MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's basketball team will play Pacific Union College on the road (Feb. 6/5:30pm) before returning home to host Cal Maritime (Feb. 8/2:00pm) inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
UC Merced (11-8, 5-0) remains the only unbeaten team in Cal Pac play, while PUC (0-12/0-5) and Cal Maritime (5-13, 1-4) are sitting outside the playoff picture at the midway point of the league schedule.
Live coverage is available here on Thursday night: Watch | Live Stats
Saturday's live coverage is available here: Watch | Live Stats
Saturday's game will be a "Pink Out" with all fans encouraged to wear pink clothing to support the fight against cancer. The first 150 fans to the game will get a pink T-Shirt.
SETTING THE STAGE
UC Merced is riding a seven-game winning streak, the longest streak under head coach Kellie Bernard and the longest since the 2021-22 season. UC Merced won 12 straight games and went 10-0 in Cal Pac play in 2021-22, winning the tournament title.
UC Merced is 5-0 in Cal Pac play for the third time in program history. Each of the last two times UC Merced started 5-0 in the league, the Bobcats finished the conference slate undefeated and won the Cal Pac Tournament Championship (2015-16, 2021-22).
The Bobcats are most recently coming off a thrilling 54-52 win over La Sierra on February 1 in a battle for first place in the Cal Pac standings. Sarina Nagra hit a game-winning three-pointer with 2.9 seconds remaining to keep the Bobcats perfect in Cal Pac play. Nagra finished with 13 points and two assists, while Megan Williams scored a team-high 14 points. Nicole Lukito finished with eleven points, 18 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and two blocks.
Lukito became the program's all-time leading rebounder last time out and heads into the rest of her career with 625 career rebounds. Mia Shannon (2015-19) previously held the record. Saturday night marked the second time Lukito broke an all-time UC Merced record, also breaking the double-double's record on December 21.
Lukito has been named the Cal Pac Player of the Week five times already this season, including four defensive weekly honors and one offensive honor. She earned three straight nods on Jan. 6, Jan. 13, and Jan. 20. Her five weekly accolades brings her career total to eight, which is the most in program history and is tied for the most in school history across all sports with men's volleyball's Chris Morikawa and Ryan Steele.
The Bobcats magic number to secure a spot in the upcoming California Pacific Conference Championships is two. UC Merced can clinch with two wins this week, or can clinch as early as Thursday with a win partnered with a Cal Maritime loss to Simpson.
UC Merced is the only active Cal Pac women's basketball team to win a Cal Pac Championship. The Bobcats have won four tournament titles.
The Bobcats also currently control their own destiny at winning the Cal Pac regular season title, which would mark their first since 2015-16. UC Merced is one-game up on Simpson with five games to go. UC Merced and Simpson play on February 15 in Merced.
The Bobcats have won two consecutive road games and are 4-7 on the road overall this season. The Bobcats four road wins are tied for the most in the Bernard era. Prior to the two-game road winning streak, the Bobcats had lost seven road outings in a row.
UC Merced has won five consecutive home games and are 7-1 inside the Gallo this year outscoring opponents by an average of 23.8 points per game. 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 21-8 overall at home under her watch. The Bobcats are 35-12 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 PUC and Cal Maritime for the ninth consecutive season. The Bobcats have won 19 straight games against PUC and 18 straight against Cal Maritime.
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.
NICOLE'S TRIPLE-DOUBLE
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.
CAL PAC RANKINGS
UC Merced is currently leading the Cal Pac with 69.2 PPG while shooting a league-best .391 from the field, .332 from three-point land, and 74.3 from the free throw line. The Bobcats three-point field goal percentage is good for 34th in the nation and it's the team's best mark since 2016-17 season.
UC Merced is also ranked first with 14.7 APG and 2.9 BPG, and is second with 42.4 RPG. The Bobcats are also third holding opponents to just 61.2 PPG.
Nicole Lukito is leading the league with 15.7 points per game, 15.4 rebounds per game, 1.6 blocks per game, a .518 field goal percentage, and an 85.5 free throw percentage. She is also third with 2.9 assists per game and ninth with 1.5 steals per game, recording multiple steals in five of the last six games. Her 15.4 rebounds per game are ranked second in the NAIA, while her 30 blocks are 47th.
Sarina Nagra's 13.9 PPG are the second most in the conference. She ranks second with 37 made three-pointers and fourth with 49 made free throws, while maintaining top ten shooting percentages with a .430 FG % (8th), .381 3-PT FG % (2nd), and .766 FT % (6th). The sophomore has scored 20 points in two of the last four games.
Leilani Blecha leads the league with 43 three-point field goals and is tied for second maintaining a .381 three-point field goal percentage. She is also tenth with 1.4 steals per game and has notched multiple steals in four of the last six games.
Freshman Mariah Flores is leading the league shooting 45.8% from the three-point line and is fourth with a 47.2% mark from the floor. She is fourth with 22 made three-pointers.
Elise LeBeau is tied for fourth with 2.7 assists per game.
Jazzy Beltran is seventh with 2.5 assists per game. She returned to action on January 25 for the first time since January 2 due to an injury.
Quinn Godfrey is fifth with nine blocks.
FOR THE LOVE OF NUMBERS
The Bobcats are slashing .428/.339/.751 in victories compared to .339/.323/.726 in defeats.
UC Merced, who has outrebounded its opponents in seven straight games, is 10-0 this season when holding the rebounding advantage. The Bobcats have won 12 straight games dating back to last season accomplishing the feat.
Nicole Lukito has 16 double-double's this season | 22p/13r at Nobel, 18p/18r at Life Pacific, 10p/16r vs. Southern Oregon, 19p/15r vs. California Tribal, 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. Her nine-game double-double streak is a career-best.
