Cal Maritime Women Earn Playoff Win
The California Maritime women's basketball team moved into the California Pacific Conference tournament semi-finals with a 59-48 victory over visiting UC Merced. With the win, Cal Maritime will now travel to #1 seed Menlo College on Saturday night.
After two hard fought contests during the regular season, both teams knew the score would be close throughout the game. Holding true to form, the Keelhaulers held a slim 22-20 lead at half time. A solid run early in the second half extended the lead to double digits and UC Merced was able to get only as close as six the rest of the way.
Cal Maritime was led by junior Gabby Davis who scored 14 points off the bench including 4 three pointers. Junior Tatjana Pitts also reached double digits as she tallied ten points. Freshman Jordan Mootz led the team in rebounding with 8 and junior Julia Tani created havoc defensively with 6 steals on the night.
Head Coach Dave Covell commented on the playoff win, "I am extremely proud of our effort tonight. It is never easy to win playoff games and I thought our activity defensively was a key to the game. We held them to 32% shooting and forced 20 turnovers. We are looking forward to two great days of practice in preparation for Menlo."
The win keeps the dream alive for a berth to the NAIA National Tournament in Sioux Falls, Iowa as the winner of the California Pacific Conference tournament earns an automatic bid. Saturday will be quite the challenge for the Keelhaulers as the Oaks enter the game as the #18 team in the country. Game time in Atherton is set for 5:30pm.
Livestreaming Link for Menlo game on Saturday