TEMPE, Ariz. – Cal's 26 turnovers proved to be costly as No. 17 Arizona State capitalized for 20 points to defeat the No. 19 Golden Bears, 57-49, in the Pac-12 opener at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe, Ariz. The Sun Devils (10-3, 1-0 Pac-12) handed the Bears (9-3, 0-1 Pac-12) their third loss of the season.
Freshman Kristine Anigwe, the country's second-highest scoring freshman, notched her sixth double-double of the season with 22 points and a career-high 13 rebounds, marking her seventh 20-point game of the season. Anigwe also upped her personal best to three blocks and matched her career-high steals total with three on the afternoon.
Cal came into the contest ranked eighth in the nation for field goal percentage after shooting 49.4 percent through 11 contests, but Arizona State held the Bears to 39.6 percent from the floor. Anigwe was the lone Bear to reach double figures, followed by eight points from junior Courtney Range and seven from sophomore Gabby Green.
The Sun Devils opened the game with a pair of quick baskets to lead 5-0, and upped their advantage to as much as nine points on 10 California turnovers. The Bears were 5-9 from the floor, but a pair of three-pointers and 8-16 shooting from the Sun Devils gave ASU an early 18-10 advantage.
A four-minute scoring drought in the second quarter did nothing to help Cal's cause as the Bears went 0-6 from 6:24 to the two-minute mark. Meanwhile, Arizona State went on an 11-0 run that was finally broken with a free throw by sophomore Penina Davidson. ASU added another four points before Cal ended the quarter on a better note with back-to-back buckets by Green and Davidson.
After shooting 34.8 percent, the Bears trailed ASU by 16 points at halftime, 35-19. The Sun Devils limited the Bears to just 19 first-half points, the lowest of any Cal half this season.
Cal charged ahead after the break and Anigwe doubled her first-half point total in the third quarter, scoring nine points in the first 10 minutes back from the half to reach double figures for the 12th game in a row. For the first time in the game, Cal earned the advantage in the quarter, outscoring ASU 19-14 to cut the deficit to 11 points.
Down 49-38 entering the final 10 minutes, the Bears' fourth-quarter effort came up short with a four-minute drought from 4:34 to 43 seconds left in the game. Anigwe broke the drought with a layup to cut ASU's lead to eight points, but the Bears couldn't break through the Sun Devil offense to tighten the gap.
Green, the Pac-12's steals leader, finished the game with four steals to up her season total to 34.
NEXT UP
Cal concludes its tour in the desert at Arizona on Monday at 7 p.m. The action airs live on Pac-12 Bay Area and Pac-12 Arizona.
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).
