On Sunday, Cal women’s basketball lost to Colorado 67-52 at Haas Pavilion. Frida Formann led the way for the Buffaloes with 25 points while Peanut Tuitele had 13 points and 6 rebounds. Leilani McIntosh (13 points & 5 assists) and Ugonne Onyiah (12 points) paced the Golden Bears. Colorado improves to 7-9 overall and 5-8 in the Pac-12 while Cal falls to 0-13 overall and 0-10 in the Pac-12.

“I thought our first quarter was ok,” Cal head coach Charmin Smith said after the game. “They were hot from three. They had a really hot hand. I thought our second quarter was what dug us the hole. Just offensively not being able to knock down shots. I think what caused that, we are in a position where we have people on the floor where the perimeter shots aren’t being respected.”

Colorado got out to an early 9-2 lead with 7:07 to go in the 1st quarter. Cal quickly called for time, looking to get back on track. Tuitele had 4 points for the Buffaloes. Cal needed to wake up. Unfortunately for the Bears, they remained sleepy the rest of the quarter as Colorado led 22-14 entering the 2nd quarter.

The 2nd quarter was more trouble for Cal as Colorado outscored them 23-9. Cal shot 4-10 from the field in the 2nd quarter and 1-2 from 3-point range. Not terrible shooting numbers. The issue is Colorado shot 9-15 from the field and 4-6 from 3-point range. The Buffaloes just got hot and Cal was unable to slow them down. As a result, Colorado led 45-23 at the half.

Rather than folding like cheap tents, Cal came out of the tunnel to start the 3rd quarter motivated to get back in the game. With 7:58 to go in the 3rd quarter, Colorado led 49-25. Formann was up to 17 points for the Buffaloes. Rather than letting Colorado extend their lead even more, Cal found a way to actually win the quarter 15-14 to trail 59-38 going into the 4th quarter. Onyiah was up to 10 points for Cal while McIntosh was up to 9 points. Cal was still in a huge hole, but to their credit, they were fighting.

“I mean, I guess my teammates are a big part of that,” Cal junior Sierra Richey said of how she stayed focused. “They’re always hyping me up and pushing me super hard. I feel the positivity of this team has been essential to staying ready. Leaning on my teammates when I need them.”

With 5:44 to go in the game, Colorado was up 63-41. Cal was playing much better. The problem was they fell asleep at the wheel in the first half and Colorado caught them off guard with their three point attack.

With 2:36 to go, Colorado led 65-45. Cal was trying to win the 4th quarter, too. Ugonne Onyiah (10 points), Leilani McIntosh (11 points), and Dalayah Daniels (11 points) were finding a groove. The problem was it was coming too late.

“I settled down,” McIntosh said. “In the first half I was rushing a lot of things. I was able to talk to Cailyn Crocker at halftime and she was telling me she had confidence in me. That I just needed to calm down. I just needed to do a better join the second half.”

In the end, Colorado walked out with a 67-52 win. Cal won the 4th quarter 14-8 and the 2nd half 29-22. They played a much better game in the 2nd half and showed they can make the adjustments at halftime to get back in the game. The problem is that basketball is played over four quarters and two halves. You can’t expect to win if you only play well in one half.

Up next for Cal is a road game at Oregon on Friday, February 12th. That game will tipoff at 4:00 PM PST on Pac-12 Networks.