BERKELEY – Despite leading 49-31 at halftime, No. 21 Cal couldn't deflect a second-half attack by Utah (11-4, 3-1 Pac-12), and the Golden Bears dropped their first Pac-12 home game, 84-79, to fall to 10-5 overall and 1-3 in Pac-12 play. The Utes outscored Cal 53-30 in the second half.
Freshman Kristine Anigwe led with 23 points (9-21) and 11 rebounds, continuing her streak of a double-double in every Pac-12 game this season. Three other Bears scored in double figures – sophomores Mikayla Cowling (14, 6-9) and Gabby Green (season-high 12, 5-12) and freshman Asha Thomas (10, 4-11).
In what would be a sign of things to come, after Cal jumped out to a nine-point lead, 10-1, early in the first quarter, the Utes collected themselves to put the game back in their favor, leading 19-17 through the first 10 minutes.
The Bears and Utes played tug-of-war for the first five minutes of the second quarter, but Cal capitalized when the Utah offense began to sputter. The Bears went into halftime outshooting the Utes 21-4 over the final 5:44 of the second quarter. Cal closed out the first half with a 4-4 clip. Thomas punctuated Cal's hot run with a long three-pointer to beat the buzzer that brought Haas Pavilion to its feet.
Anigwe continued her double-digit shooting streak with 12 points at the half, and three Bears fast approaching the double-figure mark as Green and Cowling had nine and eight, respectively, and Thomas scored eight points. Anigwe has scored in double figures in all 15 games of the season.
The third quarter marked a turning point for the young Bears squad, who fouled the Utes on three-straight possessions and could not come together defensively to stop a surging offense. While Cal shot 64.3 percent in the quarter, the Bears racked up seven fouls and turned the ball over six times, giving up five points to Utah on free throws, as the Utes took a 26-19 advantage in the quarter.
The Bears watched their 18-point halftime lead slip away with another 20-point quarter by the Utes, who outscored Cal 27-11 in the final 10 minutes.
NEXT UP
Cal starts a four-game road trip in Corvallis, Ore. as Oregon State, picked by both the media and Pac-12 coaches to win the league, hosts the Golden Bears on Friday, Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. The game will be televised live 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).
