MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's basketball team concludes its regular season with a two-game road trip this week in Southern California. The Bobcats will play at La Sierra (Feb. 20/5:30pm) and Westcliff (Feb. 22/2:00pm).
UC Merced (13-8, 8-0) can win the California Pacific Conference Regular Season championship outright with one win this week or one La Sierra (10-9, 6-2) loss. Westcliff (9-7, 4-4) is projected to be the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Cal Pac Tournament.
Thursday's live coverage from Alumni Pavilion in Riverside, Calif. is available here: Watch | Live Stats
Saturday's live coverage from Golden West College in Huntington Beach, Calif., is available here: Watch | Live Stats
The California Pacific Conference Women's Basketball Championships will be held February 28-March 2 inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium in Merced, Calif. Friday's semifinal times are TBD with Sunday's championship set for 1:00pm.
OPENING TIP
UC Merced enters the week on a ten-game winning streak. The streak dates back to January 4 and the Bobcats are outscoring opponents by an average of 28 points per game during the streak.
UC Merced's ten-game winning streak is tied for the second longest winning streak in program history. UC Merced won a program-record 12 straight games in 2021-22, while also winning ten straight in 2018-19.
The Bobcats are one of ten teams in the NAIA with a ten-game winning streak or better. Seven of the ten teams are either ranked or receiving votes in the NAIA Women's Basketball Top 25 Poll. UC Merced, Stillman, and Johnson are the three teams not.
UC Merced is 8-0 in Cal Pac play for the third time in program history (2015-16 & 2021-22). In the last 20 years, eleven teams have started 8-0 and nine of them went on to win the Cal Pac Tournament Championship.
The Bobcats have already secured at least a share of their first Cal Pac Regular Season championship since 2015-16. UC Merced can win the league title outright with a win on Thursday night.
UC Merced is the only active Cal Pac women's basketball team to win any Cal Pac Championship. The Bobcats have won four tournament titles.
The Bobcats have won three consecutive road games and are 5-6 on the road overall this season. Prior to the three-game road winning streak, the Bobcats had lost six straight road games.
The Bobcats have won seven consecutive home games and are 8-1 inside the Gallo this year. Also of note, the Bobcats are 14-1 in their last 15 home games dating back to January 18, 2024.
Bernard's teams have combined to go 23-8 overall at home under her watch. The Bobcats are 37-12 at home since the start of the 2021-22 season and have had a winning record at home every season since 2016-17.
UC Merced is looking to sweep the regular season series with La Sierra for the first time 2019-20 and with Westcliff for the first time since 2018-19.
The Bobcats are most recently coming off a 78-62 Senior Day win over Simpson on February 15. The Bobcats, who led by double figures for 30 minutes of clock time, shot .478 from the floor and forced 25 Simpson turnovers. The field goal percentage was tied for the best in conference play this season, while the 25 forced turnovers marked the second most of the year. Head coach Kellie Bernard's team collected 18 steals. Nicole Lukito led the Bobcats with 23 points, ten rebounds, six assists, and a career-high five steals. Megan Williams went for career-high's of 20 points and five assists.
On Monday, Nicole Lukito earned her school-record ninth California Pacific Conference Player of the Week award. She has earned six weekly awards this season, including four defensive nods and two offensive distinctions. She earned three straight nods on Jan. 6, Jan. 13, and Jan. 20.
Prior to the Bobcats final Cal Pac slate, UC Merced won a Bernard-era high six nonconference games. That is also tied for the most nonconference wins of any season since 2018-19.
CAL PAC RANKINGS (CAL PAC STATS ONLY)
Nicole Lukito is top three in the league in five different categories including ranking second in the league with 16.9 PPG and is first with 15.9 RPG (2nd in NAIA). She is also first shooting 87.9% from the free throw line, third with a .494 field goal percentage, and is third with 3.1 APG. Lastly, she is tied for eighth with 1.9 SPG.
Sarina Nagra's 14.0 PPG are the fourth most in the conference. She ranks third with 13 three-point field goals while maintaining top six shooting percentages with a 47.0 FG % (4th), 38.2 3-PT FG % (2nd), and an 80.8 FT % (5th). As a facilitator, she is ranked fifth with 2.4 APG.
Megan Williams is leading the league with a .575 field goal percentage and is eighth with 11.3 PPG. She is tied for fourth with seven blocks.
Paloma Ramirez is the Cal Pac's third best rebounder averaging 6.9 RPG.
Leilani Blecha is tied for eighth with 1.9 SPG and is ninth with ten three-pointers.
