Women’s basketball opens 2025 with a win at Pacific Union

VALLEJO, Calif. – Off since December 12 when it traveled to Jessup for its last game of 2024, Cal Maritime shook off the holiday rust and started the new year on a positive not by winning a hard-fought battle, 46-40, in a designated non-conference game from Covered Wagon at Pacific Union. 

The Keelhaulers scored 12 of the game's first 17 points and never looked back in a game that saw their defense limit the Pioneers to only 10 points in each of the first two quarters and held PUC to single digits (9) in the third.

Even though Pacific Union clawed its way back to trail by two possessions with 2:04 left to play, Cal Maritime stepped up in crunch time, forced its rival to take tough shots and came up with key rebounds on defense to maintain its wire-to-wire-to-wire lead.

In addition to forcing the Pioneers to shoot 21 percent overall and 10 percent from three, CSUM's bench, led by Suraya Lloyd's eight points, Kai Kraus' seven and six points from Tiare Novero-Paaga, outscored its counterpart 23-5.

Aysia Santos led her team's well-balanced scoring performance with nine points and finished with seven boards, one shy of matching Jameelah Pharms' game-high eight.

With U.S. Coast Guard Exams slated to end before the weekend, women's basketball will return to PEAC Main Gym for its first home game since December 5 when it welcomes Stanton, in the first of back-to-back contests in as many days, on Monday, January 13. Tipoff is set for 5:30 p.m.