Photo by Rob Edwards, KLC Fotos
Cal Women's Basketball: Jaelyn Brown Scores 30 in Upset of No. 20 Arkansas
The other Jaylen Brown who played basketball for Cal never did this.
Senior Jaelyn Brown scored a career-high 30 points and added 12 rebounds as the Cal women (3-2) took down No. 20 Arkansas 84-80 at Haas Pavilion on Sunday afternoon.
Her namesake (although no relation) played one season (2015-16) for the Cal men, twice scoring a career-high 27, before moving on to the NBA.
Jaelyn Brown had never even posted a collegiate double-double before delivering the game of her life against the previously unbeaten Razorbacks (5-1). Her previous high scoring game was 19 points.
She scored 15 points in the second quarter alone as Cal took charge by outscoring Arkansas 27-14 to take a 47-39 lead into halftime.
Brown shot 11-for-20 from the field, including 4-for-5 from the 3-point arc.
She is the 23rd player in program history to score 30 or more points in a game, and joins All-Americans Ashley Walker, Reshanda Gray, and as the only Golden Bears in the past 20 seasons to record at least 30 points and 12 rebounds in a single game.
"We stuck with it and just refused to lose," said first-year Cal coach Charmin Smith, whose team previously lost 72-61 at then-No. 6 UConn on Nov. 6.
"This was a great win for the program," Smith added. "I think this is a big confidence booster for us moving forward."
Senior CJ West added 14 points and 12 rebounds, freshman Evelien Lutje Schipholt added 11 points and 10 rebounds and freshman Leilani McIntosh contributed seven points and seven assists.
Freshman Cailyn Crocker chipped in nine points, including two free throws with two seconds left that iced the win, and junior Alaysia Styles scored eight to help complement Brown’s big afternoon.
Arkansas entered the game ranked sixth nationally in scoring at 91.6 points per game and scored 101 points in a win over McNeese State. Cal held the Razorbacks to a season-low total and won despite 24 points from junior guard Chelsea Dungee.
