BERKELEY – Cal drained 12 three-pointers, including six treys from Asha Thomas, but couldn't keep pace with No. 25 Washington to fall 75-65 Sunday afternoon in Haas Pavilion.
Cal's 12-33 mark from beyond the arc was two three-pointers shy of the program-best 14 triples, which Cal set earlier this season against Cal Poly. Cal shot 36.4 percent from long range, and 38.1 percent overall.
The freshman Thomas finished with a career-high 22 points, going 6-12 from downtown, and added six assists and three rebounds. Sophomore Mikayla Cowling went 3-8 beyond the arc to put up 15 points, four boards and five assists. Junior Courtney Range added three triples of her own, shooting 3-11, for 13 points, five rebounds and five assists. The Huskies managed to hold freshman Kristine Anigwe under 10 points for the first time all season, but Anigwe still grabbed a career-best 14 rebounds.
A 20-point third quarter from Washington ultimately decided the game. The Bears kept the Huskies a shot or two within reach for most of the game and were down only 38-34 at halftime, but UW outscored Cal 20-13 in the third. Cal shot a quarter-best 38.9 percent in the fourth quarter, outscoring Washington 18-17, but by then it was too late as the nation's leading scorer Kelsey Plum exploded with 11 points to seal the win.
Five of Washington's 12 offensive rebounds came from the third period, with Talia Walton grabbing three, marking a shift in Cal's grip of the game.
The quarter was a departure from the first half, where both teams traded basket after basket, including shots from range. At halftime, Washington led 38-34 after outshooting the Bears by just one point in the second quarter, 14-13.
Cal's finesse from beyond the arc started early. After Alexus Atchley boosted her Huskies to a 5-0 lead with two quick shots in the first minute of the game, and Cal head coach Lindsay Gottlieb used a timeout early on to settle the young Bears down. Cal followed with three straight treys to get back within one point of Washington's 10-9 lead. The teams continued to trade triples, with Washington surging ahead by six before the Bears chopped the lead in half with a Range three at the buzzer.
Of the 17 combined field goals in the first quarter, nine were three-pointers, including a 5-11 mark from the Bears, but the Huskies led 24-21.
Cal added a pair of treys to its total in the second quarter, finishing the half with seven three-pointers. The Bears shot 38.9 percent from downtown and 37.5 percent overall in the first half.
Cal falls to 11-10 overall and 2-8 in Pac-12 action.
NEXT UP
The annual Battle of the Bay between Cal and Stanford tips off down at The Farm on Tuesday, Feb. 2 at 7 p.m., before the Cardinal and Golden Bears face off in Berkeley on Friday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m.
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).
