Cal Women Pull Away Early, Dispatch Georgia Tech, 79-65

The difference was simple, Cal women’s basketball coach Charmin Smith said.

Michelle Onyiah stayed out of foul trouble and stayed on the floor.

The senior center scored 24 points — one point off her career high — on 11-for-16 shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds to help power the Golden Bears to a decisive 79-65 victory over Georgia Tech on Thursday night in front of 1,933 fans at Haas Pavilion.

Onyiah, Cal’s most important presence in the paint, played just 13 minutes before fouling out of the Bears’ 87-84 loss at Virginia Tech on Sunday.

“Michelle did not foul until sometime in the third quarter,” said Smith, who then led a round of applause. “Seriously, a key to us winning games. Just really proud of Michelle bouncing back.

“If you dive into the analytics, we are a much better team when Michelle is on the floor.”

Senior guard Ioanna Krimili, who recently topped 2,500 career points, scored 15 points on 5-for-8 accuracy from the 3-point line. Her third, with 4:03 left in the third quarter, boosted Cal’s lead to 55-37 and gave her 426 for her career, 10th-most in Division I history. She now sits at 428.

Afterward, she gave credit to Onyiah for helping to spread the floor by commanding attention in the paint.

“It’s so much easier for all our shooters, not only me, to get open shots Michelle has such a strong presence. People have to play her honest . . . sometimes they have to double-team her. She’s doing everything for us.”

Cal’s dominance inside was telling. The Bears outrebounded the Yellow Jackets 36-25 and outscored them 42-28 in the paint.

Sophomore guard Lulu Twidale contributed 17 points and six assists.

The Bears (23-7, 11-6 ACC) locked up seventh-place in the ACC one week before the conference tournament and added to their already sturdy NCAA tournament resume. Their 23 wins are the most since 24 in the 2014-15 season.

“We needed this win for ACC standings and for NCAA (tournament). So, really excited,” Smith said.

Cal improved to 15-1 at home, matching the program record for most home victories. The Bears close out regular-season play Sunday at Haas against Miami (14-14, 4-13). Tipoff is 2 p.m.

Georgia Tech (21-8, 9-8) began the day just one game back of the Bears in the ACC standings and ranked No. 28 in the NET computer rankings, but was swimming upstream from the start in the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The Yellow Jackets, who opened the season 15-0 and boast a win over No. 8 North Carolina, have lost three in a row and four of five.

Cal closed the closed the first quarter with an 18-2 run and was never threatened again.

The Bears trailed 7-5 after 4 minutes when they took command with a run that lasted the rest of the first quarter.

Onyiah began the onslaught by converting a layup with 5:12 left and six different Bears scored before they ended the period with a 23-9 lead. Twidale and Marta Suarez each hit 3-pointers during the 12-0 burst over the final 2:54 of the quarter.

Tech never got closer than eight points the rest of the night and the margin reached 21 points, at 70-49, early in the fourth quarter.

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