The California Golden Bears used strong defense and a strong second half to upset No. 17 Arizona State, 69-60.
Coming into the game, the Bears knew that much was at stake: Cal had lost its last five game and needed to improve their NCAA Tournament resume.
“This felt like an NCAA Tournament, for a lot of reasons,” said Cal head coach Lindsay Gottlieb. “Because Arizona State is so darn good, and also because we were battling for everything we wanted to achieve in front of us. This is a signature win that is so meaningful to me as a coach.”
“We just knew we had to make a change,” said Cal guard Receé Caldwell, who had four threes and 20 points. “In our focus, our intensity, our locked-in-ness.”
Kristine Anigwe also had 20 points and 15 rebounds, and Asha Thomas contributed 18 points, with four big three pointers of her own.
ASU was led by Reili Richardson’s 12 and Courtney Ekmark’s 10. Ekmark grabbed nine rebounds, helping ASU win the rebounding battle 33-31.
But it was Cal’s defense that made a difference. The Bears held ASU leading scorer Kianna Ibis (17 ppg) to three points on 1 of 11 shooting. In the third quarter, when Cal made its game-changing run, the Bears held ASU to 27%.
“I can’t say enough about Jaelyn Brown’s defense on Ibis,” said Gottlieb. “Our team’s ability to make the right play, to get stops when we needed it. Kianna Smith’s defense on the ball was terrific.”
The Bears played terrific player to player defense to open the game, forcing the Sun Devils deep into the clock on every possession. But Cal couldn’t secure the rebound after a miss, and Charnea Johnson-Chapman scored four quick second-chance points.
“We were getting stops at the beginning,” said Caldwell. “We just couldn’t box out.”
The Bears responded with some opportunistic second-chance of their own, as Kianna Smith came off a screen and knocked down a three. Cal took their first lead as Asha Thomas finished a baseline drive.
After two more offensive rebounds for ASU, Courtney Ekmark knocked down a three.
Johnson-Chapman helped to neutralize Kristine Anigwe, but the ASU post picked up her second foul with 7:06 left and had to sit. But Sofia Elenga and others took up the slack, and ASU held Anigwe to zero points and rebounds for the first eight minutes of the game.
Anigwe finally got on the board with a putback with just over a minute left in the first period, but by then, ASU had doubled up Cal, 14-7, finding space for short jumpers in the paint.
Robbi Ryan closed the quarter with another jumper, and ASU had the 18-12 lead.
The lead quickly reached double-digit, as ASU scored two layups off the same action, prompting Gottlieb to call time to adjust her personnel.
Recee Caldwell scored on a drive as defenders collapsed on Anigwe. Anigwe then hit a long jumper and a basket inside.
But the Bears continued to struggle against the Sun Devils’ length and speed on both ends, as ASU stretched the lead to 30-18.
Cal was forced to manufacture offense by going one on one, and the only Caldwell seemed comfortable with the approach. The grad transfer hit for 10 points, including a three a the buzzer, helping Cal pull with 32-25 at the half.
Anigwe was held to eight points (four of 13 shooting) and four rebounds. Cal was held to 37% shooting.
But the Bears felt positive about how the way the half ended.
“That Recee banked-in three to end it,” said Gottlieb. “Sure, you bank in a three, that’s a bit of luck. But you make your luck. Her demeanor, and our demeanor, allowed us to have a shot. They did some things defensively to fluster us, but our ability to hang tough when it wasn’t pretty at all gave us a shot. The way we handled being not so good in the first half was really important.”
Caldwell open the third with a step-back three, pulling Cal within four.
Smith hit a jumper, and Anigwe scored inside, as the Bears edged within one possesion, 35-32.
Cal did a better job crashing the glass, which allowed them to get push the ball on offense. After grabbing a defensive rebound, Kianna Smith found an open Asha Thomas on the wing, and Thomas knocked down the three, tying the game at 35 with at the 6:25 mark.
After an ASU time out, the Cal defense earned a turnover, and the Bears cashed in on the other end, with Thomas hitting another three, this time from the corner.
Cal would never trail again.
A missed Sun Devil three led to a half-court pass from Thomas to a streaking Jaelyn Brown, who hit the hoop, giving the Bears the 40-35 lead.
Reili Richardson bailed out the stagnant ASU offense, beating the shot clock with a turnraround jumper, stopping Cal’s 10-0 run.
Cal came right back with a score by Anigwe inside, followed by a tough defensive stand and another three by Thomas. The senior’s third three of the period gave Cal the 45-37 lead.
ASU scored four quick points to keep pace, but another attacking possession by Cal, culminating in a Caldwell layup, closed the third period with Cal up 47-41.
The Bears outscored ASU 22-9 in the third, shooting 53%.
“A lot of our focus was on the defensive end tonight,” said Caldwell. “I just remember Kianna getting over ball screens like she’s never done before; Kristine being a protector; us being in gaps. That’s where our momentum came from, when we were getting stops and boxing out.”
Thomas hit a three to open the fourth, off a nifty kick out pass from Anigwe when she found herself doubled inside.
Richardson scored five points to help ASU keep pace. Kiara Russell scored on a drive, pulling the Sun Devils within 52-48.
Once again, Cal’s defense stymied ASU, but Richardson got bailed out, fouled while driving to the basket. She hit one, and it was a one-possession game, 56-53.
The Bears then went to work on offense, using Anigwe as a decoy. The center set the high screen, and with defensive attention focused on her, Caldwell hit a long stepback three. On the next possession, Smith drove right into the lane cleared out by Anigwe and scored. After Smith tied up the ball and earned Cal the turnover, the Bears went to the well again, this time with Caldwell attacking on the bounce. But instead of taking it all the way, she found Brown underneath, and the junior’s basket extended the lead to 63-53, with two minutes left.
After ASU fouled to get into the bonus, Anigwe split free throws on consecutive trips to the line.
Kianna Ibis hit a three with 43.5 seconds to play. Cal had the 65-58 lead, and ASU called its final time-out.
Cal, who did not attempt a free-throw in the first three periods, hit eight of 12 in the fourth to close out the game.
Fittingly, Cal shut down ASU one last possession to close the game. Anigwe grabbed the ball and celebrated by waving at the crowd as she walked off the court, celebrating the big win.
“This game put us in a whole different realm,” said Gottlieb. “We’re not done; we’re not satisfied. But this win is really significant. This ASU team is really hard to beat. You have to earn it. That’s what we did tonight--we earned it.”
Cal improved to 15-11 (6-9 Pac-12). The Bears stand in 8th place in conference, with a match-up with 7th place Arizona on Sunday. The game will be Cal’s final home game of the season, and the Bears will be celebrating their seniors--Anigwe, Thomas, Caldwell, and Mo Mosley.