UC Merced is currently leading the Cal Pac with 72.9 PPG while ranking second shooting .406 from the field. UC Merced is also first with 45.8 RPG, 15.6 APG, and a .768 FT %. The Bobcats are second in many defensive categories including holding opponents to just 49.8 PPG and limiting them to shoot just 32.9% from the floor and 21.7% from downtown.
UC Merced's 49.8 opponents PPG in Cal Pac play are the second fewest in the NAIA. The Bobcats are 38th across all games holding opponents to 59.6 PPG.
FOR THE LOVE OF NUMBERS
Nicole Lukito recorded the second triple-double in program history in a 99-48 win over Stanton on January 10. The sophomore scored ten points, grabbed 23 rebounds, and added a career-high ten assists for the program's first triple-double since Deja Jackson's on January 6, 2018. Also of note, it's the first triple-double by any Cal Pac player since La Sierra's Luiza Rodriguez on November 3, 2019.
The Bobcats are slashing .430/.310/.756 in victories compared to .339/.323/.726 in defeats.
UC Merced, who has outrebounded its opponents in ten straight games, is 12-0 this season when holding the rebounding advantage. The Bobcats have won 14 straight games dating back to last season accomplishing the feat.
Nicole Lukito has 18 double-double's this season | 22p/13r at Nobel, 18p/18r at Life Pacific, 10p/16r vs. Southern Oregon, 18p/22r at Sonoma State, 17p/18r vs. Lincoln, 10p/13r at Academy of Art, 14p/15r at Chico State, 17p/21r at Hope International, 12p/11r vs. Nobel, 17p/23r/10a vs. Stanton, 27p/17r at Cal Maritime, 16p/16r vs. PUC, 16p/16r at Simpson, 15p/18r vs. Westcliff, 11p/18r vs. La Sierra, 16p/19r at PUC, 11p/13r vs. Cal Maritime, 23p/10r vs. Simpson. Her 12-game double-double streak is a career-best.
Lukito is four double-double's away from breaking the Cal Pac single-season record of 21 currently held by Cal Maritime's Alicia Porter (2022-23).
Lukito has scored in double figures in 14 consecutive games and has grabbed 10+ rebounds in 12 straight.
The Bobcats are believed to be the youngest team in the California Pacific Conference with 70% of its roster being freshmen and sophomores. UC Merced's lone senior is Megan Williams. Madison Diaz, Elise LeBeau Gabby Martini, and Paloma Ramirez are juniors. Other teams in the league's percentage of underclassman are: Westcliff 50%, Simpson 33%, La Sierra 30%, Cal Maritime 23%, PUC N/A
The Bobcats have led at halftime in 13 of their 21 games and have won nine straight when leading at the half. Overall, the Bobcats are 12-1 this season when leading at halftime.
UC Merced hasn't trailed at halftime since February 1, when they trailed 21-17. The Bobcats four-point halftime comeback was the second biggest comeback under Bernard and the comeback win snapped a nine-game losing when trailing at halftime.
UC Merced has won 21 consecutive games when scoring 80 points or more and have hit 80 six times this year after hitting it just once all of last season. Also of note, UC Merced is 39-2 when scoring at least 80 points since the start of the 2017-18 campaign.
For the first time since the 2019-20 season, UC Merced made ten free throws in five consecutive games (11/20-12/01). It resulted in two wins in the stretch and overall the Bobcats are 8-4 when making at least 10 foul shots this season.
Earlier this season, Leilani Blecha buried a three-pointer in nine consecutive games, including hitting multiple three-pointers in seven of those games. She splashed eight triples, while hitting six in a row to start the game, on January 10 vs. Stanton. Blecha is one of just three players in program history with eight three-pointers in a game, joining Shelby Howard and Christina Castro.
AT THE HELM
Head coach Kellie Bernard is in her third season leading the Bobcats and has a 36-39 career record. She is 29-19 in Cal Pac play, including 9-1 in the last ten. Bernard is assisted by Jasmine Washington.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS (CAREER)
Nicole Lukito, who is already the program's all-time leading rebounder with 652 career rebounds, just broke into the top ten in total points with 622. She is third all-time averaging 13.0 PPG and is first with 13.6 RPG. She is also first in program history with 31 career double-double's and 1.4 blocks per game. She is second with a .809 free throw percentage, second with 30.1 minutes per game, third with a .521 field goal percentage, and is also tied for eighth with 2.2 assists per game.
Sarina Nagra is top ten in program history with 10.8 PPG (T-7th), 67 three-pointers (8th), a .332 three-point field goal percentage (7th), and a .750 free throw percentage (9th).
Paloma Ramirez is eighth in program history with 4.6 rebounds per game and is tenth having made 63 three-pointers.
