Bears Overcome Struggles to Hold Off Pacific, 60-52

BERKELEY - The Bears survived some particularly rough stretches of basketball, including falling behind by nine in the opening minutes and suffering a 16-0 Tigers run but they did what they needed to do to pull out a too close for comfort 60-52 win over Pacific.

“For the game, really proud of our team and just how we fought,” head coach Charmin Smith said after the game. “I mean, I think it was one of those games where I told the team, we could have just let go, and it could have been too hard to fight back. You know, we didn't have Mjracle. That could have been excuses as to why and we found a way.

“I don't think we played our best. Credit to Pacific. I thought they were scrappy and really aggressive and made it tough for us, and played really well. But in the end, it goes down as a win, which is what matters most. And I think we were able to learn some things about ourselves that will make us better moving forward.”

Guard Lulu Twidale led the team in scoring with 19 though the junior was just 6-of-15 from the field and 0-for-6 from 3, continuing her early season struggles from the perimeter. However, her aggressive play in taking it to the hole and getting on the free throw line were critical components in the Bears’ win.

“I've been working the off season on getting to the rim more,” Twidale said after the game. “So I think just utilizing that when my shots aren't falling, I think it's something else that can help our team, because I think it just draws a lot of attention, and we have kick-outs and kick-out threes, which is a standard shot for us. So yeah, I think it is something that I will lean on if I my shots aren't falling, but it's also an aspect that I'm trying to be more consistent in, because I think it overall helps our team best.”

The game got off to a miserable start for the Bears in the opening quarter, quickly falling behind 14-5 with sloppy ball-handling and turnovers - 7 in the first five minues, passive defense and lack of rebounding on both ends of the court.

After Smith had some choice words for her squad and subbed in several players, the Bears came to life, going on a 10-0 run to put the Bears up 16-14 to end the quarter. Frosh PG Puff Morris particularly struggled early with 3 turnovers but after a little time on the bench, the prep All-American came to life, ending the quarter with 4 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.

The run extended to 18 on a turnaround inside by center Sakima Walker to start the quarter followed by layups Lulu Twidale and Naya Ojukwu and a pair of Twidale free throws to go up 24-14 while holding the Tigers scoreless for the first eight minutes of the second quarter until a Liv Yergensen 3 with 2:12 remaining in the half broke their long drought. An inside bucket by forward Winner Bartholomew followed by a pair of free throws and another 3 by Yergensen capped a 10-0 for Pacific to tie the game at 24 to close out the half while rebounding from the 0-8 start to outscore the Bears, 10-8 in the 2^nd stanza.

The Bears entered the locker room shooting just 8-for-24 from the field (33%) and continued to struggle from the perimeter, converting just 1-of-8 (12%) from behind the arc. Even worse, the Bears also turned the ball over 15 times in the opening half.

Nothing changed to start the second half as the Bears continued to struggle, with Pacific scoring the first six points of the quarter to extend their run to 16-0 to go up 30-24 until a Taylor Barnes layup finally broke he run. Undeterred by their run being snapped, Pacific scored the next five to go up by 9, 35-26 four minutes into the third quarter.

Three straight buckets by Twidale, Gisella Maul and Walker pared the deficit to 3 at 35-32 and helped get the Bears back on track with 4:56 left in the third quarter. Continuing the theme of a game of runs, the Bears closed out the quarter on a 9-0 run to finally retake the lead, 41-40 on a Claudia Langarita trey to take the 1-point lead into the closing quarter.

A twisting Twidale layup extended the run to 11 and were the only points in the first 4:04 of the fourth quarter until a Nyah Lowery three broke the run and tied the game at 43. An Ojukwu turnaround jumper capped a 7-0 Bears run to put them up 50-43 before a Luisa Anderegg trey stopped the run with 3:02 remaining and cut the Cal lead to 4. Ojukwu was by far the most efficient player for the Bears, scoring on on 4-for-5 shooting along with five rebounds in just over 8 minutes of play, perhaps earning herself some bigger minutes down the road.

Sheppard also played limited minutes (13) after her recent injury but her minutes were efficient, with 7 points and 3 rebounds on the night.

After the Bears extended their lead to 7 again, back to back buckets by Bartholomew cut the Cal lead to just 3 with 1:20 remaining but a bucket and-1 by Ojukwu padded the Bears’ lead to 6 in the last minute. Forced to foul to give themselves a chance to get the ball back and score, the Bears took advantage and extended the lead to their final margin of victory in their 60-52 win.

The Bears moved to 2-1 on the season while Pacific dropped to 1-2. The Bears will next face Charlotte on Saturday at 3 in Haas Pavilion in the Raising the B.A.R. Challenge.