On Friday, Cal women’s basketball lost their regular season opener on the road at Harvard by a final score of 56-53. Freshman guard Lola Mullaney led the way for Harvard with 14 points while Evelien Lutje Schipholt was the top performer for Cal with 13 points and 4 rebounds. Harvard improves to 2-0 on the season while Cal falls to 0-1.
Cal head coach Charmin Smith elected to roll with the same starting five she had in the exhibitions: Leilani McIntosh, Sara Anastasieska, Jaelyn Brown, Alaysia Styles, and Chen Yue. That starting lineup didn’t get out to the best of starts as Cal trailed 9-6 with 4:32 to go in the 1st quarter. Styles scored 4 of Cal’s first 6 points, but others had a tough time finding any sort of rhythm. Both teams did for that matter as there was a 3+ minute stretch where neither team could buy a bucket. Shooting 2-10 from the field, it was clear that Cal’s shooting needed to improve by leaps and bounds.
To Cal’s credit, they picked things up a bit to close out the quarter as Schipholt, the freshman from the Netherlands, hit a huge 3-pointer right at the buzzer to tie the game up 14-14. Cal was shooting 5-18 from the field while Harvard was shooting 5-15. Both teams were struggling offensively, but it was Cal’s hope that Schipholt’s buzzer beater would give them some momentum.
Schipholt’s buzzer beater did indeed give Cal a boost as they went up 22-18 with 4:59 to go in the 2nd quarter. Schipholt was up to 7 points on 3-6 shooting from the field and 1-1 shooting from 3-point range, doing her part to give Cal the lead. Cal would then go on to finish the quarter out on a 9-1 run, going up 29-19 at the half. Schipholt would score another three points to have 10 points and 3 rebounds. While Cal had a tough time going on offense, their woes weren’t as bad as Harvard’s, who scored zero field goals in the final 6:38 of the half.
To start the 3rd quarter, Harvard scored four quick points, cutting Cal’s lead to six points (29-23) with 7:09 to go in the 3rd quarter. Smith called for time as she recognized her team was letting their lead slip away. That timeout appeared to work as Cal got their lead back up to nine points (36-27) with 4:46 to go in the quarter. Anastasieska was up to 7 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists, doing a little bit of everything to help Cal.
Cal’s good vibes wouldn’t last for long as Harvard went on a 12-5 run to trail by just two points (41-39) with one quarter left to play. In the 3rd quarter, Harvard outscored Cal 20-12, doing a great job of getting themselves back in the game. After having a great 2nd quarter, Cal really laid an egg in the 3rd, failing to capitalize.
The 4th quarter proved to be a back and forth affair as the game was tied 47-47 with 4:27 to go. Schipholt was up to 12 points for Cal while freshman Cailyn Crocker had 10 points. Both were doing a great job at keeping Cal in the game. It was a low scoring, mucky game and it would ultimately come down to which team could find a way to get crucial buckets down the stretch.
With 2:39 to go, it was now tied 49-49 as both teams traded baskets. Cal called for time, hoping to pull ahead. That timeout didn’t really work as it remained tied 49-49 with 1:35 to go as Harvard now called for time. Someone had to step up and someone did in Harvard sophomore guard Tess Sussman, who scored three points (a free throw and a layup) to give Harvard a 52-49 lead. With 43 seconds left and the ball, Harvard was now in the driver’s seat to win the game. Harvard would go up 53-49 at the foul line before Schipholt responded with a 1-2 trip of her own. Time was Harvard’s friend as they were now up 53-50 with 27 seconds to go. Similar to the 2nd quarter, Cal hit a buzzer beater at the end of the 4th quarter thanks to Jaelyn Brown, but it ended up only making the loss seem not quite as bad as Harvard won by three points (56-53) instead of six.
As I said in the preview, this road trip will be a good experience for Cal win or lose and they are certain to take some valuable lessons from today’s game. For starters, they have to play better offense. 17-56 (30.4%) shooting from the field won’t get it done, nor will 16-26 (61.5%) shooting from the foul line. Cal needs to figure out ways to move the ball better and create more open looks.
Another area that Cal needs to do better in is rebounding. Harvard outrebounded Cal 44-42 today, something that shouldn’t happen when you have better athletes on the court. If Cal had won the rebounding battle in this game, odds are good they would have pulled this one out.
Lastly, Cal still needs to establish who their go-to player is. Something I addressed in the preview as well. If there’s one player who appears most ready to take on that mantle, it’s Schipholt. The problem is she’s a freshman. Some of the upperclassmen, namely Alaysia Styles and CJ West need to do more.
Up next for Cal is their game against #5/#4 ranked UConn on Sunday at 10:00 AM PST. If they keep that game even remotely interesting, that will be a miracle.
