CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Cal women's basketball team could not hold off a frantic second-half comeback by Harvard, falling to the Crimson, 56-53, on Friday night at Lavietes Pavilion in Cambridge. Cold shooting plagued the Golden Bears (0-1, 0-0 Pac-12) in the second half, as the Crimson (2-0, 0-0 Ivy) were able to erase a ten-point halftime deficit.  Harvard outscored Cal, 37-24, in the second half and took the lead for good after a free throw by Tess Sussman broke a 49-49 deadlock with 1:15 left in the game.

Sussman (13 points) was one of four players in double-figures for Harvard, who were led by 14 points from freshman Lola Mullaney and a double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds) by Mackenzie Barta.

Freshman Evelien Lutje Schipholt led Cal with 13 points in her collegiate debut, including a buzzer-beating three to close the first quarter. Classmate Cailyn Crocker added 10 points for the Bears, seven of which came in the third quarter. Senior center CJ West paced the visiting Bears on the glass, finishing with nine rebounds before fouling out late in the fourth quarter.

"I thought both teams really struggled to make shots tonight," said Cal head coach Charmin Smith. "In the first half, we capitalized on some offensive rebounds and energy plays, and in the second half we just continued to struggle while they got going offensively. We never really found our rhythm, and I thought we took some really ill-advised shots at times and never really found our flow."

Cal got off to a slow start from the field, connecting on just 5-of-18 attempts from the floor in the first quarter. Junior Alaysia Styles scored Cal's first points of the 2019-20 season off a feed down low from redshirt senior Sara Anastasieska. A redshirt senior from Sydney, Australia, Anastasieska led the Bears with three assists, also adding seven points and a steal. Trailing for most of the opening quarter, Cal knotted the game at 14-14 as Lutje Schipholt banked in a three-pointer at the buzzer.

Cal carried that momentum into the second quarter, outscoring the Crimson 15-5 in the second frame. The Golden Bears held Havard to just one made field goal in the second quarter, and took their largest lead of the day when Lutje Schipholt grabbed an offensive rebound and scored off the put-back. Lutje Schipholt scored seven of her team-high 13 points in the second quarter, while also adding two blocked shots on the night. Cal held an 8-3 advantage in offensive rebounds in the first half, and scored 15 points off Harvard turnovers.

Trailing by 10 at the break, Harvard came out of the locker room re-energized, and steadily chipped away at Cal's lead. Crocker, a freshman from Cypress, California, get the Bears out in front, coming up with timely buckets and scoring seven of her 10 points in the third quarter alone. Fellow rookie Leilani McIntosh made significant contributions for the Bears, starting at point guard and finishing with a game-high five steasl.

"Our freshmen are extremely gifted and they're competitors," said Smith. "They're going to be special here during their time at Cal."

Cal went cold from the field in the fourth quarter, connecting going just 3-of-12 from the floor. The Crimson were able to take advantage and tied the game early in the fourth quarter with back-top back scores in the paint. Harvard went on a 9-0 run to take control of the game, before senior Jaelyn Brown knocked down a three-pointer before the final buzzer for Cal's final points of the night. Friday's opener marked the 100^th career game for Brown, who started all but one game for the Golden Bears last season.

Cal will be back in action on Sunday, taking on No. 5 Connecticut at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT at Gampel Pavilion. The game against the Huskies will be televised live on SNY.

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