The California Golden Bears women’s basketball team lost a close game to No. 19 USC, 61-57, at the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic held at Chase Center in San Francisco on Sunday. Cal led for most of the second half and was ahead by as many as nine points in the third quarter, but could not hold off a late comeback by the Trojans.
Cal (8-5, 0-1 ACC) struggled from the free throw line, converting 20 out of 30 attempts. The Trojans (9-3, 1-0 Big 10) regained the lead at 50-49 with just over four minutes left in the fourth quarter. Cal trailed by two points with just over a minute remaining but turned the ball over with 40 seconds left after getting a defensive stop. USC then made three of six free throws to maintain their lead for the rest of the game. Gisella Maul brought Cal within three points after making two free throws with six seconds left, but Cal was unable to tie up USC on their final possession.
Sakima Walker recorded her third career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Lulu Twidale and Taylor Barnes each scored 11 points. Twidale moved into a tie for fourth place on Cal’s all-time career three-pointers list alongside former teammate Ioanna Krimili.
Both teams started slowly on offense, but Mjracle Sheppard’s baseline layup gave Cal a brief lead in the first quarter after holding USC to one field goal in ten attempts. However, USC finished the quarter strong and led 13-10 going into the second period.
Cal responded with a seven-point run early in the second quarter before USC regained control and took a three-point advantage into halftime. In the third quarter, consecutive steals from Sheppard and Puff Morris helped fuel another seven-point run for Cal, giving them a four-point lead before USC narrowed it to two heading into the final frame.
USC’s Jazzy Davidson led all scorers with 24 points.
Reflecting on playing at Chase Center, Cal head coach Charmin Smith said: “I just want to start with just acknowledging how cool this experience was,” Smith said. “I walked out at the beginning of warmups and it felt like a tournament atmosphere. And I don’t mean because we’re playing a ranked opponent, but the way that the crowd was and people were just so engaged and excited and that feels like tournament time. I think these players are really trying, and I want to see them have the success and be able to celebrate and feel good. It just hasn’t been our time yet and we have to stay locked in and stay committed. I do believe that our time will come this season.”
Cal will next play against Cal Poly at Haas Pavilion on Sunday at 2 p.m.
For ongoing updates about California women’s basketball, fans can follow official team accounts on Twitter/X (@CalWBBall), Instagram (@CalWBBball), and Facebook (/CalWBBall/).
