Cal Women Beat ASU to Improve Bears’ NCAA Tournament Chances

Cal improved its chances of landing an NCAA tournament berth by beating Arizona State 67-55 on Friday night at Haas Pavilion, but a significant challenge awaits in the Bears final home game Sunday.

Cal's Sunday game will be against Arizona, which on Friday night upset third-ranked Stanford 68-61 at Maples Pavilion, leaving the Wildcats (15-12, 7-8 Pac-12) one game ahead of Cal in the Pac-12 standings.

Cal's two bigs -- Marta Suarez and Michelle Onyiah -- led the way with 21 points and 17 points, respectively, as the Bears earned a season split with the Sun Devils (11-16, 3-12 Pac-12). Suarez and Onyiah also combined for 20 rebounds.

“The two things that we really wanted to focus on were playing better defense from the last time we faced them and making better decisions," Cal coach Charmin Smith said. "And I thought we did both of those things. I love their aggressiveness offensively. Marth started us off, just really attacking her player, creating for others as well and it was a good team effort.”

The Bears (16-11, 6-9 Pac-12) are still hoping a strong finish will get them into the NCAA tournament. Cal would not be part of the 68-team field if selections were made today, but the Bears are close enough to inclusion that winning two of their final three regular-season games and a win in the Pac-12 tournament might be enough to get a berth.

Cal was listed among the “Next Four Out” in ESPN.com’s NCAA tournament projections posted Friday morning. That projection had all of the top six teams in the Pac-12 standings in the NCAA tournament field, and none of the six had a seeding worse than No. 5. So there seems to be room for a seventh Pac-12 team in the field of 68.

The win against the last-place Sun Devils helps Cal's postseason bid only marginally, although a loss would have severely crippled the Bears' chances of reaching the NCAA tournament for the first time under coach Charmin Smith.

A win over seventh-place Arizona would help considerably more than Friday's victory over ASU.

Cal controlled Friday's game from the start, taking a 13-point lead after one quarter and never relinquished the lead. The Bears led by as many as 17 points with 4:38 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Leilani McIntosh finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists, with five of those assists coming in the first quarter, when Cal took control of the game.

The Bears shot 45.9% from the floor, while ASU made 38.1% of its field-goal attempts. ASU made half of its three-point shots but only attempted eight, and Cal was 6-for-26 from long range, hitting only only 3-of-15 from beyond the arc in the second half.

Cal had 14 turnovers, but it was better than the 21 turnovers the Bears committed in the 76-71 loss to the Sun Devils earlier this season.

“I wanted the team to be aggressive," Smith said. "So with that, we're going to have some turnovers but I thought our number was significantly lower than the last game and I was proud with how we managed taking care of the ball.”

Cal jumped out to a 26-13 lead after the first quarter, when the Bears made 11-of-15 shots, including 3-of-5 from three-point range. Suarez had 12 points in the opening quarter.

“I think the Pac-12 is a lot about matchups," Suarez said. "We're a versatile team, so it just seemed like it was my type of night and then coach, trusting me and having some place for me to attack them. It's basketball. Sometimes you get in the zone and it just kind of helps.”

Arizona State closed to within three points midway through the second quarter, but Cal regained control and held a 41-32 lead at halftime. Suarez had 14 points in the first half and Michelle Onyiah added 12.

Cover photo of Ioanna Krimili by Cal Athletics

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