REDDING, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's basketball team fell 53-51 to Simpson University on Tuesday night inside the James M. Grant Center.
The Bobcats (7-15, 6-9) loss was their third in a row decided by one possession.
Nicole Lukito highlighted the Bobcats efforts with 13 points and 15 rebounds for her eleventh double-double of the season. The freshman becomes just the 14th player in Cal Pac history with at least eleven double-double's in a campaign. Lukito also had two steals.
Jazzy Beltran matched her career-high with 12 points and made all three of her three-pointers. Her three triples, all in the third quarter, marked a career-high and she is one of just eight players in program history to make at least three shots from downtown without a miss.
Imani Johnson finished with nine points and seven rebounds, while Leilani Blecha scored eight points and tallied a career-high four steals. Paloma Ramirez was good for seven points and five rebounds.
Other notables include four rebounds from Megan Williams and three steals from Sarina Nagra.
UC Merced led 44-29 going into the fourth and 47-32 with five minutes left but got outscored 21-4 the rest of the way in the loss. UC Merced had a chance to win the game with a straightaway triple but came up empty in the final seconds.
Despite the loss, UC Merced's 53 points allowed marked the second lowest scoring output for an opponent this season. The Bobcats limited Simpson to just a .333 field goal percentage and a .095 (2-21) three-point percentage while forcing 17 turnovers.
Simpson entered the night as the Cal Pac's best defensive team and both teams showed their defensive talents early as only a combined 13 points were scored in the first quarter with UC Merced holding a 7-6 advantage. Lukito scored four of the Bobcats seven points making her only field goal attempt and a pair of free throws.
Scoring picked up a touch in the second quarter and UC Merced outscored the Red Hawks 13-10 in the frame, but 13 of the combined 23 points were scored within the first four minutes. UC Merced led 14-13 at that point and then a few minutes later Beltran and Blecha each scored off a turnover to put the Bobcats up 18-13. Bernard's squad would lead 20-16 at intermission.
The Bobcats scored the first five points of the third quarter highlighted by a Blecha three-pointer and the defense held Simpson without a point for nearly the first three minutes. UC Merced led 25-16 before Simpson followed with a 6-0 run to get it back to a one possession game. UC Merced managed to build their lead back up to nine points a few minutes later at 33-24 after a pair of Beltran three-pointers and then Blecha followed suit with her second long ball of the period to extend the lead to 12 points. After the advantage was nearly cut in half, Ramirez converted a three-point play and then another Beltran three-pointer and two Johnson free throws put UC Merced up 44-29 heading into the fourth quarter.
UC Merced's biggest lead of the game was 17 points after Ramirez scored on the Bobcats first possession of the final frame. However, that was one of just three field goals the Bobcats made in the final quarter. Simpson started their comeback with a 10-1 run over the next five minutes before Johnson got a field goal to go which had the Bobcats up 49-40 with four minutes left. A 12-0 Simpson run was next that allowed the Red Hawks to take a 52-49 lead under 90 seconds. The Red Hawks scored on all six of its possessions during the stretch while forcing one UC Merced turnover and four missed field goals. Johnson stopped the run with a score and then the Bobcats played the foul game and still had a chance to win the game or force overtime with five seconds left. Out of a timeout, the Bobcats inbounded the ball near midcourt and got a straightaway triple off but the shot didn't fall, ending the game.
UC Merced finished the night shooting 35% from the field, 33% (5-13) from downtown, and 44% (8-18) from the foul line.
Up next, UC Merced will host University of Antelope Valley on Saturday, February 10 at 2:00pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium in Merced, Calif.
