LANCASTER, Calif. - The University of California, Merced women's basketball team suffered a 90-51 setback to No. 21 University of Antelope Valley on Thursday night inside the Pioneer Event Center.
The Bobcats (14-12, 8-5) loss was the most lopsided loss since February 9, 2013 and it allowed UAV to clinch at least a share of the California Pacific Conference regular season title for the fourth consecutive season.
The Bobcats, who clinched a playoff spot last time out, will enter the upcoming conference tournament as the No. 3 seed and will take on Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on Saturday, February 29.
Six Pioneers finished in double figures in one of UAV's highest scoring Cal Pac games in program history. Tylen Price led all scorers with 17 points, while reigning Cal Pac Player of the Week Chinna Fair neared a triple-double with 15 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists.
Cierra McClain and Andrea Rogers led the Bobcats with seven points each. McClain was responsible for the Bobcats only triple of the night and also led the team with three assists. Her assists total was her highest output since January 23 and the tally tied her Cal Pac season-high.
Rogers grabbed four rebounds for a career-best third straight game and that streak is good for second on the team behind Rainah Smith.
Haylee Owen and Nia Smiley were good for six points and a rebound each, while Marisse Jackson led the Bobcats with eight rebounds. Four of Jackson's boards came on the offensive end and she moved into third place on the program's single-season charts. Smith (2018-19) and Brittany Martinez (2016-17) are the only two Bobcats ahead of her.
No starter played more than 20 minutes for the Bobcats. Mia Belvin snapped her career-long 25-game double figure scoring streak as she was limited to just two makes from the foul line.
As a team, the Bobcats shot 33% (19-58) from the floor, 9% (1-11) from downtown and 60% (12-20) from the charity stripe.
Despite the lopsided setback, the Bobcats were able to do something that few teams have done early on and that is lead the Pioneers after one quarter of play. The Bobcats are the first to do so since January 18 and the occurrence has happened just five times to UAV in Cal Pac play since the start of last season.
The Bobcats' first quarter lead was 18-16. The first five minutes were the best of the night for the Bobcats as they led 9-2 and it marked the Bobcats biggest lead against UAV since February 25, 2017. Owen led all scorers with six first quarter points. Rogers had four points in the final 90 seconds to keep the lead.
The second quarter wasn't as friendly to the Bobcats and it portrayed the final score much more than the first quarter did.
UAV scored 13 unanswered to start the frame and a 26-4 run put them up by 20 at 42-22. Smith and Tiffany Nguyen accounted for the Bobcats only field goals during the Pioneers run that took up seven and a half minutes of clock time. Belvin sunk two free throws in the final 30 seconds leading up to intermission. The Bobcats halftime deficit was 47-24, the largest since March 9, 2016 against Morningside in the first round of the NAIA National Championships.
The Bobcats deficit was between 23 and 25 points for the first four minutes of the third quarter before an 8-1 UAV run made it a 30-point game at 61-30. Smiley and Madelynn Reed accounted for back-to-back Bobcat buckets to get the margin back within 30 with 3:53 to play. A late UC Merced 5-0 run ended the quarter and the Bobcats trailed 69-41 heading to the fourth. The Bobcats only triple of the night, courtesy of McClain, came during the run.
The Bobcats didn't have a whole lot going for them in the fourth quarter and were outscored 21-10. The Bobcats were held without a field goal for the first two and a half minutes and then didn't score again until the 4:31 mark. The Bobcats trailed 80-45 at the time of the second score.
The largest deficit of the night was 90-49 with just under 90 seconds to play. Gabriella Edmond scored on the final possession of the game to avoid the most lopsided loss in program history.
UC Merced is now 2-2 this year against NAIA DII Top 25 teams. The two Top 25 wins are the most in program history, one against No. 21 Oregon Tech and more recently over No. 20 Embry-Riddle.
Looking ahead, the Bobcats visit La Sierra University in the regular season finale on Saturday, February 22. Tip-off from Alumni Pavilion in Riverside, Calif., is scheduled for 6:30pm.
