Howard scores 1,000th in win by UC Merced

Shelby Howard’s star is shining brighter than ever this season.

After averaging more than 17 points per game her first two years on the UC Merced campus, the junior is down to a modest 12.3.

Part of it is having a deeper cast around her, easing the scoring load. The other part is that because there are so many more choices, the Bobcats have failed to get Howard involved at times.

Thursday night was all about her, though. The shooting guard needed just eight points to become the first player in school history with 1,000 in their career. She finished with 11 as UC Merced cruised to a 67-56 victory at Hostetler Court.

UC Merced stopped the game briefly to acknowledge the milestone, with Howard posing for a few quick pictures.

Despite the little bit of pageantry, the Bobctas (10-9, 3-3 California Pacific Conference) were all business on the court, taking a comfortable 38-23 lead into the break. Alexis Wu (five assists) led UCM with 14 points, Christina Castro had 12 and Danielle Ward (10 points, nine rebounds) just missed out on a double-double off of the bench.

Men’s Basketball

Simpson 89, UC Merced 67 in Merced – Ryan Edwards had a team-high 14 points and 11 rebounds and Michael Pierick also added 14 points off the bench, but the Bobcats (1-23, 0-6 Cal Pac) couldn’t keep pace with Simpson.

Baseball

Merced College 8, Cosumnes River 5 in Sacramento – Noah Gapp provided the first quality start of the season, allowing one earned run on six hits in six complete innings and Joseph Salmeri’s (3 RBI) two-run triple proved the difference in a Blue Devil (3-2) road win.

This story was originally published February 5, 2015 at 10:09 PM with the headline "Howard scores 1,000th in win by UC Merced."