MERCED, Calif. — The University of California, Merced women's basketball team fell in a hard-fought 90-89 decision to Cal State East Bay on Thursday evening inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
The Bobcats (4-12, 1-8 CCAA) led for nearly the entire contest and by as many as 15 points in the fourth quarter before the Pioneers took the lead with 13 seconds remaining. UC Merced had one final look at the basket, but ultimately the shot would not fall as time expired.
Nicole Lukito led the Bobcats with a career-high 33 points and tied the program's single-game record with 13 made field goals. Her 33 points are the fifth most by any Bobcat all-time and the most since December 29, 2017. Lukito also grabbed 15 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season. She was also credited with two blocks and two steals. The junior shot 68% (13-19) from the floor, 75% (3-4) from downtown, and 80% (4-5) at the foul line.
For her career, Lukito passed Courtney Danna for fourth on the program's all-time scoring list with 965 career points.
Sarina Nagra tallied a season-high 25 points while also tying a season-high with nine made field goals. Nagra connected on five three-pointers and shot 50% from beyond the arc, moving ahead of Danna and into a tie with Haylee Owen for fifth in program history with 114 career three-pointers. She added four rebounds and a steal.
Paloma Ramirez recorded a career-high six steals and filled the stat sheet with 13 points, eight rebounds, and three assists.
Mariah Flores finished with 10 points and five rebounds. Elise LeBeau tied her season-high with eight points to go along with four assists and a steal off the bench. She has 4+ assists in three straight outings. Ixchel Rojo Valdez also contributed four assists.
Head coach Kellie Bernard set the tone early by challenging a call just 20 seconds into the game and winning possession back for her team. Lukito scored the first points of the contest at the 8:23 mark, foreshadowing a dominant opening quarter in which she scored 16 points on 70% shooting. Flores and Nagra hit early three-pointers and the Bobcats led 19-12 six minutes into the game. The Bobcats lead was 28-24 at the end of one.
East Bay's first lead of the game came at 32-30 early in the second quarter, but the Bobcats responded immediately with a Nagra three-pointer off an assist from Rojo Valdez. Two more lead changes followed before the Bobcats extended their lead as the half went on and held a 56-45 advantage at the break. Lukito had 28 points intermission.
Nagra continued her strong shooting performance into the third quarter and scored five straight points of her own to put the Bobcats up 64-49 less than four minutes into the period. She hit her fifth triple of the game shortly after to give UC Merced its largest lead of the game at 17. A little later, LeBeau jumped into a passing lane and finished a fast-break layup to put the Bobcats up by 17 points again, 71-54 with 3:29 left in the quarter. The Bobcats closed the third quarter in front, 75-63.
The fourth quarter saw East Bay pick up its defense and slowly chip away at the Bobcats lead. The Pioneers cut the margin to eight points with seven minutes remaining, four with three minutes, and only trailed by one point inside the final two minutes of the game. Ultimately, East Bay's Taylor Eldredge hit the game-winning shot with 13 seconds left. Eldredge's shot capped a 25-9 East Bay run over the final seven minutes of the game. UC Merced would get one final possession, but Nagra's three-pointer from the wing didn't fall.
Despite the loss, UC Merced shot 47.8% from three-point range and led at the end of every quarter before the final seconds. The Bobcats also forced 18 turnovers, but committed 18 of their own.
UC Merced made a season-high 33 field goals while shooting 47% overall. Cal State East Bay finished with a .530 field goal percentage.
Up next, UC Merced will host San Francisco State on Saturday, January 17. Tipoff is set for 1:00pm inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium in Merced, Calif.
