MERCED, Calif. – The No. 1 seed University of California, Merced women's basketball team forced 27 turnovers to rout fourth-seeded Westcliff, 78-53, in the California Pacific Conference Championship Semifinals on Friday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
The Bobcats (16-8, 10-0) 25-point win was the biggest margin of victory in a Cal Pac Tournament game in the last 12 years. The win also extended the Bobcats winning streak to a program-record 13 games.
UC Merced will now play second-seeded La Sierra on Sunday night for the Cal Pac Tournament Championship and an automatic berth to the NAIA National Championships.The Bobcats, 4X Cal Pac Tournament champs, return to the title game for the first time since 2022.
Nicole Lukito scored a game-high 19 points on 75% (6-8) shooting, the highest scoring output by any Bobcat in a postseason game since 2020. She also moved ahead of Deyliana Lewis for ninth in program history with 686 career points. The Cal Pac Player of the Year added six rebounds, two blocks, and two steals.
Sarina Nagra scored 15 points to go along with four rebounds and two steals.
Megan Williams and Paloma Ramirez finished with 12 and 11 points, respectively. Both Bobcats shots over 50% from the floor and grabbed six rebounds.
Leilani Blecha registered a program-record nine steals. She also scored eight points.
Jazzy Beltran was good for four steals and three assists.
Other notables include seven points from Gabby Martini, five rebounds from Quinn Godfrey, and three assists from Elise LeBeau.
UC Merced tied its season-high with 23 made free throws and 18 steals. The Bobcats shot 47% from the floor and 71% (23-32) from the foul line.
Defensively, the Bobcats collected 18 steals and held Westcliff to just 34% shooting. Westcliff only managed to shoot five free throws.
UC Merced, who never trailed on Friday, set the tone early with a 13-2 run and held Westcliff without a field goal for nearly an eight-minute stretch. The Bobcats held an eleven-point lead but it was trimmed to eight points, 18-10, at the end of the first quarter.
Nagra opened the second quarter with a three-pointer that sparked a 14-3 Bobcat run. Blecha also buried a triple in the surge that pushed the Bobcats lead to 19 points at 32-13 midway through the period. Westcliff answered back with nine unanswered points to stay within striking distance and it was a 36-24 UC Merced lead at intermission.
The Bobcats continued to make big runs as the game went on and a 10-0 run over a six-minute stretch ballooned head coach Kellie Bernard's teams lead up 20 points, 46-26. Nagra and Ramirez each had a three-point play in the run. The Bobcats advantage reached 23 points going into the fourth quarter leading 55-32.
UC Merced led by as many as 34 points in the final period, 73-39, on its way to the semifinal victory.
The Bobcats postseason win over Westcliff was their second in the last four years. UC Merced beat Westcliff 64-46 in the 2022 Cal Pac Tournament Championship game.
Up next, UC Merced will host second-seeded La Sierra in the 2025 Cal Pac Tournament Championship game on Sunday, March 2 at 1:00pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
