PRESCOTT, Ariz. – The University of California, Merced women's basketball team fell 71-68 to Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on Thursday night inside the ERAU Activity Center.
The Bobcats (7-13, 6-7) loss snapped a season-long four-game winning streak. UC Merced's 68 points were the most scored in a loss this year.
Nicole Lukito highlighted the Bobcats efforts with 23 points, nine rebounds, and four blocks. She shot 80% (8-10) from the field and was 87.5% (7-8) at the foul line. Lukito, the 2X Cal Pac Player of the Week, has scored 20+ points in two of the last three games.
Niamey Guillory scored a Cal Pac career-high 15 points, while Imani Johnson tallied eleven points, eight rebounds, and three assists. Sarina Nagra scored six points.
UC Merced trailed 69-63 with 20 seconds left and 70-65 inside of ten seconds. Johnson cut the deficit to a possession with an offensive rebound putback, and then Lukito came up with a loose ball and was fouled cutting the deficit to a point with three seconds left. After two made Embry-Riddle free throws, the Bobcats half-court prayer to force overtime didn't fall.
UC Merced had to play catch-up for the majority of the game. Head coach Kellie Bernard's squad trailed 11-5 early but were able to pull even 14-14 by the end of the first quarter with the help of eight Lukito points.
Trailing 20-16, Johnson sparked a 10-2 run over a four-minute stretch to give the Bobcats a 26-22 advantage but ERAU countered with a run of their own to end the half and carried a 29-28 lead into the intermission.
The Eagles carried their momentum into the second half and made three straight shots, including a three-pointer, to go up by a game-high eight at 36-28. The two teams traded buckets over the next five minutes and the margin remained eight points at 46-38 with three minutes to play in the quarter. The Bobcats cut it down to two possessions, 51-45 going into the final frame.
UC Merced's deficit was between four and eight points for the first four minutes of the fourth quarter, but Guillory and Leilani Blecha scored back-to-back to make it a 55-53 game with 5:40 remaining. Bernard's squad tied the game 62-62 inside of 90 seconds before Embry-Riddle built their lead back up and forced the Bobcats to play the foul game the rest of the way.
UC Merced's loss was their first this season when scoring at least 65 points. The Bobcats entered the night 7-0 when doing so.
The Bobcats shot 38.8% from the field and 73.7% (14-19) from the free throw line in the setback.
Defensively, UC Merced held ERAU to just a 32.9% shooting mark and forced 15 turnovers.
Up next, UC Merced will play at La Sierra University on Saturday, February 3. Tipoff from Alumni Pavilion in Riverside, Calif., is scheduled for 6:30pm.
