BERKELEY – The Cal women's basketball team survived a tight fourth quarter thanks to some stellar shooting at the free throw line. The Bears went 12-for-16 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter and held on to win 83-73 over visiting Furman in the opening contest of the Raising the B.A.R. Invitational powered by Cal.
Cal (5-0) kept its winning streak alive despite allowing a 25-point second half lead shrink to four with 2:05 to play. Freshman guard Jayda Curry helped seal the deal scoring five of her game-high 26 points over the final two minutes.
Curry was sensational for the Bears in the second half. After missing most of the first half due to foul trouble, she scored 20 of her 26 points after the intermission. She finished the evening going 9-for-16 from the field and 4-for-10 from long range.
Cal finished the night making a season-high nine 3-point field goals. They were 9-for-25 from beyond the arc. Overall, the Bears shot 49.1 percent from the field going 27-for-55.
Joining Curry in double figures was guard Cailyn Crocker and forward Evelien Lutje Schipholt. Crocker was the steady hand for the Bears all evening. She finished the day with 17 points along with a game-high six assists. Lutje Schipholt dominated on the glass, grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds – eight coming on the offensive side. She also added 18 points for her third-consecutive double-double of the year and fourth of the season.
Dalayah Daniels had eight points and a season-high 10 rebounds in her first start of the season. Cal dominated the glass, outrebounding the Paladins 41-30. Cal's 14 offensive rebounds led to 21 second chance points.
Furman (4-2) was led by Tierra Hodges who had 25 points, going 8-for-17 from the field and 4-for-7 from beyond the arc. Joining Hodges in double figures was Sydney James with 16 and Tate Walters with 15. As a team, the Paladins shot just 35.6 percent going 21-for-59, however, from beyond the arc they shot better than 46 percent, going 12-for-26.
HOW IT HAPPENED
With 2:47 left in the third quarter a traditional three-point play by Lutje Schipholt gave the Bears a 25-point advantage. Their largest of the evening. However, a series of runs by the Paladins - the largest a 9-0 run with 8:27 in the fourth - brought the game back to single digits.
With 1:33 to play, Curry made an acrobatic layup in traffic to end the Bears scoring drought and increase the lead to six. A defensive stop by the Bears led to two more free throws for Curry and Cal was able to put the game away.
UP NEXT
With the win the Bears have advanced to the Raising the B.A.R. Invitational powered by Cal Championship game. Cal awaits the winner of Ole Miss/SDSU and will tip-off at 3:00 p.m. Furman will play the loser of Thursday's nightcap in the consolation game and will tip-off tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. Both contests will be streamed live on the Cal Live Stream.
We did a lot of good things. Dalayah, Fatou and Michelle played better. Mia was confident in taking the 3 from the top of the key just before the half.
We have been playing some pretty decent teams and we have for the most part played good defense.
Stanford lost today. Haley Jones was scoreless in 30+ minutes. Cameron Brink is the only one showing up in the last two games against ranked opponents. UCLA lost to Kent State today as well.
Playing Ole Miss tomorrow will give up a glimpse of how much we've improved.
We did a lot of good things. Dalayah, Fatou and Michelle played better. Mia was confident in taking the 3 from the top of the key just before the half.
We have been playing some pretty decent teams and we have for the most part played good defense.
Stanford lost today. Haley Jones was scoreless in 30+ minutes. Cameron Brink is the only one showing up in the last two games against ranked opponents. UCLA lost to Kent State today as well.
Playing Ole Miss tomorrow will give up a glimpse of how much we've improved.
UCLA is dealing with players sidelined due to injuries.. Oregon is presently in the same situation. Cailyn Crocker is playing great after missing last season. Jazlen Green is playing limited minutes, but scores and plays good defense. Alma is still wearing a brace on the knee she injured a year ago. Would love to watch Cal win their tournament tomorrow at Haas......GO BEARS!
Who is Cal playing at 3:00 today? I thought Calbears.com would have the info, but they seem to have it all mixed up, making it look like Cal is playing in the Consolation game at 1.
CAL is playing Ole Miss.(Oxford,Miss) at 3 pm for the Championship of the tournament.
The Consolation game starts at 1pm.......Furman(CAL won yesterday) vs San Diego State(loss to Ole Miss.)
Ole Miss. won the WNIT last season. What a win if Cal could beat them. The coach substitutes freely. They have an awesome Center who transferred from Maryland. This is her second season playing for Ole Miss. Their guards are very quick. They play in the SEC conference.......GO BEARS!!!!
CAL is playing Ole Miss.(Oxford,Miss) at 3 pm for the Championship of the tournament.
The Consolation game starts at 1pm.......Furman(CAL won yesterday) vs San Diego State(loss to Ole Miss.)
Ole Miss. won the WNIT last season. What a win if Cal could beat them. The coach substitutes freely. They have an awesome Center who transferred from Maryland. This is her second season playing for Ole Miss. Their guards are very quick. They play in the SEC conference.......GO BEARS!!!!
Yeah, I'm approaching this one cautiously; they seem like a team that don't back down easy. Massey's predictor site has Cal winning, but not as a guaranteed thing: https://masseyratings.com/cbw/ncaa-d1/games
Is Heide going to play for Cal again? She missed two-thirds of 2020 and does not appear to be in the plans for 2021. What is her injury?
She's rehabing from surgery she had after last season. As I mentioned elsewhere, she was practicing during the open practice session although it was one-on-one with Coach Paul Reed.
Six games into the season and you are already writing her off for this season? Patience please.
If Reed is capable of developing bigs, Heide appears to be a player who could really benefit from his tutelage,. She is athletic, runs the floor, showed some skill, and faced good competition in HS and AAU. At 6'7", Heide already possesses the size to be a factor on the Bears' front line.
SFCB72-I certainly didn't mean to write anybody off. There has not been a lot of communication regarding her injury. I actually thought that she outplayed her counterpart from Texas when she was healthy. Thank you.
S71: My suggestion to you is go to a game. The last three non-conference games in December are afternoon games. Take BART from the Berryessa station to Berkeley. You'll get a better idea of what's happening with players like Heide in person rather than in front of a computer screen.
