SAN FRANCISCO – The University of California, Merced women's basketball team gave Academy of Art trouble, but the Bobcats couldn't come away with the victory on Sunday afternoon at Kezar Pavilion on the second day of a back-to-back.
The Bobcats (4-5) tied their season-high's with ten three-pointers, eight steals, and six blocks in the loss. UC Merced also forced 17 ART U turnovers and held a narrow halftime lead.
Sarina Nagra led the Bobcats with 17 points and tied her career-high with four assists. She shot 57% (4-7) from the three-point line, her second game of the year hitting at least four triples.
Mariah Flores finished with 15 points while connecting on 3-4 shots from beyond the arc.
Nicole Lukito stuffed the stat sheet and notched her school-record tying 20th career double-double with ten points and 13 rebounds. She added four blocks, four assists, and a career-high tying three steals to her double-double performance. She is tied with Damilola Sule for the most double-double's in program history.
Jazzy Beltran added ten points and tied her season-high's with four assists and two steals. She made a career-high five free throws.
Quinn Godfrey earned her first career start and contributed a career-high seven rebounds and a career-high two blocks.
ART U led 10-8 midway through the first quarter and then after a three-minute scoring drought from both teams, Nagra converted a three-point play and then splashed a triple a couple possessions later to help give the Bobcats a 16-13 lead. The lead stood after ten minutes of play as the Bobcats ended the quarter on an 8-3 run.
A Beltran three-pointer 90 seconds into the second quarter put the Bobcats up by six points at 19-13. However, the Urban Knights scored the next seven points to erase the Bobcats two-possession lead. UC Merced managed to build the lead back to six points towards the end of the first half with the help of Lukito, but ART U beat the halftime buzzer to make it a four-point game at intermission, 30-26.
ART U put together its best quarter of the game out of the break as they shot 56% and scored 22 points in the third period. The home team converted a three-point play on their first possession and opened the half on a 9-0 run overall to grab a 35-30 lead just over three minutes in. After a couple buckets from each side, the Bobcats used a Nagra three-pointer and a Leilani Blecha fast break basket to jump back in front 42-41. Then, ART U led 46-42 in the closing 90 seconds of the third quarter and held a 48-46 advantage entering the fourth.
Flores hit two three-pointers early in the fourth quarter to put the Bobcats on top 52-49, but the Bobcats were held without a field goal for nearly the next four minutes and trailed 60-54 with three minutes to play. Lukito converted a field goal at the 2:37 mark to bring the Bobcats within four points, but the margin didn't dip below that the rest of the way. ART U led by a game-high eight points, 64-56, with 1:12 to go before ultimately winning the game 67-62.
UC Merced finished the night shooting a season low .296 from the field. A positive, the Bobcats made at least ten free throws for the fifth consecutive game which is the longest streak since the 2019-20 season.
Sunday's meeting was the first ever between UC Merced and Academy of Art.
Up next, the Bobcats return to action in an exhibition game at Fresno State on Thursday, December 5. Tipoff from the Save Mart Center is scheduled for 6:00pm.
