Bears’ Inside Game Too Much For Gaels

BERKELEY – Evelien Lutje Schipholt recorded her fifth double-double of the season and eighth of her career with 20 points and 10 rebounds to lead Cal to a 73-55 win over Saint Mary's on Tuesday afternoon at Haas Pavilion.

Lutje Schipholt was one of four Cal players in double figures as Jayda Curry caught fire in the second half with 17 of her 18 points after the break, while Dalayah Daniels and Cailyn Crocker added 14 and 10, respectively. Daniels added eight rebounds with Leilani McIntosh had a game-high six assists.

Cal nearly led from wire to wire with the last Gaels' lead coming at 5-4 just over two minutes into the contest. The Bears' defense forced a season-high 24 turnovers that were also the most committed by the Gaels this year.

Ali Bamberger paced the Gaels with 12 points and added eight rebounds, while Madeline Holland had 11 points and a team-high nine boards.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Lutje Schipholt scored 12 of her game-high 20 points in the opening quarter on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor to help Cal open a slim 20-17 margin. The Bears hit on 53% (8-15) of their field goal attempts and made all six attempts from the charity stripe in the first period. Saint Mary's nearly kept pace thanks mostly to 7-of-13 (54%) shooting from the floor and 3-of-6 on three-pointers while Cal missed both of its attempts behind the arc.

Cal gradually increased its lead in the second period and eventually pushed its advantage to 35-25 at halftime. The Bears' defense limited Saint Mary's six points in the quarter on 2-of-9 (22%) shooting and caused seven Gaels' turnovers.   

Cal pushed its lead to 54-40 after three periods as Curry, who missed all six of her field goal attempts in the opening half, scored the first six points of the third quarter for the Bears. Crocker had seven of her points in the period.

Saint Mary's made its biggest threat by starting the fourth quarter on an 8-2 run to cut Cal's lead to 56-48 but the Bears called timeout with 7:31 to go and righted the ship with a 10-1 stretch over the next four-plus minutes before cruising to the 18-point win.

UP NEXT
Cal finished its non-conference schedule with a 9-2 record and opens Pac-12 play at Washington State on New Year's Eve (7 pm PT). The Golden Bears also play at Washington (Sun., Jan. 2, Noon) before hosting Oregon State in its Pac-12 home opener on Fri., Jan. 7 (7 pm).