BERKELEY – Despite a staunch effort on the defensive end, the Cal women's basketball team came up short on Friday night at Haas Pavilion, falling to No. 18 Arizona State 54-45. The Sun Devils (14-4, 5-2 Pac-12) prevailed over the Golden Bears (14-5, 2-5 Pac-12) in a hard-fought battle that saw nine lead changes and nine ties.

Sophomore point guard Asha Thomas paced the Bears with 13 points on 3-7 shooting from three-point range while classmate Kristine Angiwe added 15 rebounds and three blocked shots, despite being held to a career-low eight points.  Arizona State senior Sophie Brunner had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds while freshman Robbi Ryan chipped in 14 points of her own.

With the loss, Cal falls to 1-3 on the season against ranked teams, two of those losses coming the Arizona State. The Sun Devils defeated the Bears 72-62 in double-overtime on January 1, snapping Cal's 13-game winning streak. The Bears have lost three straight at home and five of their last six overall.

Cal's defense was stingy from the opening tip, getting stops on the first three defensive possessions of the night and holding the Sun Devils scoreless for the first 2:36 of the contest. Senior Courtney Range had the hot hand early, scoring six of her eight total points in the opening quarter, including a runner off the glass to give the Bears a 10-9 lead at the end of the first period.  

Thomas – who scored in double-figures for the second consecutive games- sparked a 7-0 run late in the second quarter and the Bears held Arizona State scoreless for the final 4:40 of the period to take a 24-20 lead into halftime.

The teams continued to trade baskets in the second half as the Sun Devils held a 36-35 advantage entering the fourth quarter. However, Arizona State would pull ahead for good when Anigwe was called for her fifth foul with 3:47 left in the game and the score tied at 42-42. With the Wade Trophy candidate on the bench, the Sun Devils closed the game on a 13-3 run, going 5-9 from the foul line in the final quarter.

Held to fewer than double-digits for just the second time in her collegiate career, Anigwe still made her presence felt, finishing one rebound shy of her career best in what head coach Lindsay Gottlieb called "one of the best defensive games of her career."

"Arizona State is one of the toughest teams we face all year," Gottlieb said. "I thought we were really good for 36 minutes but not good enough… We will be better every single day, starting with Sunday and going from there."

The Bears continue their homestand on Sunday, hosting Arizona at 1 p.m. PT on Alumnae Day. Cal beat Arizona 74-64 earlier this season in Tucson to kick off Pac-12 play, led by 17 points from senior Courtney Range and a double-double from junior Penina Davidson. The Wildcats are currently 11-7 on the year and 2-5 in conference, coming off 73-46 loss to No. 10 Stanford on Friday night.