REDDING, Calif. - Haylee Owen led all scorers with 24 points and Mia Belvin recorded six steals as the University of California, Merced women's basketball team notched a wire-to-wire road win Thursday night, 61-54 over Simpson University inside the James M. Grant Center.
The Bobcats (8-9, 2-2) have won two straight at Simpson dating back to last season and played their way to a victory tonight by shooting a season-high 51% (25-49) from the floor and forcing the Red Hawks into 20 turnovers. The Bobcats also outrebounded Simpson 26-21 and led by as many as 16 points in the first quarter.
Owen's 24 points (2 shy of career-high) were evenly split between the two halves. The sophomore made six straight shots at one point and finished 67% (10-15) from the floor and 50% (4-8) from beyond the arc. Owen also grabbed a game-high six rebounds and was one of three Bobcat starters with two assists.
Belvin continued her dominance on both sides of the ball and had 15 points to go along with her six steals. Belvin has scored at least 15 points in eleven games this year and has notched 3+ steals in seven straight games dating back to December 3.
Owen and Belvin both played 38 minutes.
Rainah Smith added nine points and four rebounds, while Deyliana Lewis finished with seven points and two steals. The duo also had two assists each.
Lewis started the night by beating her defender to the basket for an easy deuce and collected three points, a rebound and a steal before Simpson could get on the board.
Up 9-6 with three minutes to go in the first quarter, Andrea Rogers sparked a 13-0 run with a tough hook shot from the right block. It took just a minute and 58 seconds for the Bobcats to score the 13 points and they managed to do so by scoring on all six possessions and forcing five Simpson turnovers. Gabriella Edmond also blocked a shot during the run that soon had UC Merced up 22-6.
The Bobcats struggled to score in the second quarter and went a little over four minutes until making their first field goal. The lead shrunk to nine at 22-13 during the drought and narrowed to 24-18 a couple plays later.
Head coach Sarah Hopkins-Chery's team got up by double figures again at 28-18 via back-to-back buckets by Lewis and Cierra McClain. Owen hit a triple just before the break but Simpson countered to make it 31-23 at intermission.
90 seconds into the second half, Lewis blocked a Briana Clark shot that led to an Owen long ball on the other end of the floor. Smith scored on the Bobcats next possession and Owen converted a baseline jumper to put her team up 38-25.
However, that was the Bobcats final bucket for the next five minutes and 20 seconds. Simpson was able to score eleven points during the span and the Bobcats 13-point lead quickly vanished to a one possession lead, 38-36.
After coming up empty six straight possessions, Owen halted the drought with a triple on a baseline out of bounds play. The three-point field goal helped the Bobcats outscore Simpson 6-2 in the final 90 seconds of the third quarter and carry a 44-38 lead into the fourth.
Belvin started the final period with a long two and an Owen score halted a Simpson 6-1 run a few possessions later to make it a 49-44 contest.
Another 6-1 Simpson run made it a one point game, 50-49 with just under five minutes left. In extreme danger of losing the lead for the first time all night, Belvin staved off any Simpson chance with a corner triple to go up 53-49. That was the only triple Belvin attempted all night.
After the triple, the Bobcats pressured Armstrong in the backcourt and she was whistled for a travel as Owen and Marisse Jackson collapsed on her.
Getting momentum back, Owen came around a Smith screen and made a layup through a pair of Red Hawk defenders to push the lead to 55-49 with four minutes left.
The Bobcats also led by six at 57-51 before extending it to 59-51 via a Smith putback.
A couple free throws from Belvin and a Simpson three-point play with the shot clock off finalized the scoring at 61-54.
The Bobcats committed 16 total fouls but only one player had four and that was Belvin who played nearly the entire game.
On the flipside, the Bobcats played victim of 13 fouls and shot 67% (6-9) from the charity stripe.
Other notables include scoring 23 points off 20 Simpson turnovers and limiting the home team to just three offensive rebounds. The three offensive rebounds allowed is the lowest this season. In comparison, UC Merced opponents are averaging 12 offensive rebounds per game.
Up next, the Bobcats return to Hostetler Court for the first time in nearly two weeks to host Cal Maritime on Saturday, January 18 inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium. The Community Night tip-off is slated for 5:30pm.
