BERKELEY – Despite a game-high 21 points from freshman Kristine Anigwe, California women's basketball team fell to the seventh-ranked Oregon State Beavers 54-44 in the Golden Bears' regular-season finale Sunday morning in Haas Pavilion.

Anigwe's performance moved her into eighth place on Cal's all-time single season scoring list (567), surpassing former Bear forward Ashley Walker's mark of 552.

Sophomore Mikayla Cowling was Bears' second-leading scorer, going 4-13 for nine points.

Cal (13-16, 4-14 Pac-12) started off sluggish on offense, as turnovers and poor shooting kept the Bears from finding any offensive rhythm outside of Anigwe's efforts. The Phoenix native scored 11 of Cal's 19 points in the first half but the Bears were hampered by their collective 24.2 percent shooting in the first two quarters.

Fortunately for the Bears, Oregon State (25-4, 16-2 Pac-12) struggled from the field as well due to Cal's suffocating defense, keeping the Bears within striking distance. OSU shot 34.5 percent from the floor in the first half but only hit two more field goals than Cal.

The Beavers' inability to separate from Cal gave the Bears new life as the second half began. A quick 6-1 Cal run to open the third quarter – on 3-3 shooting – tied the contest for the first time at 25-25 with 8:37 left in the quarter. Freshman Asha Thomas, who was aggressive on the ball throughout the game with a career-high five steals, hit a three-pointer for Cal's first lead of the game.

After another tie at 32-32, a Cowling three-pointer and a perfectly executed out of bounds play to Anigwe provided Cal with its biggest lead of the game (37-32) with 2:52 left in the third. Oregon State would finish the period on a 7-0 run to go up 39-37 going into the final quarter.

Anigwe tied the game seven seconds into the fourth (39-39) but the Beavers exploded with a crushing 15-0 run over the next five and a half minutes to put the game out of reach.

The Bears' shooting numbers – 31.7 percent from the field and 33.3 percent from the free throw line – proved too much to overcome. Cal's field goal percentage was its second-lowest of the season and its free throw mark was its lowest of the campaign.

NEXT UP

Cal awaits the official seeding Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament, which begins on Thursday, March 3 in Seattle, Wash. The bracket will be announced later this afternoon.

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).