SAN DIMAS, Calif. - The University of California, Merced women's basketball team jumped out to an 8-0 lead and never looked back in its first wire-to-wire victory of the year, 53-40 over Life Pacific University Tuesday night on Mohl Court.
The Bobcats (6-5) have won two road games in the last four days and three straight dating back to November 22.
UC Merced's 40 points allowed marks the best defensive road effort since giving up 37 at University of Saint Katherine on December 18, 2017. En route to the suffocating performance, the Bobcats forced 21 turnovers and held the Warriors to 35% (17-49) from the floor.
Offensively the Bobcats were led by the first two California Pacific Conference Players of the Week, Haylee Owen and Mia Belvin.
Owen was good for 14 points and buried two triples for the eighth straight game. Owen joins Aubrey Hayes (2018-19) and Shelby Howard (2013-14) as the only players in program history to accomplish that feat. Howard currently holds the longest streak in program history as she made at least two long balls in the final ten games of the 2013-14 campaign.
Owen was also good for a career-high tying eight rebounds, four steals and two assists in the Tuesday night victory.
Mia Belvin tallied 12 points and three steals, while Marisse Jackson and Rainah Smith each had six points and ten rebounds.
Half of Smith's points came on the opening possession as she fought through contact for a three-point play. Owen followed with a bucket inside and Cierra McClain buried her first triple since November 21 to grab the 8-0 lead 101 seconds into the game.
The Bobcats held Life Pacific scoreless for roughly the first three and half minutes before Rachel Capina knocked down a shot from beyond the arc. Capina's three sparked a 10-4 Warrior run that brought the home team within a pair at 12-10.
Tiffany Nguyen helped build the lead back to two possessions and a strong end to the quarter from Owen had the Bobcats up 20-12 at the first break. The Bobcats managed to hold the Warriors without an offensive rebound in the opening period and outrebounded them 11-4, 55-33 in the game. The +22 rebounding margin is the largest since November 4 but the largest in a road game since December 7, 2018.
In the second quarter, Belvin notched a steal and score to put UC Merced up by double figures for the first time, 22-12. The lead grew to 14 points midway through the period after Deyliana Lewis knocked down the second triple of her career.
Although the 14 point lead didn't last long, the Bobcats maintained a double figure lead the rest of the half and carried a 31-20 advantage into the locker rooms.
Belvin opened up the second half with an open three in transition off a feed from McClain. The 34-20 lead shrunk as minutes ticked off the third quarter clock and it got down to six points late in the frame, 36-30. Owen halted the Warrior 10-2 run with a long ball and Gabriella Edmond followed with three points of her own as the quarter came to a close. Head coach Sarah Hopkins-Chery's team led 42-30 entering the fourth quarter, the largest lead after 30 minutes since November 4.
UC Merced led by double figures for all but two minutes in the fourth quarter but did lead by at least nine the entire time. Jackson had the first four points of the frame and also had an assist a few minutes later on an Owen long ball.
Smith accounted for the Bobcats final points of the night at the charity stripe in the 53-40 victory.
Overall, the Bobcats shot 27% (19-70) from the field, 19% (5-26) from downtown and 63% (10-16) at the foul line. More than half of the Bobcats' points came off an offensive rebound or a Warrior turnover.
The Bobcats finished with ten assists and have now won seven of their last ten dating back to last season when accomplishing that feat.
Owen, Belvin, Smith and Lewis each had two assists. Edmond grabbed four rebounds and tied her career-high with two steals off the bench.
Up next, the Bobcats host Westcliff University on Monday, December 8. Tipoff inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium is scheduled for 5:30pm.
