On Friday, Cal women’s basketball fell to Colorado in Boulder by a final score of 75-59. Colorado freshman guard Frida Formann (19 points & 7 rebounds) and Colorado senior forward Mya Hollingshed (18 points & 9 rebounds) led the way for the Buffaloes while Cal sophomore guard Leilani McIntosh (14 points & 10 assists) and Cal freshman forward Ugonne Onyiah (13 points & 12 rebounds) notched their first career double doubles. Cal freshman guard Ornela Muca also posted a season-high 11 points on 3-3 shooting from 3-point range and 4-5 shooting from the field. Colorado improves to 5-6 overall and 3-5 in the Pac-12 while Cal falls to 0-11 overall and 0-8 in the Pac-12.
Early on Colorado got out to an 8-0 lead with 7:41 to go in the 1st quarter. Colorado was shooting 3-3 from the field while Cal was shooting 0-2. Cal called for time, hoping to get on track. Cal’s timeout worked as they would trail 22-18 at the end of the quarter. Cal was back in the game after a rocky start. McIntosh was up to 6 points for Cal on 2-3 shooting from 3-point range while Sierra Richey had a triple. As for Colorado, Peanut Tuitele had 5 points, doing a good job of pacing her team.
The 2nd quarter did not get off to a good start for Cal as Colorado led 32-22 with 4:56 to go in the half. Formann was up to 8 points for the Buffs, having a fantastic start to the game. Onyiah and McIntosh each had 6 points for the Bears. Cal needed to finish the half strong. It was a crucial stretch.
Colorado finished the half strong to lead 42-25 at halftime. Hollingshed was up to 10 points for the Buffs after getting a buzzer beater to fall. Onyiah, McIntosh, and Richey each had 6 points for the Bears. Cal was battling, but that 2nd quarter was rough as Colorado outscored them 20-7.
With 4:56 to go in the 3rd quarter, Colorado’s lead ballooned to 30 points (58-28). Hollingshed was up to 16 points while Onyiah was up to 8 points for the Bears on 5-8 shooting from the foul line and 2-4 shooting from the field. No one else for Cal had gone to the foul line.
“Michelle is really coming on and showing a lot of promise and I think she’s a big part of our future going forward,” Cal head coach Charmin Smith said. “She keeps getting more and more comfortable. Her first time in altitude, I think she did well.”
At this point, Cal was in a very similar situation to what their men’s counterparts found themselves in yesterday. Down by 30 in Boulder. The only question was whether or not they too would collapse like a house of cards or if they would put their shoulder to the wheel and push along.
Cal would finish the 3rd quarter on a solid 11-1 run to trail 58-39 going into the 4th quarter. After a rough 2nd quarter, Cal lost the 3rd quarter by just two points (16-14). Hollingshed and Formann each had 16 points for the Buffs while Onyiah and McIntosh each had 6 points for the Bears. One player that was starting to heat up for the Bears was Muca, who was up to 6 points on 2-2 shooting from 3-point range. It was huge for Cal to get her going as her 3-point shooting had been dreadful coming in.
“Yeah, we’ve just been waiting for it and waiting for it,” Smith said of Muca. “I feel like we made more threes today than we made all season in the previous 10 games. The 3-point shot is really weapon. It was good for Ornela’s confidence and hopefully it will keep her moving forward and get her to continue to knock down shots.”
Cal would continue to make it closer as Colorado led 60-44 with 8:09 to go. Muca was up to 9 points on 3-3 shooting from 3-point range while Onyiah was up to 11 points and 11 rebounds, officially notching her first career double-double. The Bears were battling and not giving up.
Shortly thereafter, Colorado went on a 9-0 run to lead 69-44 with 6:18 to go after a triple from Kylee Blacksten. After working so hard to get back in the game, Cal was faced with a 25 point deficit. Once again, Cal went back to work and slowly chipped away at the Buffs’ lead. With 2:54 to go, Colorado now led 72-51 after Formann (19 points) hit a 3-pointer to beat the shot clock. It was all a matter of pride for Cal at this point and whether or not they could win the 4th quarter and make the final score closer.
In the end, Cal would close the gap further, to lose by a final score of 75-59. They battled all the way until the end and were rewarded with a much better result than what Cal men’s basketball had yesterday. While the men’s team was a disgrace to the hardwood, this Cal team can hold their heads high knowing they battled hard and ended up winning the 2nd half 34-33.
“Yeah, we’re in this together and we’re working hard to continue to grow and get better every game,” Smith said. “That’s the constant message. It’s about improving and I think we did improve today. We’ll continue to get after it and hopefully continue to see the growth.”
On top of that, they got much more out of Muca than they have at any other point in the season and both McIntosh and Onyiah had career outings. This is certainly a performance that they can build on as they head into Sunday’s tilt with the Utes in Salt Lake City, which will tipoff at 11:00 AM PST on Pac-12 Networks.
Note: Cal sophomore forward Evelien Lutje Schipholt (concussion) protocol was out.
