Cal Maritime drops series opener to UC Merced

MERCED, Calif. – Reigning NAIA National Player of the Week Alicia Porter notched her fourth double-double in as many games by scoring a game-high 23 points and finishing with a team-high 12 rebounds, and Dylan Fulton scored a career-high 11 points for the second game in a row during Thursday evening's Cal Pac game at the Gallo Center in Merced, California.

Led by Rainah Smith with 16, the host Bobcats saw four players score double figures in a game they won, 89-43, in the first of two head-to-head contests scheduled within a six-day timespan.

Women's basketball will enter its final homestand of the season, which starts on Saturday with a 5:30 p.m. game vs. Simpson at PEAC Main Gym, with a 1-11 overall and 1-3 league record. UC Merced will continue its season in first place atop the Cal Pac North Division standings at 10-7 and 4-0.

Only a handful of days will pass before these teams meet again since the Bobcats are slated to visit Vallejo on Tuesday (5:30 p.m. start) — the second opponent of the Keelhaulers' three-game homestand. The team's home slate will conclude on Saturday, February 12 against rival Pacific Union (6:30 p.m. tip).