MERCED, Calif. – The University of California, Merced women's basketball team dropped a 70-64 decision to Cal State San Marcos on Friday night inside the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium.
The Bobcats (3-9, 0-5) rallied late but couldn't complete the comeback, trimming a 13-point deficit with 2:30 to go down to four points inside 30 seconds before falling.
Sarina Nagra led the Bobcats with 15 points and five rebounds. She shot 50% (5-10) from the floor in her highest scoring output in CCAA play.
Mariah Flores tallied 13 points and six rebounds. She also shot 50% (5-10) overall while knocking down three three-pointers. Flores' 13 points marked her top scoring game in league action.
Jazzy Beltran filled the stat sheet with eleven points, five assists, and a season-high three steals. Her top scoring performance in the conference slate saw her shoot 83% (5-6) from the foul line.
Nicole Lukito finished with nine points, seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal. The Bobcats junior passed Deyliana Lewis for third in program history with 79 career blocks and passed Cierra McClain for ninth in program history with 144 career assists.
Quinn Godfrey added six points, six rebounds, and a block.
Other notables include four rebounds from Elise LeBeau and two steals from Paloma Ramirez.
The first quarter saw three ties and three lead changes as the two teams traded runs. The Bobcats used an early 8-2 run before Cal State San Marcos countered with a 7-0 burst. Flores stopped the Cougars spurt with back-to-back triples, which helped the Bobcats own a 16-14 advantage at the end of the first quarter.
There were three lead changes in the first 90 seconds of the second quarter. CSUSM took a 20-18 lead and never gave it up going into halftime. The Cougars extended their lead to as many as eight points at 32-24 midway through the quarter. Back and forth action followed the rest of the frame with the Bobcats managing to cut the deficit in half before intermission, trailing 39-35.
The Bobcats remained close throughout the third quarter, including pulling within a possession three different times. UC Merced also had possession with a chance to take the lead on two different occasions, but were unable to do so and trailed 53-51 going into the fourth quarter.
Ixchel Rojo Valdez collected a steal and tied the game to start the final frame, however CSUSM answered with an 11-0 run over the next four minutes to take the first double digit lead of the game. The Cougars lead was as many as 13 points, 68-55, at the 4:00 mark. The Bobcats battled back at the free throw line, hitting six consecutive free throws while getting defensive stops to make it a 68-61 game inside of 90 seconds. Nagra buried a three-pointer to cut the deficit to four points with 35 seconds left. However, UC Merced didn't get any closer in the 70-64 loss.
Despite the loss, UC Merced's 64 points marked its most through the first five CCAA games. UC Merced tallied more rebounds, assists, and free throws than Cal State San Marcos. Though, the Bobcats shot 38.6% from the field and 19.2% from the three-point line compared the Cougars shooting slash of .472/.350/.684.
Up next, UC Merced will host Cal State Monterey Bay on Sunday, January 4. Tipoff from the Joseph Edward Gallo Gymnasium is scheduled for 1:00pm.
