LANCASTER, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's basketball team lost 72-51 to the reigning California Pacific Conference Champion University of Antelope Valley on Thursday night inside the Pioneer Event Center.
Emily Perez was the Bobcats (3-10, 2-4) leading scorer with 17 points and knocked down three three-pointers for the second straight night and for the third time in the last four games. She also grabbed four rebounds.
Imani Johnson added seven points and three assists. Jazzy Beltran, Sarina Nagra, and Nicole Lukito scored six points each. All four Bobcats notched a block on the defensive end.
Lukito also tallied 16 rebounds, her second consecutive outing hauling in 16 or more boards. She grabbed six on the offensive glass.
Other notables include eight rebounds from Megan Williams, seven rebounds from Paloma Ramirez, and a pair of steals from Leilani Blecha.
UC Merced's best stretch of the night was early in the first quarter, a 7-0 run that put head coach Kellie Bernard's team up 9-8. Perez splashed a triple and Beltran followed with four straight points to give the Bobcats what would be their only lead of the night.
Following the run, UC Merced was held without a field goal for the final six and half minutes of the first quarter and trailed 21-14 after the opening period.
The Bobcats deficit was between six and nine points for the entire second quarter. Perez knocked down two triples in the stretch to keep the Bobcats within ten points and it was a 34-26 UAV lead at intermission.
Lukito scored first out of the break to make it a two-possession game again but UAV countered with six straight points to grab their biggest lead of the night up to that point at 40-28 less than three minutes into the third quarter. UC Merced trailed by 14 points on a couple occasions and it was a 53-40 deficit heading into the fourth.
UAV pulled away in the final frame with a 9-0 run over the first five and half minutes. Nagra broke the Bobcats scoring drought with a made throw before the Bobcats fell behind by a game-high 23 points at 64-41 with four minutes remaining.
The Bobcats finished the night shooting a season-low 21.9% from the floor. UC Merced shot 14.3% from three-point range and 64.5% from the charity stripe.
UC Merced outrebounded their opponent for the fifth straight Cal Pac game, 50-42.
Up next, UC Merced will begin an Arizona road trip with Benedictine University Mesa on Thursday, January 11. Tipoff from the Coyote Center at Chandler-Gilbert Community College in Chandler, Ariz., is scheduled for 4:30pm PST.
