TURLOCK, Calif. — The University of California, Merced women's basketball team mounted a second-half surge but could not erase an early deficit, falling 66-58 to Stanislaus State on Saturday afternoon inside Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena.
The Bobcats (6-13, 3-9 CCAA) trailed by as many as 22 points in the third quarter before trimming the margin to single digits with under three minutes remaining in the game. UC Merced outscored the Warriors after halftime and connected on seven second-half three-pointers after hitting just one in the first, but ultimately the Bobcats could not complete the rally.
Nicole Lukito scored her 1,000th career point and led UC Merced with 20 points and 16 rebounds, recording her fifth straight double-double and 10th of the season. Lukito shot 61% (8-13) from the field and a perfect 3-for-3 from deep, tying a season high with three made three-pointers for the third time this season and in back-to-back games. She added two assists and two blocks, extending her streak to four straight games with at least two blocks. Lukito is the fourth player in program history to join the 1,000 point club (Mia Belvin, Shelby Howard, Christina Castro).
Paloma Ramirez finished with 14 points and shot 50% (3-6) from three-point range. She also recorded two rebounds and one assist. The senior moved ahead of Brittany Martinez for tenth all-time with 271 career made field goals.
Jazzy Beltran contributed eight points, converting a career-high six free throws while going 6-for-7 at the line. Beltran also recorded two rebounds and one steal, extending her streak to five straight games with a steal.
Quinn Godfrey added three points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals, tying her season high in steals. Elise Lebeau also recorded a season-high three steals to go along with three points, one assist and one rebound.
Sarina Nagra contributed four points, four assists, one rebound, one block, and one steal. With her scoring efforts, Nagra passed Mia Shannon for seventh in program history with 863 career points and Deja Jackson for ninth with 151 free throws made.
Mariah Flores pulled down seven rebounds and added a block and a steal. Flores and Kylie Salzler also connected on a key fourth-quarter three-pointer as the Bobcats attempted to rally.
Stanislaus State opened the scoring with a fast-break layup off a turnover to take an early lead, and they quickly stretched the advantage to 4-0. Ramirez would start the scoring for the Bobcats at 7:22 with a tough fadeaway jumper near the free-throw line. Ramirez would answer a Warrior score with a sweet high-arching reverse layup making it 6-4 shortly after. Godfrey poked the ball free on the next possession and found Lukito on a backdoor cut to tie the game at 6-6. Stan State regained the lead and after a couple of empty possessions Ramirez slung a pass across the court to Lukito, who knocked down a deep two-pointer to even the score again at 8-8. Ramirez would give the Bobcats a 9-8 lead by sinking a free throw at the two-minute mark. UC Merced capitalized on Stan State's next missed attempt as Nagra secured the offensive rebound and found Lukito for a three-pointer to extend the lead to 12-8. Stanislaus State answered to pull within two, but with 20 seconds remaining in the quarter, Nagra again set up Godfrey for a bank shot making it 14-10. The Warriors closed the quarter with a buzzer-beating jump shot, but UC Merced carried a 14-12 lead into the second quarter.
Stanislaus State opened the second quarter with a three-pointer to regain the lead, 15-14, and went on a 9-0 run before Nagra ended the drought with the Bobcats' first basket of the quarter at the 5:23 mark, cutting the deficit to 19-16. The Warriors scored an additional 13 unanswered points over the next four minutes with the lead growing to as many as 16 points. Beltran halted the run with just over a minute remaining in the half, scoring through contact and completing a three-point play to trim the margin to 32-19. The Warriors responded with a basket, but with 30 seconds left Beltran returned to the line making one of her attempts. Beltran would be fouled for the third possession in a row and sink both attempts to make the score 34-22 with 20 seconds remaining. The Warriors would close out the quarter with a basket and a halftime lead of 36-22.
Stan State scored the first five points of the second half to stretch the lead to 41-22 within the opening minute. Godfrey then found Ramirez for a three-pointer at the 8:45 mark, the Bobcats' first three since the opening quarter, cutting the deficit to 41-25. The Warriors answered with two field goals and two free throws on consecutive possessions, pushing the lead to its largest margin of the game at 47-25. Lukito responded with a basket through contact and completed the three-point play at the line. UC Merced followed with three consecutive three-pointers, two from Ramirez and one from Salzler, fueling a 12-0 Bobcat run over a four-minute span. The scoring surge trimmed the lead to ten, 47-37, with three minutes remaining in the quarter. Godfrey added a free-throw before the Warriors closed the period with another basket, sending the teams into the fourth quarter with Stan State leading 51-38. UC Merced outscored the Warriors 16-15 in the third quarter.
Stanislaus State opened the fourth quarter by scoring the first five points to push the lead back up to 18 points. Lukito answered with a basket at 7:39 to make it 56-40, but the Warriors would respond to restore the margin. From there, UC Merced began to chip away at the lead. LeBeau was fouled at the seven-minute mark and split a pair of free throws, and after a Stan State miss, Lukito knocked down a three-pointer assisted by LeBeau. On the next possession LeBeau would snag a steal and take it coast-to-coast for two points and cut the deficit to 58-46. Stanislaus State halted the momentum with a basket, and scoring slowed over the next two minutes before Flores connected on her lone three-pointer of the night with 3:30 remaining. Following another Warrior miss, Flores found Lukito for a three-pointer that pulled the Bobcats within single digits, 60-52. UC Merced continued to battle late, getting two free throws apiece from Nagra and Beltran, and Lukito added a jumper with 17 seconds remaining. Ultimately, the earlier deficit proved too much to overcome as Stanislaus State added timely baskets to maintain separation, including a final free throw with four seconds left to secure the 66-58 win.
Despite the loss, UC Merced held a +9 rebounding advantage and limited the opposition to just 21% from beyond the arc.
Up next, UC Merced will travel to Seaside, Calif. to face Cal State Monterey Bay on Thursday, January 29. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m. inside the Kelp Bed.
