Shortly after arriving on the UC Merced campus this fall, Paloma Ramirez boldly declared what she hopes to achieve, or even intends, for her NAIA school’s women’s basketball team this season.
“She came in and said she wanted to be our conference’s Freshman of the Year,” said Bobcats coach Kelly Barnard. is not.”
After 11 games into the season and graduating from Watsonville’s Monte Vista Christian School, she looks to be on the right track.
Ramirez has emerged as UC Merced’s top scorer this season, averaging 12.5 points per game. The 5-foot-8-inch guard made school history along the way, becoming the first Bobcats freshman to score at least 15 points in five consecutive games.
The streak began on November 18, when Ramirez scored a career-high 17 points in UC Merced’s 59-55 road loss to the University of Idaho. He hit five 3-pointers in UC M’s 66-62 victory over Benedict Mesa on December 1 and shot 46.7 percent from the field over Embry in the Bobcats’ 68-64 win. Next night riddle.
Ramirez capped the streak with 15 points on Dec. 4 in UCM’s 72-62 victory over Park University in Gilbert, Arizona.
“She has the ability to score at all three levels—three, midrange and basket,” Bernard said. “If you take some of it, she’ll score differently. If she takes the 3-point line, she’ll attack the basket. If you take the drive, she’ll beat three.” .
“Paloma creates a lot of shots,” added the coach. “When she wants to score, she finds a way to score.”
Ramirez says his ability to read the defense will help him decide how best to create scoring chances for himself.
“For example, let’s say I’m driving and a defender is playing very close to me,” Ramirez said. “I’ll stop soon and the defender will get her momentum. That leaves me with an open shot.”
Indeed, Ramirez had no proof when he announced his intentions to be the California Pacific Conference Freshman of the Year. Still, her coaches loved Ramirez for the confidence she exuded, so Bernard not only made her a starter, but made sure she regularly got the ball and trusted her to fire. became.
That’s why Ramirez averaged 14.3 shots per game.
“The manager said, ‘Go out and score – be confident,'” Ramirez said. “I took her word for it and she just said, ‘Give me the ball.’ She wasn’t cocky or selfish. I wanted to score to win.”
A major in business management and economics, Ramirez hopes to one day work in sports management. But for now, Ramirez is on pace to finish with the second-highest scoring average in his freshman year in UC Merced history.
“I’m very confident in her ability to break records,” said the coach. “We’ve just seen the beginning of what she can do, and she’ll see a lot more from Paloma.
“Good things happen to our team when Paloma goes out with confidence.
county connection
County Connections are held every other Thursday during the school year. For updates on local college athletes, email Ray Hacke (raydhackelaw@gmail.com).
