Bears Edge Broncos, 69-65

Jaylen Brown led Cal with 26 points, and Evelien Lutje Schipholt had 19 as the Bears won their seventh in a row, squeaking by Santa Clara 69-65.

Lutje Schipholt scored nine consecutive points for Cal in the fourth, with the game hanging in the balance.

Brown also had 11 rebounds, and Chen Yue contributed 10 points and 10 boards. Cal needed Yue’s contributions, as starting center CJ West was unavailable due to illness.

“This was a good game for our program,” said Cal head coach Charmin Smith. “We were shorthanded, and Chen steps up and gets her first double-double. That speaks to the type of people we have, that when one person is out, we don’t fold. We say, ‘All right, my turn.’ We’ve put enough confidence in Chen and everyone else coming off the bench that they know that the belief is there and they can go out and get the job done.”

Leilani McIntosh played 38 minutes, scoring one point but also contributing five assists, five rebounds, and four steals. The freshman point guard also did not have a turnover, as the Bears had a season-low four giveaways.

In a back-and-forth contest, the Bears had to come from behind in the fourth quarter to pull out the victory.

Santa Clara was led by Merle Wiehl’s 19 points.

Bears improved to 7-2 with the win. Santa Clara fall to 4-5.

Cal managed only one basket in their first seven attempts, falling behind 6-2. The Bears also failed to box out, giving up multiple offensive rebounds.

Evelien Lutje Schipholt came off the bench to haul down a pass in traffic and finished with good body control to tie the game at six.

Cal’s defensive pressure sped up Santa Clara into quick shots and turnovers, and the Bears took advantage, hitting six shots in a row. Jaelyn Brown took charge on offense, scoring 11 points--including five from the line--to stake Cal to the 17-11 lead with 2:15 left in the first.

“When we are able to be more active defensively, and get shots that are coming off the boards, we are able to run and get much better flow on offense,” said Smith. 

A ball-fake Eurostep basket by Sara Anastasieska closed the first 10 minutes, with Cal up 21-13.

A putback by Chen Yue earned Cal the double-digit lead to open the second period.

The Broncos pushed back with outside shooting, with two threes narrowing the gap to within 27-23.

Leilani McIntosh’s third steal of the game led to a missed layup attempt, but Lutje Schipholt was there for the putback.

Santa Clara continued to execute on both ends, with timely help defense bottling the Bears up in the paint, and finding mismatches on offense for open shots. The Broncos hit 11 of 13 attempts, with most of the damage done by forward Lauren Yearwood, who scored 11 straight Bronco points, the last of which pulled Santa Clara back into the lead, 34-32. Yearwood also provided a couple of timely blocks.

“I was disappointed that we let that lead go,” said Smith. “I actually should have called a time out in the second quarter. We had a stretch there when we had too many consecutive plays where we didn’t do things the right way.”

Another uncontested bucket, this time by Lindsey VanAllen, closed the half, with Cal behind 36-33.

Cal shot 27% in the second period, while allowing Santa Clara to hit 63%.

An open three by Tia Hay stretched the Santa Clara lead to 39-33 to open the third.

Alaysia Styles and located space against the Santa Clara zone, driving from the elbow. Chen Yue exploited it further, scoring on consecutive possessions.

“I know I’m not a WNBA player,” said Yue. “But I’m just trying to do the little details which can help my team to win. That’s my mindset.”

A three-point play by Brown, off a timely dish from McIntosh, knotted the game at 42.

Santa Clara’s third three of the quarter edged the Broncos back ahead.

An errant pass by Brown--trying to hit a cutting Styles--was picked off. It was Cal’s first turnover of the game, at the 6:06 mark in the third. 

“Zero turnovers in the first half,” said Smith. “We made that a point of emphasis, and they’re bought in.”

Cal attacked the paint. Three-point plays by Styles and Brown, sandwiched around a putback by Yue, helped Cal keep pace.

Brown’s putback got Cal back on top, 52-51, at the end of the third.

Brown hit two more baskets to open the fourth, stretching the Bear lead to 56-51.

Merle Wiehl knocked down a three and a baseline jumper to pull Santa Clara within one. Another three, this time by Hay, and the Broncos grabbed the lead back, 61-59, forcing Cal to call time with 4:38 left in the game.

After a Cal miss, Wiehl overpowered Jazlen Green in the paint for another bucket.

The Bears changed up their defense, starting to switch on ball screens. The strategy required the Cal post players to guard on the perimeter.

“Late in the game, we start switching even off ball screens,” said Smith. “I thought it got them out of rhythm and took away some of the easy looks they were getting prior to that.”

Lutje Schipholt got herself to the line. The frosh post, who had struggled up until then from the charity stripe, missing three of four, knocked down both, and Cal was within 61-59 with three minutes to go.

After missing a breakaway layup, Lutje Schipholt remained focused. She scored down low on the next possession, tying the game.

“That layup is something I know I can do, and it sucked that I missed it,” said Lutje Schipholt. “But I was happy that Charmin put faith in me and let me continue and run plays for me and let me prove what I’m worth of.”

“She’s just got a drive and a fight that’s contagious,” Smith said. “She came through for us big time.”

After a Santa Clara score, Cal found Lutje Schipholt twice more down low, and the Bears went up 67-65.

McIntosh went to the line with 26.1 seconds left. She split free throws, keeping it a one-possession game, 68-65.

Trying to prevent a Bronco three, Smith went small and put in her quickest perimeter defenders--McIntosh, Crocker, Green, Lutje Schipholt, and Brown. With fouls to give, the Bears played aggressive defense, whittling down the clock to 12.7 seconds.

“That’s something that we practice,” said Smith. “I was really proud of this young team--with four freshmen out there--to be able to execute that type of strategy.”

After a Bronco time out, the Bears forced a long contested three from VanAllen. She missed, and Brown secured the rebound and was fouled. She hit the second, and Cal escaped with the win.

“We’re really growing and getting better every day,” said Smith.

“It’s the environment that we have created, where we just want to fight for every ball, and for each other,” said Lutje Schipholt. 

The Bears will next take on top-15 Kentucky. Smith and the Bears are looking forward to the challenge.

“I’m really confident in what we can do,” said Smith. “I have a ton of belief. Today was an example of our heart, of our commitment.”