4 run to take a 33-27 lead midway through the second quarter. Belvin opened up the offensive surge with a steal that led to a Mia Shannon layup at the other end of the floor. Bohlmann put the Bobcats up six with her fifth triple of the season. Towards the end of the quarter, after a 6-0 run from Oregon Tech to tie the game at 33, freshman Gabriella Edmond sunk a triple of her own to put the Bobcats on top heading into the half. However, the 36-33 lead that the Bobcats had after the Edmond three was cut to 36-35 after a Owls bucket.
A huge third quarter is what ultimately guided the Bobcats to victory. The Bobcats made three of their first four shots to set the tone and would go onto rack up 24 points in their highest scoring quarter of the night. Jackson had ten points in the quarter, including six from downtown that gave the Bobcats a pair of seven point leads. Jackson's first three had the Bobcats up 46-39 and her second triple gave the Bobcats a 53-46 advantage with just under two minutes to go in the quarter. Belvin scored six of the Bobcats final seven points to carry a 60-49 lead into the fourth period.
Bohlmann gave the Bobcats their largest lead of the night up to that point when she sunk her second three-point field goal of the game to start the fourth quarter, extending the Bobcats lead to 63-49. The final nine minutes of the game featured three different runs. Oregon Tech embarked on the first run, 14-5, but the Bobcats quickly countered with an 11-0 run to take the eventual largest lead of the night at 79-63. Belvin and McClain accounted for all eleven points during the run.
The third run of the quarter was from Oregon Tech, a 13-0 run to come within one possession at 79-76 with 30 seconds left. Oregon Tech was forced to foul after that and Jackson and McClain each made both of their free throws to put the game out of reach and secure the 82-76 victory.
As a team, the Bobcats shot 39.1% (25-64) from the floor, 35.7% (10-28) from the floor and a stellar 92% (23-25) from the charity stripe. Belvin was 10-10 from the free-throw line.
The Bobcats also were solid at gaining extra possessions, forcing 15 turnovers and grabbing eleven offensive rebounds.
Individual notables include a pair of steals and a pair of blocks from Belvin, seven rebounds each from Smith and Shannon and two blocks from Shelby Bohlmann.
Looking ahead, the Bobcats host No. 12 Southern Oregon University on Monday, November 12, on Hostetler Court at 5:30pm.
