On Friday, Cal women’s basketball fell to Colorado by a final score of 64-57. Sophomore guard Aubrey Knight led the way for the Buffaloes with 12 points while senior forward Jaelyn Brown was the top performer for the Golden Bears with 13 points. Colorado improves to 15-9 overall and 4-9 in the Pac-12 while Cal falls to 9-15 overall and 1-12 in the Pac-12.

This game got off to a slow start as Cal and Colorado were tied 2-2 with 4:30 to go in the 1st quarter. Alaysia Styles was the first to strike for Cal while Emma Clarke was the first to strike for Colorado. At the end of the 1st quarter, Colorado led 14-6, closing the quarter out on a 12-4 run. Colorado was shooting 4-11 from the field while Cal was shooting 2-14. It had been an ugly game up to this point. Especially for Cal.

In the 2nd quarter, Cal finally found some life, trailing 21-19 with 2:56 to go in the half. Clarke was up to 6 points and 5 rebounds for the Buffs while Styles had 8 points and 3 rebounds for the Golden Bears. After looking like Colorado may cruise to double-digit halftime lead, this game was tight.

At halftime, Colorado would have a 27-23 lead as Clarke (9 points & 6 rebounds) led the way. As for Cal, it was Styles who was their top performer, still at 8 points and 3 rebounds. It was a not a great offensive game for either team. When looking at the stat sheet, it was pretty even. Colorado had a slight edge on the boards (21-17) and shot 9-10 from the foul line to Cal’s 6-8. What kept Cal in the game was the fact that they took better care of the ball. Cal had just 8 turnovers resulting in 6 Colorado points while Colorado had 11 turnovers resulting in 8 Cal points.

With 6:49 to go in the 3rd quarter, Colorado led 33-29 as Aubrey Knight was the first player in double figures with 12 points. She was really stepping up for the Buffs. As for Cal, senior Sara Anastasieska went down after a head-to-head collision. She was on the bench getting checked out.

Colorado would then extend their lead a bit, leading 38-31 with 4:29 to go in the 3rd. Cal called for time after Peanut Tuitele got a bucket inside for the Buffs. Cal was shooting 10-34 (29.4%) from the field and 1-7 from deep. Colorado wasn’t doing much better in terms of their shooting, but what had them in front was their 26-21 edge on the glass.

At the end of the 3rd quarter, Colorado led 42-35. Knight (12 points) was still the only player in double figures, but Clarke (9 points) was knocking on the door. As for Cal, nobody was in double figures. After having 8 points in the first half, Styles did not score at all in the 3rd quarter.

With 4:54 to go in the game, Colorado led 52-43. It was not looking good for Cal. That 1st quarter really hurt Cal. Since then, it had basically been a tie game (Colorado +1). Anastasieska hadn’t yet returned from her head injury as she was icing her head on the bench. She was done for the evening.

In the end, Colorado walked out with a 64-57 win. More scoring balance was a major difference in this game as Knight (12 points), Sherrod (11 points), Clarke (11 points), and Hollingshed (10 points) were all in double figures for the Buffs. As for the Bears, Jaelyn Brown (13 points) and CJ West (11 points) were the only scorers in double figures. In addition to lacking more scoring balance, Cal’s inability to keep up with Colorado on the glass also did them in. Colorado had a +9 rebounding differential (38-29), playing a huge role in their ability to pull out the win.

Up next for Cal will be a road game at Utah. That game will tipoff on Sunday at 11:00 AM PST on Pac-12 Networks.