On Sunday, Cal women’s basketball fell to #11 Oregon at home by a final score of 100-41. Nyara Sabally, Taylor Chavez, and Te-Hina Paopao each finished with 13 points for Oregon while freshman Ugonne Onyiah finished with 13 points and 7 rebounds for Cal. The Ducks improve to 9-2 overall and 7-2 in the Pac-12 while the Golden Bears fall to 0-10 overall and 0-7 in the Pac-12.

“I think we’ve established ourselves as team that continues to play hard regardless off the circumstances,” Cal head coach Charmin Smith said after the game. “That’s not something that’s wavering. It’s just a matter of being better at executing and getting more of what we want throughout the game.”

Early on the game was tight as Oregon led 18-15 with 3:10 to go in the 1st quarter. Chavez was up to 6 points for the Ducks while Onyiah was up to 6 points for the Bears. Cal was doing a nice job of working the ball inside, shooting 6 of 7 from inside the 3-point line. They were 0-2 from 3-point range, not yet able to establish a perimeter attack.

Cal would get an opportunity to tie the game up at the foul line thanks to a pair of technical free throws plus an and-1 opportunity. Unfortunately for them, they would not make any of those free throws, failing to capitalize. That seemed to really take the wind out of their sails as Oregon closed the quarter on an 8-0 run. As a result, Oregon led 26-15 at the end of the quarter. Cal needed to stop the bleeding and quickly get back in the game.

The 2nd quarter didn’t start the way Cal wanted it to as Oregon led 32-15 with 6:52 to go until halftime. Kylee Watson was up to 10 points for the Ducks on 5-5 shooting from the field. Oregon was maintaining a nice offensive flow, shooting 14-23 from the field. Cal was shooting 6-20, really needing to get a bucket.

With 3:19 to go until halftime, Oregon led 40-19. The Ducks continued to roll like water off the back of a duck. At halftime, Oregon led 50-19, closing the half out on a 12-0 run over the last 4:31 and an 18-2 run over the last 6:33. Watson led the Ducks with her 10 points while Onyiah was up to 8 points and 3 rebounds for the Bears on 4-4 shooting from the field.

It was more of the same as Oregon led 68-24 with 4:04 to go in the 3rd. Sabally was up to 10 points and 2 rebounds for the Ducks on 4-5 shooting from the field. She too was having a solid outing. At the end of the 3rd quarter, Oregon led 79-27. It was well beyond the point of blow out as this stage. It truly was all-around team effort by this Ducks team as they had multiple players in double figures. As for Cal, Onyiah was up to 11 points as the lone player in double figures on their end.

“I would say I was more calm and more collected,” Onyiah said of her performance. “Before I was more anxious. But now that I’m getting more used to it, I’m more calm. My teammates helped me get those points it wasn’t only me.”

With 6:24 to go, Oregon led 88-32. Archer Olson had a nice 3-point play for Cal getting the hoop plus the harm. Cal continued to battle, but Oregon was simply at another level. In the end, Oregon waltzed out with a 100-41 victory. Oregon showed why they are the #11 team in the nation while Cal showed why they are a work in progress with a ton of injuries. Even if this Cal team was at full strength, this year would have been tough. But when you consider the fact that they are missing three key backcourt players for the season, it’s just brutal.

While the results of this game were very lopsided, there are some good things Cal can take from this game. They battled hard, putting up their best quarter in the 4th quarter (21-14 Oregon) and Ugonne Onyiah showed that she’s en route to a very special career at Cal. It’s just a matter of getting the backcourt healthy for next year and staying positive.

“I just have really good people. I say it,” Smith said. “We don’t have any jerks on this team. We have really good people on this team who are committed to this program and committed to each other. That makes my job easier. It’s a lot easier to do with this group.”

Touching more on Onyiah, after the game, she talked about her adjustment to the Pac-12 level and how she feels like she’s starting to settle in. She really credits her teammates and coaches for helping her make the transition and stay positive.

“In the beginning, obviously a lot harder,” Onyiah said. “A lot faster pace, lot more running. Yes, Pac-12 is one of the best conferences in the country. I feel like that the coaches and me and the players are saying let’s do this. It’ll grow from that. Just getting better and better and better.”

Up next for Cal is a road trip to the Rocky Mountains. They’ll face Colorado on Friday at 2:30 PM PST on Pac-12 Networks.