Bears Crush Panthers 84-53 to Close Out Homestand

BERKELEY - The Bears shook off their Thursday night loss to #15 UNC in a big way, thoroughly dominating an overmatched Pitt squad in front of 2,733 fans en route to a 84-53 victory Sunday afternoon at Haas Pavilion.

Guard Lulu Twidale led the Bears with 17 points, including four 3s and senior guard Ioanna Krimili pitched in with 16 in the win. The Bears dominated the boards 42-27 and in the assist column, 14-6.

“I thought we had a convincing victory,” head coach Charmin Smith said after the game. “I thought we started off rough with the turnovers, and once we settled in, it looked like Cal basketball. There's no easy win in this conference, so to get a dominant win like this, I'm really proud of the group. I'm proud of our depth. We were able to play well into the bench, and that helps these guys get rest. And it was a really good team effort today,”

After a quick layup by center Michelle Onyiah, who was back on the court much to the relief of Cal fans after having to be assisted off the court late in Cal’s Thursday loss to North Carolina, the Bears went the next 3 minutes without scoring until Twidale hit a 3 to tie the game at 5. Onyiah had a solid game with 12 points and 9 rebounds in the win.

Twidale also ignited an 8-point run later in the quarter with her second 3 as the Bears took an 18-11 lead into the first break.  The Bears took the 7-point lead despite committing 7 turnovers in the opening stanza.

The 2^nd quarter saw the Bears’ offene ignite behind the shooting of Krimili, who became Cal’s all-time single season 3-point shooter Thursday night as the senior guard led the Bears on a 13-0 run, scoring 9 of the points herself, including back-to-back 3s, with one being a 4-point play with the and-1. The Bears had a decisive advantage in the quarter, outscoring the Panthers, 28-9, taking a 46-20 lead into the locker room.

The Bears picked up right where they left off coming out of the break, outscoring Pitt 18-9, extending their lead to 64-29 heading into the final stanza.

The Bears were able to make use of their depth in the fourth quarter, with Gisela Maul (4), Kamryn Mafua (7), Zahra King (2) and Anastasia Drosouni (2) all getting on the scoreboard for the Bears as they largely held serve in the last stanza to close out the game.

The game was also the team's annual Play4Kay game. The team wore its special pink jerseys and auctionec player-designed shooting shirts to raise funds for the Kay Yow Cancer Fund whose mission is to raise money for life saving cancer research, fund programs that provide access to quality cancer healthcare for underserved women and unite people in the fight against all cancers affecting women.

The Bears will go on the road this week, next facing Louisville on Thursday at 5 followed by #3 Notre Dame Sunday morning at 11 PT in South Bend.

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