MESA, Ariz. - Aubrey Hayes sunk a triple with just over six minutes left to put the Bobcats up for good and the No. 25 University of California, Merced women's basketball team tallied their 19th win of the season, 74-64 over Benedictine University at Mesa Thursday night at Heap Gymnasium.
The Bobcats (19-5, 7-2) win tied the program record for the most wins in school history, which was set last season under fourth year head coach Sarah Hopkins-Chery.
UC Merced had four players in double figures, including Hayes' game-high 19 points. The senior, who has now sunk a three-point field goal in a career-best ten straight games, shot 70% (7-10) from the floor.
Mia Belvin turned in an 18 point, five steal performance, while freshman Rainah Smith notched her fourth double-double of the season with 14 points and ten rebounds.
Haylee Owen added ten points off the bench to eclipse the 100 total point mark for the season.
Each team controlled two quarters. For UC Merced, it was the start (defensively) and the finish (offensively).
In the first quarter, the Bobcats held BenU Mesa to nine points, just three points in the final five minutes.
The Bobcats also forced the Redhawks into eight first quarter turnovers.
Offensively, Mia Belvin scored seven of her 18 points in the opening ten minutes and was the anchor for the squad that led 11-9 after the first period. She also had an assist to Aubrey Hayes to get the Bobcats on the scoreboard.
BenU Mesa evened the score at 11 on their first possession of the second quarter. Hayes broke the tie with a triple, the first of six lead changes leading up to intermission.
The final lead change in the first half was in favor of the Redhawks and it came with a bucket inside from the Redhawks post, Stephanie Orji to go up 23-21.
BenU Mesa extended their lead to 28-23 at the charity stripe. Cierra McClain cut the deficit to one possession before the break via a second chance field goal.
In the third quarter, the Bobcats found themselves down by eight points, 37-29, just over four minutes in.
The Bobcats were also down by eight at 39-31, 41-33 and 43-35 before taking over the game.
Once trailing 43-35, the Bobcats held BenU Mesa scoreless for the final four and a half minutes of the third quarter.
McClain and Owen found the bottom of the net to head into the final period down four, 43-39.
The deficit was cut to a single point after a McClain triple and it was the start of the Bobcats outscoring BenU Mesa 35-21 in the fourth quarter.
The 35 points scored in the quarter marked the Bobcats highest scoring quarter in program history.
14 of the 35 points came in the first three minutes and 23 seconds, including the triple from Hayes that put the Bobcats up for good at 53-50.
Later, Owen extended the lead to 58-51 and a Belvin bucket gave the Bobcats their largest lead up to that point in the game at 62-53. The Bobcats extended their lead to double figures via the charity stripe. With 69 seconds left, the Bobcats were sent to the free throw line five times and sunk eight of their ten free throws to secure the 74-64 victory.
The Bobcats outrebounded the Redhawks 39-36, forced BenU Mesa into 17 turnovers and held the opponent scoreless from beyond the arc.
Other notables include six rebounds each from Belvin and Kimiko Sato. Sato also added a career-high five assists in her first start of the season.
Up next, the Bobcats visit Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Arizona) on Saturday, February 2. Tip-off is slated for 4:30pm PST.
