MERCED, Calif. - The University of California, Merced women's basketball team breezed past Cal Maritime and set a program record for margin of victory in a California Pacific Conference game, winning 89-43 on Thursday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.

The Bobcats (10-7, 4-0) are perfect through four Cal Pac games for the second time in the last three seasons and the third time overall under head coach Sarah Hopkins-Chery. The Bobcats current four-game winning streak is the longest since February of 2019.

UC Merced's average margin of victory in league play this year is 30.8 points. Thursday night's record scoring margin topped the 41-point win over University of Antelope Valley just over two weeks ago. 

While the Bobcats have multiple 40-point wins this year, no other Cal Pac team has a pair of 30-point wins in league play. 

Rainah Smith notched her second straight double-double in the win, finishing with a team-high 16 points and a season-high 12 rebounds. The double-double was the ninth of her career, tied with Brittany Martinez for the second most in program history. The San Francisco, Calif., native also earned her 71st career start, passing Kayla Polman for the third most all-time in a Bobcat uniform. 

Mikayla Mabie delivered one of the team's best all-around performances in program history and became the program's first ever player with at least 15 points, seven assists, seven rebounds and six steals in a game. Her scoring, rebounding and steals numbers all marked season-high's. Mabie also shot 64% (7-11) from the floor.

Cierra McClain added ten points and set career-high's with six assists and five steals. Nia Smiley finished with a season-high ten points on 80% (4-5) shooting in just nine minutes off the bench.

Tiffany Nguyen pitched in eight points to tie her season-high. Haylee Owen was good for seven points, seven rebounds, six assists and three steals. Owen's seven rebounds marked a season-high. Thursday also marked Owen's fifth game with multiple steals and multiple assists.

Damilola Sule and Marisse Jackson each grabbed seven offensive rebounds and scored seven points. Sule finished with nine rebounds overall, one short of tying her career-high set last time out at Simpson.

Overall, ten Bobcats made at least two field goals. UC Merced shot 43% (39-90) as a team. Their 90 field goal attempts marked a program record, besting the previous high of 88 at Saint Katherine on December 18, 2017.

The Bobcats highest scoring quarter was their first as defense turned into offense, as well as a 26-8 lead after ten minutes of play. The Bobcats forced nine turnovers in the first quarter alone. Hopkins-Chery's team's best stretch was a 13-0 run that had them up 16-3 at the midway point of the opening frame. After a Maritime triple, the Bobcats then surged ahead with a 10-0 run to go up by 20 points.

Seven straight points to start the second quarter set the Bobcats up for what eventually became a 34-point advantage prior to intermission, 46-12. Cal Maritime scored the final six points of the half and it was 46-18 Bobcats heading to the locker rooms.

To start the second half, Mabie splashed a triple and then combined with Smith to score the next 10 unanswered points to go up 40+ at 59-18. The Bobcats also led by a third-quarter high 41 points on three other occasions, including at 65-24.

The margin was between 36 and 40 points for the first eight minutes of the fourth quarter until Owen sparked a game-ending 10-2 run with a three-pointer. Sule was responsible for the game's final basket, grabbing her own miss and going right back up for the deuce to make it 89-43.

Not only was the Bobcats win over Cal Maritime the biggest in program history, it also marked the 12th straight win over the Keelhaulers dating back to 2015. The game was the 19th in the all-time series which is tied for the most games UC Merced has ever played against a single opponent.

Looking ahead, the Bobcats visit Pacific Union College on Saturday, February 5 to start another four-game road trip. Tipoff from The Covered Wagon in Angwin, Calif., is scheduled for 7:00pm.