ANGWIN, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's basketball team used a strong third quarter and Nicole Lukito turned in a dominant performance to lead the Bobcats to their second straight win, 75-53 over Pacific Union College on Friday afternoon.

The Bobcats (3-6, 2-2) have won back-to-back games for the first time this year and have scored at least 75 points in each victory.

Lukito led the Bobcats with a monster double-double of 16 points and 22 rebounds. The freshman became just the second player in program history with 20+ rebounds in a game and is UC Merced's first freshman with at least 17 rebounds in a game all-time. The double-double was Lukito's third of the season. She shot 63.6% from the field and grabbed eight of her 22 rebounds on the offensive glass. The Fremont, Calif., native also had three steals and two blocks.

Jazzy Beltran tallied season-high's of eleven points and four assists, while Leilani Blecha hit three triples on her way to an eleven-point outing.

Sarina Nagra scored seven points, while Niamey Guillory and Imani Johnson pitched in six points each. Johnson also had three rebounds, two assists, and a steal.

Scoring was hard to come by in the first quarter, but there were five early lead changes and it was UC Merced who was up 7-6 at the midway point of the frame. The two teams combined for just one made field goal and a made free throw over the next five minutes resulting in an 8-8 tie after a quarter.

The Bobcats got going offensively in the second quarter while scoring on their first three possessions, including a pair of jumpers from Ramirez and a putback from Lukito that gave the Bobcats a 14-10 lead. PUC countered with a 5-0 run to jump back in front before Lukito sparked a 6-0 UC Merced run that gave the Bobcats the lead for the rest of the half. UC Merced led 20-15 with the brief run and carried a 24-22 lead into the locker rooms.

UC Merced broke the game open in the third quarter with their highest scoring period of the season. Leading 35-31 at the five-minute mark, the Bobcats surged ahead with a 13-0 scoring run over a three-minute stretch. Blecha had five points in the run. Overall, the Bobcats outscored PUC 29-12 in the frame with the help of 20 points in the paint and a .571 field goal percentage.

UC Merced led 53-34 heading into the fourth quarter and extended their lead to as many as 26 points with a 7-0 run in the first two minutes. The Bobcats biggest lead of the night was 68-41 following a Faith Mucheru three-pointer with 4:10 remaining.

The Bobcats finished the night shooting 41.4% from the floor, 27.3% from downtown, and 78.6% from the charity stripe.

With the win, the Bobcats have now won 17 consecutive games against PUC. The 20 total wins are the most against a single-opponent in program history.

Looking ahead, UC Merced steps out of California Pacific Conference play for a game at Jessup University on Saturday, December 16 at 2:00pm at Warrior Arena in Rocklin, Calif.