SEATTLE – "We don't want to go home."
Kristine Anigwe's message was clear in the post-game press conference. Her play on the court ensured that the Cal Bears would be staying in Seattle for at least another day.
The sophomore center erupted for 34 points as California (19-12, 6-12 Pac-12) beat USC (14-16, 5-13 Pac-12), 71-58, in the first round of the 2017 Pac-12 Tournament. Anigwe's 34 points are the most by any Cal player in a Pac-12 Tournament game and clinched Cal's spot in the tournament quarterfinals for the 15
th consecutive season. The Bears will face top-seed Oregon State at 11:30 in Friday's quarterfinal. Cal and Oregon State played on Sunday in the regular season finale, a 71-56 win for the Beavers in Corvallis.
Trailing 28-20 with 3:25 left in the first half, the Bears closed the second quarter on a 10-0 run to take a two-point lead into the locker room and carried that momentum into the second half, opening the third quarter on a 7-0 run.
Anigwe scored Cal's first 12 points of the second half, going 5-6 from the floor and 2-2 from the foul line.
The All-Pac-12 selection ended the game with 34 points, 13 rebounds, and four rebounds, and connected on the first three-pointer of her career. With her four blocks, Anigwe, who earned All-Defensive honors this season, now has 101 career blocked shots, becoming just the third player in program history to block 100 shots and score 1,000 points in her career. Anigwe now has five 30-point performances this season and has registered a double-double in all four career games at the Pac-12 Tournament.
Junior guard
Mikayla Cowling added 12 points and seven assists for the Bears, going 6-6 from the foul line over the final 1:13 of the game to secure the victory. Freshman guard
Mi'Cole Cayton also chipped in 12 points and three steals for her sixth career double-digit outing.
USC was led by 17 points from junior forward Kristen Simon and 10 points from freshman Minyon Moore.
The Bears outscored the Trojans 48-30 in the paint and committed just six turnovers in the second half, after 13 turnovers in the opening period. Cal shot 55.3 percent (26-47) from the field, the Bears' highest field goal percentage since the start of January.
Cal enters Friday's quarterfinal looking to advance to the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals for the third consecutive season and snap a five-game losing streak to the Beavers.
