Riverside, Calif. - The women's basketball team picked up a 48-42 victory over the University of California-Merced on Saturday night. The Golden Eagles, now 2-3 in Cal Pac play, played solid defense and made enough free throws down the stretch to hang on for the win.
It was Merced who jumped out to the early lead. After La Sierra scored the first four points of the game, the Bobcats answered with a 17-4 run, taking a 9-point lead with 7:24 remaining in the first half. But over the next five minutes, the Golden Eagles answered with a run of their own, catching the Bobcats at 21-21. By the time the first half buzzer sounded, Merced regained the lead, taking a slim 26-23 lead into the locker room.
A Tina Fantroy basket, gave the Golden Eagles their first lead of the game since starting the contest 4-0, but a Shelby Howard three-pointer quickly erased the lead, giving the Bobcats a 33-31 advantage.
With 7:22 remaining, the Bobcats extended to their largest lead of the second half, 39-34. But over the final seven minutes, the Golden Eagles outscored the Bobcats 14-3. Trailing 44-39 with 3:00 remaining, Christina Castro connected on three-point shot that pulled Merced to within a basket. But the Golden Eagles sealed the victory with two pivotal offensive rebounds and steals by Tina Fantroy and Faith Fantroy.
A Faith Fantroy free throw increased the lead to a two-possession game, followed by an interception of a Merced inbounds pass to all but seal the victory.
Tina Fantroy led the team with a double-double including 16 points and 15 rebounds, to go along with four assists and two steals. Kristen Brummett was one rebound short of a double-double of her own, finishing with 14 points and nine rebounds. Faith Fantroy tallied 11 points and eight rebounds, with three steals and two assists.
The women's basketball team is back in action on Thursday night, starting the second round of conference play, when they host Cal Maritime Academy (Vallejo, CA) on Thursday night, followed by their final home game of the season on Saturday night against Simpson University.
