Jayda Curry Ties Pac-12 Three-Point Record in Cal Women’s Loss

Cal sophomore Jayda Curry waited until the final four minutes of the game to make a three-pointer on Sunday in Pullman, Wash., but she nailed one from the corner with 3:51 left to give her a made three-pointer in a 45th consecutive regular-season game.

It was not enough to get Cal the victory, as the Bears lost to Washington State 70-60, but it was enough to tie the Pac-12 regular-sesason record (since 1999-2000) held by USC's Shay Murphy, who made a three-pointer in 45 straight games from 2005 to 2007. (Curry did not hit a three-pointer during last year's Pac-12 tournament, so she has made a three-pointer in 23 straight games overall.)

Curry scored only eight points, and did not score her first point Sunday until just 37.8 seconds remained in the third quarter. She still had just one point and was 0-for-5 from the floor when she launched a three-pointer with 3:51 remaining in the fourth quarter. That one swished through to tie the record and cut Cal's deficit to six points.

Curry added a second three-point shot with 38.5 seconds left to again reduce the margin to six. But it was not enough to drop Cal 11-12, 2-10 Pac-12) under .500 for the first time this season. It also made Cal 0-5 in Pac-12 road games.

The Bears led for much of the first half and held a 32-29 lead early in the third quarter. But Washington State (16-7, 6-6 Pac-12) then reeled off nine straight points that was part of a 17-3 run that put the Cougars in command.

“I thought we shot the ball well, then we turned the ball over too much and had too many mistakes on defense that led to their best player getting open for threes,” Cal coach Charmin Smith said.

Cal committed 19 turnovers for the game, and allowed Washington State to shoot 59.3% from the field in the second half.

“I think some of our turnovers we had in the second half led to wide open layups for them, easy opportunities for them in transition that sparked that run in the third quarter," Smith said.

Charlisse Leger-Walker scored 25 points for WSU, which held a 14-point lead with 5:40 to go in the fourth quarter. The Bears got the deficit down to five points with 1:58 remaining but could get no closer.

Kemery Martin led Cal with 11 points, while Evelien Luje Schipholt and Claudia Langarita had eight points apiece.

“I think our posts are continuing to develop and you know, it's good when we can have a post presence," Smith said. "Eef [Evelien] started us off well. Claudia was good in there. Michelle [Onyiah] had some good looks in transition. I think Kemery did a really good job of finding them early. But we just made too many mistakes in that third quarter.”

Cover photo of Jayda Curry by Kyle Terada, USA TODAY Sports

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