Cal Women's Basketball: Bears Lose to Harvard in Season-Opener
The Cal women let a 10-point halftime lead slip away in a 56-53 loss to Harvard in the Bears' season opener Friday night in Cambridge, Mass.
First-year Cal coach Charmin Smith came up a loser in her first game as a head coach.
The Bears' challenge only increases on Sunday, when the Bears travel to Storrs, Conn., to take on fifth-ranked Connecticut, which will play its season-opener against Cal.
On Friday, the Bears (0-1) failed to scored during a four-minute stretch late in the fourth quarter that enabled the Crimson (1-1) to take command.
Freshman Evelien Lutje Schipholt was the Bears' high scoring, collecting 13 points on 5-for-8 shooting despite playing just 18 minutes off the bench. Ten of her points came in the first half, helping the Bears take a 29-19 lead at intermission.
Harvard did not take the lead in the second half until Tess Sussman hit a free throw with 1:15 remaining in the fourth quarter to put the Crimson ahead 50-49. After a Cal miss, Sussman scored again to make it 53-50.
Cal failed to score from the 4:27 mark until 27 seconds remained in the game.
Senior Jaelyn Brown and freshman point guard Leilani McIntosh got the most playing time for the Bears, but both had disappointing games statistically.
McIntosh scored four points on 1-for-8 shooting with two assists and four turnovers, although she did contribute five steals in her 38 minutes of court time..
Brown, the only returning starter from last season's team, hit a three-point shot with two seconds left to give her eight points for the game, but she was still just 2-for-7 from the field, with six turnovers and six rebounds in 35 minutes.
Cal shot 30 percent from the field and committed 19 turnovers, although that was similar to the Crimson's 33-percent shooting and 19 turnovers.
