Cal Comes Up Short Against Harvard

BERKELEY - A career day from freshman McKenzie Forbes was not enough for the Bears on Sunday afternoon, as Cal was upset by Harvard, 85-79, in its final game of the non-conference slate. The visiting Crimson (7-6, 0-0 Ivy) connected on 13 three-pointers on afternoon and led the Bears by as many as 15 points before Cal (9-2, 0-0 Pac-12) mounted a comeback. However, the Bears were unable to hold on down the stretch and suffered their second consecutive loss. 

Forbes led all scorers with a career-high 22 points, going 6-8 from beyond the arc. Kianna Smith (15 points), KristineAnigwe (12), and Asha Thomas (10 points) also reached double-figures for the Bears, who fall to 3-2 at home this season. Anigwe added 14 rebounds for her 11th double-double of the season and her 12th in a row, dating back to last season. A three-time All-Pac-12 Selection, Anigwe is the only player in the nation with a double-double in every game this season and ranks second in the nation in rebounding this season, averaging 13.7 rebounds per game. 

Katie Benzan led the Crimson with 19 points on 5-11 shooting from three-point range, while four other players scored in double-figures for the visitors from the Ivy League.

Harvard got off to a hot start, shooting 60 percent (6-10) from three-point range in the first quarter to jump out to a 30-22 lead after the first 10 minutes of play. The Crimson added to their advantage early in the second quarter, leading Cal by as many as 15 before the Bears responded with a 16-4 run to close the first half. Cal entered the locker room trailing 43-40 after back-to-back steals and led to layups for the Bears. Thomas led the Bears with three steals on the afternoon, also adding six rebounds and four assists.

Cal continued to make up ground in the second half and took a five-point lead over the Crimson after a layup by CJ West with 7:33 left in the game. West finished with eight points, 10 rebounds, and three assists for the Bears off the bench, her second game this season with ten or more rebounds. 

However, timely three-point shooting kept Harvard right in the game and the Crimson reclaimed the lead for good when Jeannie Boehm finished in the paint with 44 seconds left in regulation to take a 79-78 lead. The Crimson connected on six of their six free throw attempts over the final 24 seconds to secure the upset victory over the 14th-ranked Bears. Harvard shot 83.3 percent (10-12) from the foul line on the afternoon while Cal shot a season worst 45.5 percent (10-22) from the stripe.

The Bears will be back in action on Friday, hosting UCLA at 7 p.m. PT to begin Pac-12 play. The series between the Bears and Bruins has been tightly contested as of late, with six of the last eight meetings between the teams being decided by single-digits and a pair of overtime affairs.