Cal Women's Basketball: No. 17 Arizona Sluggish Early, Then Rolls Bears, 80-57

The Cal women’s basketball team hung with Arizona for a quarter on Sunday, but the nation’s No. 17 team wasn’t going to miss shots indefinitely.

The Wildcats were sluggish early at McKale Center, missing eight of their first 11 shots. A 3-pointer by Lauren Fields gave them a 12-11 lead after the first quarter.

Then Arizona took charge, shooting 62.5 percent in the second quarter to zoom into a 33-20 halftime lead on the way to an 80-57 victory.

Cal (12-13, 3-11 Pac-12) came away with a weekend split in the desert after beating Arizona State on Friday. But the Bears fell to 0-8 against Top-25 opponents this season, losing their 16th consecutive game vs. a ranked foe.

Down 24 points midway through the third quarter, the Bears got within 57-50 after a steal and layup by Leilani McIntosh with 7:04 to play. It remained a seven-point game until Arizona unleashed a 15-0 burst over 4-plus minutes to forge a 76-54 lead with 1:34 left.

Cal did not score a field goal over the final 5:01 of the fourth quarter, misfiring on its final seven shots.

“Despite the outcome, I think we showed tremendous fight in a time when we could have given up. I was really proud of how our team battled in the second half," Cal coach Charmin Smith said. "And I think if we can bottle that up and continue to do that for 40 minutes in any game and we will really be happy with the outcome."

The Bears missed perhaps their best chance early in this one. They led for a good portion of the first quarter despite finishing the opening 10 minutes just 3 for 17 from the field.

Cal shot better in the second quarter but coughed up six turnovers and struggled to stay with the Wildcats on the boards. Arizona (19-6, 9-5) had a 21-14 halftime rebounding edge, which it turned into an 8-2 advantage in second-chance points. The Cats scored 10 first-half points off Cal turnovers.

Arizona led just 20-16 before using a 9-0 run to sprint into a 29-16 lead. When Paris Clark converted a layup with 38 seconds left in the half, the Cats had a 13-2 run that pushed their lead to 15 points at 33-18.

By halftime, Arizona was shooting 50 percent, the Bears just under 27 percent.

Cal, down 33-20 at the break, never got closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Arizona broke the game open with a 13-0 run in the third quarter that included 3-pointers by Esmery Martinez, Clark and Shaina Pellington. That pushed the Cats’ margin to 48-24 with 5:59 left in the third period.

“We're not happy with losing," Smith said. "We are competitive and we want to win and we will win. And we have to recognize the growth and the progress that we've made. And I think that was evident today.”

Jayda Curry led the Bears with 15 points and six assists, and made a 3-point basket with 5:19 left in the third quarter. That pulled the Bears only as close as 48-27 but marked the 47th consecutive regular-season game the sophomore guard has made a 3-pointer, an ongoing Pac-12 record.

Ugonne Onyiah contributed 14 points and eight rebounds and Leilani McIntosh gad 12 points and three steals.

Pellington led the Wildcats with 24 points while Martinez had 15 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. Reece also scored 15 points.

Arizona wound up shooting 53 percent, compared to 33 percent for the Bears. Cal forced 19 turnovers but actually was outscored 23-14 on points off those giveaways.

The Wildcats outrebounded Cal 40-27 and outscored the Bears 12-3 on second-chance points following offensive rebounds.

Cover photo of Cal guard Jayda Curry by Rob Edwards, KLC fotos

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo

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