UC Merced women’s basketball team locks up Cal Pac’s top seed

The UC Merced women’s basketball team had no intention of making the long drive home from Simpson University empty-handed.

The Bobcats had the opportunity to lock up the first regular-season title in school history and earn the top seed in the California Pacific Conference Tournament. A big second half helped see to that.

Shelby Howard (game-high-tying 14 points) came to life in the final 2:54 of the third quarter, scoring eight straight points to give UCM a five-point lead entering the fourth. The Bobcats never trailed again, pulling away for a 77-66 victory on Thursday in Redding.

It was the epitome of a team effort, with five players scoring at least 13 points. Jecenia Trinidad (14 points, 12 rebounds), Brittany Martinez (13, eight), Christina Castro (13 points, six assists) and Allison Wisdom (13 points) all had big nights.

UC Merced improved to 7-14 overall and 6-0 in the Cal Pac, setting a school record for conference wins in a season with two games to play.

Men’s basketball

Simpson 73, UC Merced 61 in Redding – The Bobcats’ conference tournament hopes took a hit as the Red Hawks put up 45 points in the second half.

Joshua Kimble and Ben Ngyuen (team-high 11 points each) and Matt Laflin (10) provided a nice lift off of the bench for UCM (8-11, 4-5 Cal Pac), but the starting five struggled on the road. The loss dropped the Bobcats a half-game behind Antelope Valley for the fourth and final spot in the Cal Pac Tourney with three games to play.

This story was originally published February 12, 2016 at 6:02 PM with the headline "UC Merced women’s basketball team locks up Cal Pac’s top seed."