On Sunday, Cal women’s basketball lost to Colorado by a final score of 62-50. Colorado sophomore guard Emma Clarke led the way for the Buffaloes with 14 points and 5 rebounds while Cal senior forward Jaelyn Brown was the top performer for the Golden Bears with 12 points and 4 rebounds. Colorado improves to 14-5 overall and 3-5 in the Pac-12. Cal falls to 8-11 overall and 0-8 in the Pac-12.
“We gave ourselves some opportunities, we came out flat to start the second half and dug ourselves a hole,” Cal head coach Charmin Smith said after the game. “And it’s just really tough in this conference when you do that and we weren’t able to get back in control. But again, we want to see the effort and we want to see growth and I think we’re getting that every game. And if we can get everyone on the same page in the same game, playing at their highest level, I think we’ll be able to get that W.”
Colorado got out to an early 9-8 lead with 3:29 to go in the 1st quarter. Colorado was shooting 4-10 from the field while Cal was shooting 4-11. Cal freshman guard Leilani McIntosh led all scorers with 4 points as this game was tight. At the end of the 1st quarter, Cal would hold a 20-16 lead as Cal freshman forward Evelien Lutje Schipholt hit a clutch basket at the buzzer. She had 6 points and 2 rebounds. As for Colorado, sophomore guard Leslia Finau was leading the charge with 7 points. She was in a nice groove.
With 5:54 to go in the 2nd quarter, Cal was still in front, up 26-22. Schipholt was up to 8 points and 3 rebounds as Cal was shooting 12-24 from the field. Rather than extending their lead, Cal allowed Colorado to get back in the game. With 4:29 to go until halftime, Cal was up 26-25. A major issue for Cal was their lack of rebounding as Colorado had an 18-13 edge on the glass. Senior center CJ West was once again out due to concussion protocol and Cal was having a hard time making up for her absence.
“I hope to have her back for the Washingtons,” Smith said of West’s absence. “You know, she and Jaelyn are the only players on the team with experience. So, it makes a huge difference and Colorado’s a really big team. They have good size. So, it would have been nice, but I think the way Eve stepped up today was phenomenal and it was great to see her kinda back in there doing what she can do so well and dominating around the basket and also on the boards.”
At the half, the game was all tied up 30-30. Schipholt led Cal with 8 points and 4 rebounds while Finau had 7 points and 7 rebounds for Colorado. It was a tight game and despite giving up an early lead, Cal still sat in a good position.
With 6:48 to go in the 3rd quarter, Colorado was up 38-32. Colorado was on an 8-0 run over the last 2:25 as Clarke was up to 11 points for the Buffs. Cal needed to get some stops and in turn, score on the other end. With 4:56 to go in the 3rd, Colorado was now up 43-32 as their 8-0 run turned into a 13-0 run, shooting 5-14 from beyond the arc. Cal really needed to get a hand up.
With 2:56 to go in the 3rd, Colorado was now up 45-38. Brown was up to 10 points as Cal was slowly chipping their way back into the game. At the end of the quarter, Colorado led 47-43. Schipholt got a clutch basket at the buzzer for Cal and was up to 10 points. Cal had only attempted two foul shots (1-2). They were really in need of getting in the bonus and getting some trips to the foul line.
Colorado led 51-45 with 5:16 to go as the game remained tight. Schipholt and Brown each had 10 points for Cal. Clarke was up to 13 points for Colorado, trying to get her team across the finish line.
“I didn’t feel tired, I actually felt energized because it was such a close game,” Schipholt said. “Like, we wanted this, and I felt like we had some good looks. We just didn’t make it and sometimes that is what it is. We just need to get in the gym and work on all of it to make sure that won’t ever happen again.”
“Yeah, to add onto that I don’t think it was fatigue that was really setting in,” McIntosh added. “Because I also get pumped up and energized off playing defense and gaining those stops and stuff. I just think it was like the little things on offense that we need to tweak to get better shots in our offense.”
Rather than regaining the lead, the game more or less remained a back and forth affair over the next few minutes. With 57.4 to go, Colorado was up 58-50. Cal had the ball, but it looked like time would run out on them. In the end, that is precisely what happened. Colorado won 62-50, doing a good job of finishing the game strong.
“Yeah, I thought that stretch right there, we didn’t execute as well,” Smith said. “We had some turnovers. Trying to get into our sets. Trying to get people where we wanted them, and they were able to capitalize. It was 48-43, I feel like for a really long time and we just couldn’t get it and then they knocked down threes. We couldn’t hit one. Even when we did execute and get the look we wanted. Things wouldn’t fall for us today. I thought we showed the fight that we have to see from this team, and I was a little frustrated to start the second half. We came out so kinda nonchalant within it and I was like where is our fight? Where is this energy? This is what we are all about. And then that came back, but we couldn’t get over the hump.”
For Cal, this is a disappointing loss as they are still seeking that first win in conference play. They’re battling tough and not quitting, so it does seem like their first Pac-12 win is just around the corner. What’s also nice is that they have a strong recruiting class coming in, adding a talented 4-star forward today in Sela Heide out of Mount Si High School in North Bend, Washington. Still, that all said, you can tell they are hungry for a win and will be relieved once that win comes.
“I think we’ve built a lot of confidence in the non-conference play,” Smith said. “And we knew that Pac-12 play was going to be a challenge. I think having that gauntlet right there that we had with the four ranked opponents in a row. I think that makes it look a lot worse than it actually is. I’m proud that we’re still fighting and still a team after those games. And I think we could have easily come in here after losing by 50 to Oregon and just kinda laid down against Utah and said well this is what it’s gonna be like and we haven’t done that.
“We’re still coming in every single game with the mentality like we can win this one. And we’re trying to give a really clear and concise game plan as to exactly what we need to do in order to win and we’ll be ready to go up to Washington State and Washington and get a second shot at that group. I think with a young team, second time around, maybe we have the advantage. I don’t know, but I know that we’re going to give everything we have and there’s no let up with this team.”
Up next for Cal is a road game at Washington State. That game will tipoff on Friday at 7:00 PM PST on Pac-12 Networks.
