Bench Players Help Cal Women Get First Pac-12 Win
Cal women's coach Charmin Smith has been telling anyone who would listen that the Golden Bears have much better depth this season, and Cal provided evidence of thart in its 74-61 victory over Arizona State on Monday in Berkeley.
The Bears (10-4, 1-2 Pac-12) picked up their first conference win in large part due to the performance of players off the bench. The Bears got 35 of their 74 points from players who were not starters, including big contributions from Michelle Onyiah (16 points, 11 rebounds) and Claudia Langarita (15 points).
Those two bench players were instrumental in the Bears' fourth-quarter surge that doomed Arizona State (7-7, 0-3).
The score was tied 55-55 with 9:30 left in the fourth quarter before Cal scored 12 straight points over the next six minutes to take control. Langarita scored the first four points in that Cal run, and Onyiah converted the final basket on that surge.
Jayda Curry added 12 points on 3-for-10 shooting and Leilani McIntosh contributed 11 points and eight assists with just one turnover for the Bears.
Curry made two three-point shots, extending her streak of making at least one three-pointer to 36 consecutive games. That is the longest active such streak and just two shy of the second-longest Pac-12 streak since 1999-2000. Kelsey Plum hit a three-pointer in 38 straight games, and Shay Murphy made a triple in 45 consecutive contests.
Cal cranked up the defense in the fourth quarter, allowing ASU to score just six points over the final 9:30 of the game. The Sun Devils shots just 36.8% from the field for the game.
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Cover photo of Michaelle Onyiah is by Cal Athletics
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