Megan Williams is ranked second in program history with a .523 field goal percentage and is ninth with 21 blocks.
Leilani Blecha is ranked seventh in program history with 87 career three-pointers.
Jazzy Beltran is tied for eighth with 2.2 assists per game and is ninth with 27.2 minutes per game.
STARTING FIVE
Nicole Lukito is the only Bobcat to start all 21 games for UC Merced. Sarina Nagra has started 20 games.
Jazzy Beltran, Leilani Blecha, and Paloma Ramirez have started at least 12 games. Beltran had started nine consecutive games before missing the Chico State game on December 21.
The Bobcats have used 13 different starting lineups overall.
Eleven different Bobcats have made one start.
UC Merced is 9-0 since Megan Williams was entered into the starting lineup on January 4.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
UC Merced played its toughest nonconference schedule in the Kellie Bernard era. Of the Bobcats nonconference opponents, Southern Oregon is currently ranked third in the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll and Oregon Tech is ranked No. 22. The Bobcats played both of those teams on the road. UC Merced also played Chico State, Sonoma State, and Dominican on the road and all three of those opponents have combined to go 36-18 in their respective conferences, the CCAA and PacWest. The Bobcats fell by single digits to CCAA members Chico State and Sonoma State.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
La Sierra University is 10-9 on the year and 6-2 in Cal Pac play most recently coming off a 73-61 win over Cal Maritime. The Golden Eagles are on a three-game winning streak overall and they scored a season-high 91 points two games ago in the 91-35 win at PUC. La Sierra comes in averaging 65.9 PPG.
Head coach Kevin Mitchell is in his seventh season leading the Golden Eagles and has a record of 92-107. Mitchell has his team in the Cal Pac Tournament this year for the third time, first time since 2021-22.
Kadyn Mew leads the Golden Eagles in scoring and is fifth in the Cal Pac averaging 12.5 PPG. She is fourth in Cal Pac play with 2.9 APG and is third shooting 82.5 from the charity stripe.
Sonia Randall is a strong presence in the paint grabbing the second most rebounds of any Cal Pac player while averaging 12.1 RPG. Offensively, she is ranked seventh with 12.3 PPG and has top five shooting percentage with a .488 FG% and a 85.0 FT%.
Breonna Martinez is one of the league's top three-and-d players and is tied for fifth with eleven three-pointers and sixth with 2.3 SPG. She is ranked seventh shooting .297 from beyond the arc. She scores 10.5 PPG.
Luiza Rodriguez (5.3 RPG/8 blocks) and Symere Shelton (4.9 RPG) are also players to watch.
As a team, La Sierra is the Cal's Pac's most efficient offense shooting 42.3% from the floor and are also the hardest team to shoot against as they rank first limiting opponents to just a 31.3 field goal percentage and 21.0 three-point field goal percentage. The Golden Eagles are second shooting 28.8% from downtown and 68.8% from the foul line. They are second grabbing 43.9 RPG.
La Sierra is 8-16 all-time against UC Merced.
La Sierra is 5-3 at home this season with three straight home wins.
SCOUTING WESTCLIFF
Westcliff is 9-7 on the year and are 4-4 in Cal Pac play most recently coming off a 81-46 win at PUC on February 15. They have won two straight after dropping three in a row. Westcliff is averaging 58.8 PPG but have gone over that mark in their last two wins.
Westcliff is top three in the NAIA in three defensive categories, including ranking first in scoring defense allowing just 47.1 opponents PPG. Westcliff is ranked third in the NAIA with 15.4 steals per game and third forcing 25.9 turnovers per game.
Head coach Andre Wallace is in his first season leading the Warriors, taking the helm after serving as the senior associate head coach for Westcliff men's basketball. Wallace was on the men's staff for the Warriors 2023 Cal Pac Tournament Championship.
Hayley Berfield is the Warriors leading scorer and she is tenth in the Cal Pac averaging 10.6 PPG. A two-way player, Berfield is also tied for first in the Cal Pac with 3.6 SPG.
Jayla Reliford is the Warriors point guard and is tied with Berfield for first in the league with 3.6 SPG. She is second with 3.5 APG and is an efficient scorer ranking eighth with a 46.1 FG% while averaging 10.1 PPG.
Elaine Rivera leads the league with a 45.8 three-point field goal percentage and is tied for fifth with eleven three-pointers.
Mirakel Davidson (10.2 PPG/2.8 SPG) and Kassidy Beach (6.5 RPG/5.4 PPG) are also players to watch.
Westcliff is 4-8 all-time against UC Merced.
Westcliff, who will host Simpson tonight, enters the final week of the regular season coming off a five-game road trip.
Westcliff is 4-1 at home this season.
