MERCED, Calif. - The University of California, Merced women's basketball team held Cal Maritime to just 32% from the floor and forced 28 turnovers en route its second straight wire-to-wire win, 63-48 Saturday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
The Bobcats (9-9, 3-2) are 4-0 this season and have won 25 straight games dating back to early 2015 when holding opponents under 50 points.
The stifling defense was witnessed by Bobcat fans from the opening jump as Cal Maritime came up empty on its first nine possessions and managed just four points in the opening quarter.
Throughout the night, all five Bobcat starters recorded at least two steals and three of the five blocked a shot. Haylee Owen led all players and tied her career-high with five steals.
Owen also had eight points and led all players with six assists. All of Owen's points came in a two minute stretch early in the third quarter.
Mia Belvin held game-high with 19 points on 50% (7-14) shooting. Belvin added three steals and two blocks on the other side of the court. In the running for her third straight Cal Pac Defensive Player of the Year award, Belvin has notched at least three steals in eight straight games and has 17 more than steals than anyone else in the conference.
Deyliana Lewis was good for nine points, two blocks and two steals. Lewis' block late in the third quarter was her team-leading 20th of the season and she becomes just the fifth player in program history to hit that mark, second ever true freshman (Mia Shannon). Lewis currently has six more blocks than any other Cal Pac freshmen.
Rainah Smith's night was highlighted by a season-high eleven rebounds and two steals. Ten of her rebounds were defensive, tied for the sixth highest single-game mark of any Cal Pac player in 2019-20.
Cierra McClain was a spark off the bench for head coach Sarah Hopkins-Chery. In just 15 minutes, McClain poured in a season-high 12 points. She made her first two shots and four of seven overall. It was McClain's highest scoring total since January 19, 2019.
The Bobcats led 16-4 at the end of the first quarter and after seeing the margin shrink to six at 24-18, Belvin sparked a 10-0 Bobcat run to go up 34-18. Belvin had six points in the stretch, while Smith and Lewis each had a bucket.
UC Merced led 34-21 at intermission which was its largest halftime advantage since leading Yellowstone Christian College 38-19 on November 4, 2019.
Belvin and Owen combined for six straight out of the half for a 40-21 lead and the Bobcats biggest lead of the night was 20 late in the quarter at 52-32. The Bobcats scored on five straight possessions from the 3:43 mark to the 1:57 mark. Cal Maritime ended the quarter on a 6-0 run to make it 52-38.
Neither team could get their offense going in the fourth quarter and the margin remained between 12 and 16 points nearly the entire quarter. The only time the Bobcats led by more than 16 was after a 4-0 run to go up 63-45 with 15 seconds left. Cal Maritime's Stella Havea was beyond the arc and beat the final buzzer to cap the scoring at 63-48.
Overall, the Bobcats shot 42% (23-54) from the field, 30% (6-20) from beyond the arc and 55% (11-20) from the foul line.
The Bobcats scored 27 points off turnovers and had nine second chance points.
Other notables include outscoring the Keelhaulers in every quarter. The only games this year in which the Bobcats have outscored the opponent in every quarter include Life Pacific (12/03), Westcliff (11/22) and Yellowstone Christian (11/04).
Up next, the Bobcats host La Sierra University on Thursday, January 23 at 5:30pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
