Cal Eliminated from Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament
Cal was eliminated from the Pac-12 women's basketball tournament on Wednesday, ending the Bears' season, but they did not go quietly.
Heavy underdogs to a hot, fifth-seeded Oregon State team, 12th-seeded Cal was within four points with five minutes to go before losing the first-round game to the Beavers 71-63.
Cal finishes the season with a disappointing 1-16 record, including 1-13 against Pac-12 opponents. But the Bears' late-season improvement was evident against Oregon State, which is 10-6 overall and beat ranked teams on the road in their final two regular-season games.
"We've grown so much, we've learned so much," said Cal sophomore Evelien Lutje Schipholt, who finished with 13 points on 6-for-8 shooting and added 10 rebounds, "and we're still learning, and I think it really shows in these games where we finally get to even have an opportunity to win, keep it close and stay in the game the entire game."
Cal trailed by 12 at halftime, but scored the first nine points of the second half to get back in the game, closing the gap to three points. Second-year Cal coach Charmin Smith said she has a rather simple halftime message.
"I told them to stop sleepwalking," Smith said, referring to the 11 a.m. starting time for the game played in Las Vegas.
Oregon State remained in control, but Cal got as close as four points at 58-54, with 5:01 left in the fourth quarter on a bucket by freshman Michelle Onyiah, who had 13 points and six rebounds before fouling out. Cal got no closer, but the Bears, who start three freshmen and two sophomores, hope their recent improved play carries over to next season, when all of the players who suffered season-ending injuries are expected to return.
"I think we got a lot better," Smith said in the video atop the story. "We weren't really ready for the season and it took awhile. I just saw a ton of growth. I'm proud of how we finished.
"I wish we could have some of the earlier games back; it think it would be a different outcome in some of those situations."
Bears freshman Dalayah Daniels finished Wednesday's game with 10 points and eight rebounds despite suffering a sprained ankle in the fourth quarter.
But the chief reason Cal was able to stay close was the play of sophomore point guard Leilani McIntosh, who finished with 14 points and six assists and became a bigger factor on the offensive end over the final seven games.
Oregon State's top scorer was freshman Talia Oelhoffen, who finished with 20 points. She just graduated from high school in December, enrolled at Oregon State in January and joined the Beavers team for the final eight games of the regular season.
