BERKELEY – In a game of back-and-forth runs that ultimately ran into overtime, No. 22/21 Cal used double-figure scoring nights from four Golden Bears to pull out the win over Nebraska, 87-80, in Haas Pavilion Saturday night. The Bears handed Nebraska (7-2) their second loss of the season to improve to 7-2 this year.
Freshman Kristine Anigwe once again led Cal with her third consecutive double-double in a 29-point, 10-rebound performance. Sophomore Mikayla Cowling and junior Courtney Range added 19 apiece and freshman Asha Thomas scored 17. Sophomore Gabby Green combated a rough shooting night with a big day on defense as the Pac-12 steals leader added five takeaways to her season total on top of nine assists, six rebounds and a block.
Despite six lead changes due to back-and-forth runs on both sides, Cal and Nebraska kept the game close in the fourth quarter. Cal led 63-57 to open the period before the Nebraska offense lit up the scoreboard to tie the game up 66-66 with 06:12 left in the game. Cal held on, answering layups with layups, but the lead changed hands just under the two-minute mark. Nebraska's Rachel Theriot hit a pair of free throws to put the Huskers ahead, 72-70, then Cal equalized with an Anigwe layup. Back-to-back jumpers by both teams tied it up, 74-74, with under a minute to go, but neither could capitalize on its scoring chances.
It took nearly two minutes of game time to break the deadlock as Anigwe scored the first of her five overtime points at 2:54. The back-and-forth continued before Cowling sent a triple flying at 1:44 to give Cal an 81-78 lead and trigger the momentum the Bears needed. With Cal up 81-80 with a minute to play, Anigwe hit three free throws and Thomas added two of her own to secure the victory.
Cal came back from a 13-point deficit at one point in the first quarter, which saw the Bears put the first points on the board before Nebraska went 7-7. Meanwhile Cal went 0-5 over a four-minute span to put the Huskers ahead 20-7 at the four-minute mark. A pair of free throws by Anigwe ended the drought, and the Bears used the momentum to propel themselves on an 11-0 run over the next two minutes. Freshman Asha Thomas added a jumper and trey on Cal's run, and sophomore Mikayla Cowling's layup pulled the Bears within two, 20-18. Nebraska snapped Cal's run with a layup with eight seconds to go to lead 22-18 after the first quarter.
Cal continued the trend of runs in the second quarter, outscoring the Huskers 13-2 run to start the quarter. The score swung back in the Bears' favor as Cal led 31-24 just under the seven-minute mark. Cal cruised through the rest of the first half, leading by as much as 10 after outscoring the Huskers 26-16. At the half, Cal led 44-38.
An even 19-19 for both sides in the third quarter paved the way for the fourth-quarter deadlock. Nebraska's Natalie Romeo put up 11 points, and though Cal led by as much as nine, Romeo hit back-to-back three-pointers to end the quarter.
NEXT UP
The Bears will take a nine-day break before returning to the floor on Monday, Dec. 21 for a rare nonconference contest with Pac-12 foe UCLA. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. and will air live from Haas Pavilion on the Pac-12 Networks.
2015-16 TICKETS ON SALE NOW
Season, group and single-game tickets for the 2015-16 women's basketball season are now on sale. Season tickets start as low as $27 ($1.59 per game, 17 games) for youth and seniors and $84 ($4.94 per game, 17 games) for adult general admission tickets, while single-game tickets are available starting at $3 for youth and seniors and $8 for adults. For more information, call the Gold Standard Sales and Service line at (800) GO BEARS (462-3277) or visit the CalBears.com ticket page.
JOIN THE BEARS ON THISISCALBASKETBALL.COM
Cal's one-of-a-kind multimedia fan site, ThisIsCalBasketball.com, is back for its fifth season and once again features an unprecedented look into the inner workings of the personalities behind the Cal women's basketball's roster. Visitors to ThisIsCalBasketball.com can get an in-depth look at the people behind the jerseys, from action and portrait photos to bio videos told in their teammates' own words. New to the site this year is The Challenge, a six-part reality show-style miniseries based on the Bears' Amazing Race-esque hunt around campus.
KEEP POSTED
Stay up-to-date on the latest Cal women's basketball news by following the Bears on social media. View behind-the-scenes photos and videos and learn more about Cal and its student-athletes on Twitter (@CalWBball), Instagram (@CalWBball) and Facebook (Facebook.com/CalWBball).
