PRESCOTT, Ariz. - The University of California, Merced women's basketball team dropped their first leg of a three-game road trip, 75-63 to 2019 Cal Pac co-regular season champion Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Thursday night.
Despite the loss, the Bobcats (7-8, 1-1) are the first Cal Pac team to score at least 63 points in the ERAU Activity Center since January 31, 2018 and are just one of three Cal Pac teams in the last two years.
Playing 5,367 feet above sea level, Mia Belvin tallied a game-high 17 points on 55% (6-11) shooting. The senior guard also led all players with four steals and has a Cal Pac best eleven through the first two games of conference play.
Rainah Smith registered her seventh career double-double and second of the season with 13 points and a game-high ten rebounds. Smith missed just one shot en route to her season-high scoring effort and she was 86% (6-7) overall from the floor.
Haylee Owen played a game-high 37 minutes and stuffed the stat sheet with 12 points, a season-high seven assists, six rebounds and two steals. Marisse Jackson and Cierra McClain added six points each, while Deyliana Lewis grabbed seven rebounds and tied her career-high with three blocks.
The first five minutes of the contest featured four lead changes and the contest was tied 13-13 with three minutes to go in the opening period. Belvin broke the 13-13 tie with a triple right in front of the Eagles bench, which marked the first time either team gained an advantage of three or more points The Eagles Danae Ruiz quickly closed the gap with a jumper but head coach Sarah Hopkins-Chery's team ended the first quarter on an 8-0 run to go up 24-15.
Lewis sparked the run with a basket inside off an Owen assist, while Belvin and McClain each knocked down a three-pointer in the quarters final minute. The Bobcats have now scored a season-high 24 first quarter points twice in the last ten games.
However, the momentum didn't carry into the second quarter and the Bobcats were held scoreless for the first three and a half minutes. The lead stayed semi intact though and Victoria Farris stopped the drought with her first career field goal to go up 26-21.
The Bobcats also led by five at 28-23 after a Jackson score midway through the period.
ERAU buckled down once again and forced five Bobcat turnovers in the next eight possessions. The home team came within a point with just over two minutes to play and Melissa Pfeifer gave the Eagles a 29-28 lead 79 seconds prior to intermission. Both teams added a field goal in the final minute and it was the Eagles in front 31-30 at halftime. The two teams combined for 16 second quarter turnovers, nine of them committed by the Bobcats.
The Bobcats got the ball first out of the break and a Smith putback had the Bobcats up 32-31. Off a turnover, Smith buried a baseline jumper and Belvin capped off a 6-0 UC Merced run with a spin move down low and a layup on the right block. Belvin's bucket put the Bobcats up 36-31 less than 90 seconds into the second half.
The rest of the third quarter was a game of runs. ERAU stormed back to take a 39-38 lead that was quickly followed by an 8-0 Bobcat run to muster a 46-39 advantage. Gabriella Edmond had five of the Bobcats eight points during the stretch.
ERAU responded with a game-high 10-0 run for another lead change and the Eagles led 50-48 at the end of the quarter.
Behind four Owen points and a block from Lewis, the Bobcats managed to grab a 54-52 lead two and a half minutes into the final frame. The game was tied 56-56 and 58-58 midway through the quarter. An Owen triple put the Bobcats up 61-58 but Ruiz matched it a couple possessions later and it was 61-61 with three minutes to go.
However, Ruiz's triple was the first basket of an 11-0 game-changing Eagle run that gave the home team a 69-61 lead with 83 seconds left. Belvin halted the Eagles run with a trip to the foul line but the Bobcats couldn't get within two possessions and ended up falling 75-63.
Overall the Bobcats shot 43% (25-58) from the field, 28% (6-21) from beyond the arc and 41% (7-17) from the charity stripe. Thursday night marked the second time this season the Bobcats shot over 40% from the field but the 41% free throw mark is the lowest since the season opener on October 26, 2018.
ERAU shot 44% (28-63) overall and scored 30 points off 25 Bobcat turnovers.
Looking ahead, the Bobcats visit Benedictine University Mesa on Saturday, January 11 in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. Tip-off from the Coyote Center at Chandler-Gilbert Community College is scheduled for 4:30pm PST.
