HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's basketball team capped off an undefeated California Pacific Conference regular season with a 56-49 win over Westcliff on Saturday afternoon.
The Bobcats finished the regular season 15-8 overall and 10-0 in the league, marking the third undefeated Cal Pac slate in program history and first since the 2021-22 season.
UC Merced also extended its winning streak to a program-record tying 12 games, also matching the mark from 2021-22.
Nicole Lukito led the Bobcats scoring 17 points and hauling in 19 rebounds. Her performance marked her program-record 20th double-double of the season, her 13th in a row. She is now one double-double away from tying the conference's single-season double-double's record. Lukito also had two assists and two steals. She shot 66% (6-9) from the floor.
Sarina Nagra poured in 16 points while tying her career-high with eight made free throws and six rebounds.
Paloma Ramirez added nine points, three rebounds, and two steals.
Other notables include five points and four rebounds from Megan Williams and five points and two steals from Leilani Blecha.
The Bobcats got off to a great start scoring on four of their first five possessions to jump out to an 8-0 lead. The Bobcats held Westcliff scoreless for the first five minutes of the game, but the Warriors found their rhythm in the closing minutes and finished the quarter on a 17-5 run to hold the lead at the end of the period. Westcliff hit three triples in the run that sparked the offense.
UC Merced reclaimed the lead early in the second quarter with a three-pointer from Blecha and was locked in defensively the entire frame. The Bobcats remained in front the rest of the half, although the advantage was just one possession until the final 20 seconds when the Bobcats went up by five points and carried a 28-23 lead into the locker room. UC Merced held Westcliff to just six second quarter points.
The two teams traded buckets to start the second half and it was a 32-29 UC Merced lead midway through the third quarter. UC Merced then scored six straight points to take the biggest lead of the game, 38-29. Westcliff responded with a 6-0 run of their own to trim UC Merced's lead down to 38-35 going into the fourth quarter.
Westcliff pulled within one point on two occasions in the fourth quarter, but were never able to take the lead. The Bobcats led 44-42 with four minutes left and built their lead from there, starting with a Lukito jumper. Williams extended the Bobcats lead to seven points, 51-44, with 90 seconds left. From there, UC Merced finished the game hitting five of their eight free throws and got stops defensively to get the 56-49 win.
UC Merced finished the game with a season-high 23 made free throws. It marked the Bobcats most made free throws since January 27, 2024.
The Bobcats used their ability to get to the foul line to make up for hitting just one three-pointer.
UC Merced forced 20 Westcliff turnovers, but committed 19.
With the win, UC Merced swept the regular season series with Westcliff for the first time since 2018-19.
Up next, UC Merced will face Westcliff again in the California Pacific Conference Tournament Semifinals on Friday, February 28. Tipoff is scheduled for 5:30pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium in Merced, Calif.