Nicole Lukito has scored in double figures in eleven consecutive games and has grabbed 10+ rebounds in nine straight. Also of note, she has grabbed 16+ rebounds in six straight games.
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.
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 eleven of their 19 games and have won six straight when leading at the half. Overall, the Bobcats are 10-1 this season when leading at halftime.
UC Merced just snapped a nine-game losing streak when trailing at halftime with its 54-52 win over La Sierra on February 1. The Bobcats trailed 21-17 at intermission and the four-point halftime comeback marked the second biggest comeback under Bernard.
UC Merced has won 20 consecutive games when scoring 80 points or more and have hit 80 five times this year after hitting it just once all of last season. Also of note, UC Merced is 38-2 when scoring at least 80 points since the start of the 2017-18 campaign.
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 33-39 career record. She is 26-19 in Cal Pac play, including 9-1 in the last ten. Bernard is assisted by Jasmine Washington.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS (CAREER)
Nicole Lukito is first in program history with 625 career rebounds, 13.6 rebounds per game, 1.5 blocks per game, and 29 double-double's. She is second with a .521 field goal percentage, an .808 free throw percentage, and 30.0 minutes per game. Lukito is also ranked third with 12.8 PPG and fourth with 71 total blocks.
Lukito is one double-double away from passing Menlo College's Kepua Lee (2004-08) for the third most double-double's (30) in California Pacific Conference history. She is also six double-double's away from breaking the Cal Pac single-season record of 21 currently held by Cal Maritime's Alicia Porter (2022-23).
Sarina Nagra is top ten in program history with 10.7 PPG (8th), 66 three-pointers (8th), a .338 three-point field goal percentage (6th), and a .752 free throw percentage (9th).
Megan Williams is ranked third in program history with a .511 field goal percentage.
Leilani Blecha and Paloma Ramirez are seventh and tenth in program history with 88 career three-pointers and 61 career three-pointers, respectively. Blecha is also ninth with a .315 three-point field goal percentage.
Jazzy Beltran is eighth with 27.5 minutes per game and 2.2 assists per game.
STARTING FIVE
Nicole Lukito is the only Bobcat to start all 19 games for UC Merced. Sarina Nagra has started 18 games.
Jazzy Beltran, Leilani Blecha, and Paloma Ramirez have started at least ten games. Beltran had started ten consecutive games before missing the Chico State game.
The Bobcats have used 12 different starting lineups overall.
Ten different Bobcats have made one start.
UC Merced is 6-0 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 fourth in the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll and Oregon Tech is ranked No. 23. 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 28-13 in their respective conferences, the CCAA and PacWest. The Bobcats fell by single digits to CCAA members Chico State and Sonoma State.
SCOUTING PUC
PUC is 0-12 on the year and are 0-5 in Cal Pac play most recently falling 67-40 to Cal Maritime. PUC enters the week averaging 42.2 PPG and allowing 77.2 opponents PPG. Both scoring marks are last in the conference.
Head coach Landon Banks is in his first season leading the Pioneers. The head coach of both PUC men's and women's basketball was previously at Canyon View High School. Before that, he was the head women's basketball coach at Southwestern Adventist University.
Daralonnie Sykes leads PUC in scoring with 8.9 PPG and is ranked second in the Cal Pac with an 84.2 free throw percentage. Sykes is also seventh with 1.8 steals per game.
Kaia Miller is the Pioneers second leading scorer averaging 8.4 PPG and is their third leading rebounder with 5.0 RPG.
Suljit Dodd scores 8.3 PPG and is top ten in the Cal Pac averaging 6.8 RPG (7th) and 1.3 BPG (3rd).
Creedence Shaver is ranked third in the Cal Pac with 7.8 rebounds per game.
PUC is 1-22 all-time against UC Merced.
PUC is 0-6 at home this season.
SCOUTING THE KEELHAULERS
Cal Maritime is 5-13 on the year and 1-4 in Cal Pac play most recently snapping a five-game losing streak with a 67-40 win at PUC. The Keelhaulers 67 points marked the most since January 16. Cal Maritime enters the week averaging 63.1 PPG.
Head coach Imhotet Amen-Ra is in his second season leading the Keelhaulers and has a record of 7-35 overall, 3-22 in Cal Pac play. Prior to Cal Maritime, Amen-Ra was an assistant coach at Cal State Monterey Bay.
Cal Maritime is ranked second in the Cal Pac with 63.1 PPG, 144 made three-pointers, 13.8 APG, 11.0 SPG, and 23.2 turnovers forced per game. Cal Maritime's 23.2 turnovers forced per game is ranked eleventh in the country.
The squad is third in the Cal Pac with a .368 field goal percentage and .259 three-point field goal percentage.
Dylan Fulton is the Keelhaulers top player and she is ranked ninth in the Cal Pac with 10.7 PPG. She is also ranked third with 13 blocks and sixth with a .445 field goal percentage. Fulton is the Keelhaulers leading rebounder at 5.1 RPG.
Aysia Santos is an offensive threat ranked third in the Cal Pac with 31 three-pointers made and is tied for fourth with 2.7 assists per game. Santos is seventh in the league shooting the three-point shot at a 28.2% clip.
Jazz Novelli and Tiare Novero-Paaga are tied for seventh in the conference with 18 three-pointers made. Novelli is also averaging 14.6 PPG but hasn't played since December 11.
Jameela Pharms is third in the Cal Pac with 2.3 steals per game and is ninth with 2.3 assists per game.
Cal Maritime is 6-19 all-time against UC Merced.
Cal Maritime is 3-7 on the road this season.
