Bears Dominate SMU in Regular Season Finale

The California women's basketball team drilled 15 3-pointers and had its most dominant defensive effort in recent program history to come away with a 78-34 win over SMU at Haas Pavilion on Sunday afternoon. The Golden Bears (18-13, 9-9 ACC) held the Mustangs (9-21, 2-16 ACC) to their lowest point total of the season.
 
The 34 points were the lowest for a Cal opponent since Jan. 11, 2009, when the Bears held Washington to 34 points and the 15 3-pointers were the most in a game this season and the fourth-most in program history.

 
Lulu Twidale had one of her most efficient offensive showings of the season as she finished with a game-high 25 points (8-of-14) and seven 3-pointers (7-of-11). She finished the regular season as the ACC's leader for 3-pointers with 90. The 3-point total is currently the third most in a single season in Cal history and just seven away from tying former teammate Ioanna Krimili for first place. Twidale also needs just eight more triples to tie for first place on Cal's all-time career list.
 
Gisella Maul knocked down four 3-pointers for the second consecutive game to finish with 17 points to go along with eight rebounds. Puff Morris joined Maul and Twidale in double-figure scoring with 11 points which included three 3-pointers.

 
Cal held SMU to over two and a half minutes without a field goal midway through the quarter and held a 9-4 lead by the media timeout at the 4:50 mark in the first quarter. Twidale knocked down her second triple of the quarter to power a 9-0 Bears' run to extend their lead to 14-4 with 3:02 remaining. Twidale hit four 3-pointers in the quarter and Cal took a 22-10 lead into the second quarter.
 
The Bears forced back-to-back shot clock violations and Maul nailed consecutive triples to further extend Cal's lead to 30-12 at the 6:27 mark. Cal grew its lead to 22 points after Mjracle Sheppard intercepted a pass and drove down the court and found Claudia Langarita under the rim for a layup at the 1:39 mark. The Bears would take a 40-20 lead into the break.

 
In the third quarter, Cal held SMU to a stretch of 1-of-9 from the field and Maul drained two 3-pointers during that span to further extend Cal's lead to 53-24 at the 3:14 mark.
 
"I'm happy to get a win on senior day, to finish strong in Haas with a win and get some momentum heading into Atlanta," Cal head coach Charmin Smith said. "I think that when they pour into each other, it's a confidence, it's a vibe, it's a feel that we know, hey, this is how we play. And it doesn't always mean that we're making shots or that things are going our way, but there's some intentionality about who we are and how we show up that has to be consistent when you're thinking about Cal basketball, and that's what I saw a lot today, and that's what I want to see moving forward."
 
SMU was led by Miriam Ibezim's 11 points.
 
NEXT UP
Cal will enter the ACC Tournament as the 10-seed and will face 15-seeded Wake Forest in the first round on Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. PT.