LANCASTER, Calif. - The third-seeded University of California, Merced women's basketball team fell 84-77 to second-seeded University of Antelope Valley in the California Pacific Conference Championships Semifinal Saturday night inside the Pioneer Events Center.
Despite the loss, the Bobcats leave the conference tournament with a program-best 23-7 record and earned a plethora of milestones over the course of the 30 game campaign.
The backcourt duo of Mia Belvin and Haylee Owen paced the Bobcats offense against UAV, combining for 35 of the 77 points and five of the team's eleven assists.
Belvin, the Cal Pac Defensive Player of the Year, scored 15 of her team-high 19 points in the second half. She scored the Bobcats first seven out of the break, including a triple on the team's second possession to take what would be UC Merced's only lead in the second half at 38-37.
Owen registered a 16 point, five assist effort against the 12th ranked team in the country.
Postseason honorees Mia Shannon and Rainah Smith also finished in double figures with ten points each. Shannon neared her sixth double-double of the season with nine rebounds, while Smith stuffed the stat sheet with eight rebounds and a team-high three steals.
UC Merced shot 48% (25-52) from the floor, their second highest shooting percentage in their ten game California Pacific Conference Championships history.
The Bobcats shot 40% (4-10) from distance and 79% (23-29) from the charity stripe which upped their season average to 74%. The Bobcats became just the second team in Cal Pac history to finish with a free throw percentage of at least 74%.
The charity stripe is also where the Bobcats took the game's first lead. Belvin drew contact on the second possession and converted both shots at the line to go up 2-0.
Antelope Valley was held scoreless on their first three possessions but four straight points from Samatha Earl on the fourth and fifth trip down the floor doubled up the Bobcats, 4-2.
Midway through the quarter, the Bobcats retook the lead at 7-6 behind a pair of foul shots from Belvin.
However, UAV's T'airah Pryor gave the Pioneers an 8-7 lead at the 4:08 mark via a second chance basket and the Pioneers led for all but 30 seconds the rest of the night.
UAV threatened to take a double figure lead in the first quarter but the Bobcats bench combo of Owen and Kimiko Sato combined for ten points in the final two minutes to keep the Bobcats within single digits. The score read 22-17 after the opening ten minutes.
Owen continued her offensive success in the second period and cut the deficit to four points at 29-25. Smith made it a one possession game later in the quarter with a pair of makes at the charity stripe.
UAV built their lead to eight points but the Bobcats brought it back down to four at intermission, 37-33. The Bobcats final points of the half came due to Smith's fifth offensive rebound. Her putback was good for two of the Bobcats 14 second chance points.
Out of the break, Belvin scored five straight points to take UC Merced's final lead of the game at 38-37. UAV countered with a triple to go up 40-38, but Belvin evened the score at 40 two possessions later.
Once the 40-40 tie was broken, Antelope Valley led the rest of the night. A 10-0 Pioneer run had them up 50-40.
The Bobcats were also down by double figures at 52-42 and 55-43. Five straight Bobcat free throws narrowed the gap to single digits and the deficit was seven points, 60-53, at the end of the third quarter.
The seven point gap didn't phase the Bobcats as they came back from that same fourth quarter deficit nine days ago against then No. 10 Antelope Valley on Hostetler Court.
Shelby Bohlmann started the Bobcats best offensive quarter of the game with a triple. However, the triple came after three UAV points so the gap was still seven points, 63-56.
Trailing 65-56, Hayes headed a 6-2 run to get within five points.
Although the Bobcats continued to score, so did UAV and the deficit was between five and nine points for the game's final five and half minutes.
The five point deficits were at 77-72 (1:48) and 82-77 (:12). Antelope Valley added a pair of free throws in the final ten seconds to finalize the 84-77 semifinal affair.
Each team scored 24 points in the fourth quarter. The Bobcats shot 81% (9-11) from the floor in those ten minutes, while UAV made six field goals and ten free throws.
The Bobcats outrebounded Antelope Valley 33-30 in the defeat, including 13-11 on the offensive end. UC Merced also shot a higher percentage from the stripe and forced the opponent into 13 turnovers.
UC Merced will find out if they are selected for an at-large berth to the NAIA National Championships on Wednesday, February 27 at 4:00pm. The live selection show can be streamed here.
