On Sunday, Cal women’s basketball pulled off a huge upset over #13 Arizona in Tucson by a final score of 55-54. Cal freshman guard Jazlen Green led the way for the Golden Bears with 17 points and 5 rebounds while freshman forward Evelien Lutje Schipholt chipped in 4 points to go along with 11 rebounds. Arizona junior guard Aari McDonald was the top performer for the Wildcats with 17 points. Cal improves to 11-18 overall and 3-15 in the Pac-12 while Arizona falls to 23-6 overall and 12-6 in the Pac-12.
Early on, this game was slow going as Cal led 4-2 with 4:42 to go in the 1st quarter. Cal senior forward Jaelyn Brown (3 points) and Cal freshman guard Leilani McIntosh (1 point) were on the board for the Golden Bears while Arizona sophomore forward Cate Reese (2 points) was on the board for the Wildcats. Both teams were really struggling to score as Cal was shooting 1-10 from the field while Arizona was shooting 0-5.
Cal would lead 16-10 at the end of the 1st quarter, coming out of their offensive rut. Green was up to 6 points on 2-2 shooting from 3-point range sparking Cal to a 6-0 run to finish the quarter. McDonald was up to 5 points, scoring the first field goal of the game for the Wildcats, who were shooting an icy 1-10 from the field.
Cal would extend their lead in the 2nd quarter, leading 25-12 with 5:11 to go until halftime. Green was on fire with 11 points on 4-5 shooting from the field and 3-3 shooting from 3-point range. Cal senior Sara Anastasieska had 4 points. Cal was out-rebounding Arizona 17-11, doing a fantastic job on the glass.
Arizona would wake up, going on a 7-0 run to trail 28-19 with 2:55 to go in the half. McDonald had 8 points for the Wildcats. Cal needed to stick together and hang tough, not letting Arizona ruin their strong start. To Arizona’s credit, they got back in the game by closing the half on a 12-2 run. Cal was up 30-26 at halftime.
Arizona head coach Adia Barnes was not happy with her team at the half, saying: “This is the worst start of the half we’ve had all year. We need to wake up.” She looked very upset, hoping to fire up her team in the locker room. As for Cal head coach Charmin Smith, her message to her team remained positive: “We just have to be the fighters that we are and stick to the game plan.”
Arizona came to play in the 3rd quarter, going up 39-36 with 3:42 to go in the quarter. Reese (12 points) and McDonald (11 points) led the Wildcats. Brown still had 3 points for Cal. It was clear that if Cal was going to win, they were going to need much more from their senior leader.
At the end of the 3rd quarter, Arizona led 43-42 as Cal was still fighting, not allowing the Wildcats to gain more separation. Green was a major reason for that as she was up to 17 points. She was balling out. Cal’s 31-25 rebounding edge was keeping them in the game. Lutje Schipholt was up to 4 points and 9 rebounds, doing a fantastic job inside.
With 4:58 to go, Arizona led 47-46. Cal freshman guard Cailyn Crocker got a scrappy bucket inside off an offensive rebound. She had 8 points. Cal continued to fight, not deterred by the screaming Arizona fans who desperately wanted their team to win on Senior Day.
With 45.0 to go, the game was knotted up 52-52 after Brown made three clutch free throws for Cal. Cal had the ball, close to finishing the job. Brown would go to the foul line again, where she would go 1-2. Arizona had the ball, trailing 52-53. McDonald would then go to the foul line and make both her foul shots to give Arizona a 54-53 lead. With 25.0 to go, Cal had the ball, needing to respond.
Cal senior center CJ West went to the line and missed both free throws, looking like Cal would squander the upset. But like a bat out of hell, Jaelyn Brown came to the rescue with a huge offensive rebound plus the put back. West’s missed free throws were lemons turned into lemonade. Cal now was up 55-54 with 14.5 to go. It was just a matter of getting a stop.
After a 3-point attempt by McDonald clanged off the rim, Cal got the stop they needed. As the final buzzer sounded, Cal raced back to the other end of the court in sheer jubilation, still processing the fact that they had in fact pulled off a 55-54 upset over the #13 team in the nation. It was truly a team effort from Cal. They got contributions from everybody, even if they were small. Plays like Chen Yue’s block on Aari McDonald and Cailyn Crocker’s scrappy bucket all added up, resulting in a one-point upset. Charmin Smith talked about how this team has stuck together through a lot of adversity and today that perseverance really paid off.
As for Arizona, this loss really really stings. I can’t stress that enough. It was Senior Day, they just beat #4 Stanford on Friday, and had all the momentum going in. To get upended by a Cal team that got waxed in Tempe on Friday really hurts and if I can be more blunt, is embarrassing. Take nothing away from Cal. They played fantastic, but if you are an Arizona team looking to solidify a solid NCAA Tournament resume, you cannot have a loss like this. You just can’t.
Up next for Cal is the Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas. As the 12th seed, Cal will have a rematch with the 5th seeded Arizona State Sun Devils on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 11:30 AM PST on Pac-12 Networks from the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
