Cal Women Lose to No. 16 UCLA

Bruins were the second of five straight Bears opponents ranked in the top 25

Cal's women's basketball team is the midst of a difficult stretch of games to finish the regular season, and so far the Bears have been unable to meet the challenge.

No. 16 UCLA is the second of five straight ranked opponents the Bears will face heading into the Pac-12 tournament, and the Bruins never allowed Cal to feel like it had a chance.  UCLA led from the start, and even though Cal made some headway with its press in the second half, the Bruins were always in control in their 67-54 victory over the Bears Friday night in Berkeley.

The loss, as well as last Sunday's defeat against then-No. 17 Arizona, dropped Cal to 12-14 overall and 3-12 in the Pac-12 with three games left before the conference tournament.  The Bears play their final home game on Sunday against 25th-ranked USC, then finish up on the road against fourth-ranked Utah and No. 21 Colorado.

Cal sophomore Jayda Curry scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half and made three three-pointers to extend her Pac-12-record streak to 48 consecutive regular-season games in which she has made a three-pointer.  

Kemery Martin and Leilani McIntosh added 14 points apiece, but starting center Evelien Lutje Schipholt, who entered the game as the Bears' third-leading scorer at 10.1 points per game, was held scoreless for the first time this season.

It was not enough against a UCLA team that leads the Pac-12 in offensive rebounding and punished Cal on the offensive boards.

The Bruins (21-6, 10-5 Pac-12) collected 20 offensive rebounds, helping them to a 22-9 advantage in second-chance points.

"Just wish we could have been better," Cal coach Charmin Smith said. "The offensive rebounding really hurt us. But I like how our press is developing."

After scoring just 20 points in the first half, Cal scored 24 points in the third quarter when the Bears' fullcourt pressure quickened the pace of the game and led to some UCLA turnovers.

Cal closed a 15-point halftime deficit to nine points on several occasions in the third quarter, but could never get closer.

Smith said she would like to use the press more often, but fears she does not have the depth to use it the entire game.

"I'd like to be pressing more early," she said. "I'm a little hesitant just because their legs, these two [Curry and McIntosh], but I think we need to do it more. We'll keep adding it in, hopefully earlier and not just to try to come back."

Presumably Cal will press more often on Sunday in its final home game on Sunday against the Trojans, which is also Senior Day.

McIntosh, a senior, and Curry talked about Sunday's home game in the video below.

Friday's game was designated as Cal's Black History Month game, and Smith discussed its importance in the video below:

UCLA swept the season series with Cal, winning both games by double-digit margins.

.

Follow Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport