RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's basketball team suffered a 73-71 setback to La Sierra University on Saturday night inside Alumni Pavilion.
Sarina Nagra led the Bobcats (7-14, 6-8) with 21 points and two steals, her second 20-point outing in the last three games.
Leilani Blecha scored a Cal Pac career-high 15 points with the help of three triples.
Jazzy Beltran pitched in nine points and two steals, while Imani Johnson was good for six points, four rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
Nicole Lukito recorded 12 rebounds, seven points, and also four blocks for the second consecutive contest. Megan Williams grabbed seven rebounds and scored five points.
Despite the loss, UC Merced held a game-high lead of 13 points towards the end of the third quarter and was still up by double figures 60-50 with six minutes to play. A La Sierra 14-4 run tied the game with two minutes left, but Nagra put the Bobcats back up 68-66 in the final minute. The host followed with a 5-0 run and finished the game defensively to beat the Bobcats.
La Sierra also started the game strong scoring on their first three possessions partnered with stops on the other end to jump out to a 7-0 lead. A pair of Blecha triples midway through the quarter gave the Bobcats their first lead at 10-9 and then Johnson scored at the peak of a 12-2 UC Merced run. The Golden Eagles reclaimed the lead 16-15 but the Bobcats jumped back in front shortly after with the help of Nagra and UC Merced carried a 20-18 lead into the second quarter.
Scoring was hard to come by in the second quarter as each team made just one field goal in the first five minutes. Both made shots were three-pointers and both resulted in a lead change. UC Merced led 23-21 at that point before seeing La Sierra score five straight for a 26-23 lead with three and a half minutes left in the first half. Head coach Kellie Bernard's squad countered with a good end to the stanza and led 29-28 at halftime.
The Bobcats grabbed their first two-possession lead of the game with a Beltran field goal and a Williams free throw a minute into the third quarter. UC Merced managed to extend the lead to seven points at 39-32 a couple minutes later with Nagra scoring all seven of the Bobcats points. The lead was also seven points at 43-36. A little later, Faith Mucheru pushed the Bobcats lead to 47-39 and then a Paloma Ramirez three-pointer extended the lead to 51-39. A Lukito bucket gave the Bobcats their game-high lead of 13 points at 53-40 20 seconds later and it was an eleven-point UC Merced advantage entering the fourth quarter.
UC Merced's lead was back and forth between 7-11 points for the first five minutes of the final frame before the Golden Eagles put together their best five minute stretch of the night to win the game. With the Bobcats up 60-50, La Sierra started their surge with an offensive rebound putback and then took advantage of a UC Merced turnover and cut the deficit down to six.
La Sierra tied the game 64-64 under two minutes. Johnson put the Bobcats back in front and then after another game-tying bucket, Nagra finished in the painted area to give the Bobcats a 68-66 lead with a minute left. However, La Sierra scored the next five points, including a deep three from the wing to take a 71-68 lead with 15 seconds left in what was their first lead since the second quarter.
UC Merced came up empty on a three-point attempt and then La Sierra made both free throws to go up 73-68, helping the seal the victory.
UC Merced finished the night shooting 38.6% (27-70) from the field, 33.3% (7-21) from three-point range, and 58.8% (10-17) at the charity stripe. La Sierra shot the same percentage from the floor.
Looking ahead, UC Merced will finish a three-game road trip at Simpson University on Tuesday, February 6. Tipoff from the James M. Grant Center in Redding, Calif., is scheduled for 5:30pm.
