On Friday, Cal women’s basketball got stomped at Washington State by a final score of 92-66. Redshirt senior forward Borislava Hristova led the way for the Cougars with 32 points and 5 rebounds while senior guard Chanelle Molina finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Cal freshman guard Jazlen Green was the top performer for Cal with 18 points. Washington State improves to 10-11 overall and 3-6 in the Pac-12 while Call falls to 8-12 overall and 0-9 in the Pac-12.
Early on, this game was tight as Washington State led 11-10 with 6:08 to go in the 1st quarter. Cal junior forward Alaysia Styles and Cal senior forward Jaelyn Brown each had 5 points for Cal, while Hristova (3 points) and Molina (2 points) were on the board early for Washington State. The game continued to remain tight as Washington State would lead 15-12 with 3:22 to go in the quarter as Molina was up to 4 points after a layup inside.
Rather than keeping the game close, Cal allowed Washington State to close the quarter out on an 8-4 run, to take a 25-18 lead. Hristova started to take over as she was up to 14 points, getting whatever she wanted both inside and out. After a solid first few minutes, the 1st quarter as a whole did not go the way Cal wanted it to go.
At the beginning of the 2nd quarter, neither team gained on the other as Washington State still had a 7 point lead (33-26) with 4:58 to go in the half. Molina was up to 10 points for the Cougars while Brown had 7 points for the Golden Bears.
Similar to the 1st quarter, Washington State went on a run to close out the 2nd quarter, leading 47-32 at the half. Hristova scored 6 more points in the quarter to give herself 20 points. Cal had no answer for her and paying the price as a result.
With 4:32 to go in the 3rd quarter, Washington State held a 56-41 lead, slightly building their lead. Cal freshman guard Leilani McIntosh and Cal redshirt senior guard Sara Anastasieska each had 8 points as the top scorers for Cal. Cal wasn’t dead yet, but they weren’t gaining ground, either.
At the end of the 3rd quarter, Washington State still had a 15 point lead, up 67-52. Hristova was up to 28 points while Molina had 15 points. As for Cal, it was Green that came alive as she was up to 13 points. If Cal was going to pull off the comeback, they would need others to step up while also curbing Hristova and Molina.
To Cal’s credit, they made a bit of a run to start the 4th quarter, trailing 71-60 with 5:55 to go. Cal made three consecutive field goals and as a result were back in the game. Anastasieska was up to 11 points, doing her part to keep Cal afloat.
Sadly for Cal, that was the closest they would get. Washington State would go on an 11-0 run to lead 82-60 with 3:20 to go. Hristova (32 points) and Molina (21 points) once again had their way, putting up buckets of points on Cal’s defense. In the end, Washington State would walk out with a 92-66 win. This game pretty much went as things went in Berkeley.
Ultimately for Cal, they have to find a way to pick up the pieces and not get smacked in Seattle when they face the Washington Huskies on Super Bowl Sunday at Noon on Pac-12 Networks. It’s a quick turnaround in Pac-12 women’s basketball and perhaps in this case, that will help Cal. They can move on from this loss and get ready for the next game.
Note: Cal senior forward CJ West returned to the lineup, finishing with 8 points and 9 rebounds after being in concussion protocol. Redshirt senior center Chen Yue missed the game due to being in concussion protocol. Her status for Sunday is unknown.
