Bears Beat the Huskies, 70-57
BERKELEY, Calif. – The California women’s basketball team (11-3, 1-1) used a strong defensive effort to earn its first win of the early Pac-12 season and take down Washington (11-2, 1-1), 70-57, Friday night at Haas Pavilion. The win was the first against the Huskies since Feb. 2, 2020 and snapped a three-game losing streak in the series.
In just her second game back from injury, Ioanna Krimili scored a season-high 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting which included 4-of-6 from 3-point range. Michelle Onyiah joined Krimili in double figures with 11 points while grabbing a game-high eight rebounds. Marta Suárez rounded out the Bears in double figures with 10 points. Leilani McIntosh had three assists which moved her into a tie with Mikayla Cowling and Natasha Vital for fifth on Cal’s all-time career assists list.
“This is the type of team that I want us to be and this sets us up to be able to accomplish what we want,” Cal head coach Charmin Smith said. “The Huskies got a really strong unit and I'm proud of how we played. I thought Michelle gave us great offense off the bench and some rebounding there. It's great to have Yo [Ioanna Krimili] back and have her in a rhythm offensively. Marta did some work on the block and Leilani is always steadying and keeping us in our flow. We’re a good offensive team and they’re a really good defensive team, so I’m glad we were able to put up points and show what we’re capable of.”
Cal held Washington to its second-lowest shooting percentage of the season at 36.1%. The 70 points scored were the most the Huskies have given up all season after they entered the game ranked first in the Pac-12 in scoring defense, giving up just 46.8 points per game. The Bears shot 50.9% from the field and 42.9% from deep – both tied for season highs.
After the Bears jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first quarter, the Huskies answered with consecutive 3-pointers to fuel a 8-0 run. A jumper from Kemery Martín ended the run and a layup from McIntosh tied the game at 10-10 midway through the quarter – part of a 8-0 run for Cal. The Bears held the Huskies to 2-for-10 from the field to end the quarter and took a 16-14 lead into the second quarter.
A 3-pointer from Mia Mastrov gave Cal a 21-16 lead early in the second quarter. Krimili hit a layup followed by a 3-pointer to give the Bears a 29-20 lead at the 4:46 mark. The Bears held the Huskies to a five-minute scoring drought to end the second quarter and take a 31-20 lead heading into the break.
Krimili opened the third quarter hitting consecutive 3-pointers to give Cal a 41-26 lead at the 5:26 mark. Cal built a 20-point lead on a Suarez layup with 1:42 remaining in the quarter, but the Huskies used a 7-0 run to end the quarter and cut the deficit to 13 points.
The Huskies got to within 12 points in the fourth quarter, but Krimili converted a 4-point play to put the Bears up 16 points at the 6:29 mark and help Cal cruise to the victory.
Washington was led by Elle Ladine’s 24 points.
UP NEXT
Cal wraps up its 10-game homestand hosting Washington State on Sunday at noon.