LOS ANGELES – The Cal women's basketball team dropped opened its Southern California road trip with a narrow loss, falling to USC, 86-76, on Friday night. The Women of Troy (15-9, 6-7 Pac-12) closed out the game down to stretch to secure the season split against the Golden Bears (14-10, 5-8 Pac-12). The loss was Cal's fourth in a row and the Bears' second consecutive defeat on the road.

Senior Kristine Anigwe led the Bears with 30 points and added 14 rebounds while Receé Caldwell (15 points) and Asha Thomas (11 points) also scored in double figures for the Bears.

Aliyah Mazyck (28 points) and Minyon Moore (27 points) led the charge for USC, who closed the game on a 13-2 run and connected on five of their six foul shot attempts over the last three minutes to secure the win.

The Women of Troy jumped out to seven-point lead after the first quarter, shooting 59 percent (10-17) from the floor in the opening frame. USC built its lead to 13 after a layup by Kayla Overbeck early in the second quarter, but the Bears responded with a 14-2 run to get back in the game. Anigwe accounted for six of Cal's points during the stretch, while Thomas and Caldwell also made pivotal plays during the run. Anigwe tied the game at 39-39 with a strong take inside with 47 seconds left in the quarter, but back-to-back scores by Moore gave the hosts a four-point advantage heading into halftime.

Coming out of the locker room, Cal looked poised to snap its three-game losing streak. The Bears went on a 15-3 run midway through the third quarter and took their largest lead of the night at 61-54 after a finish by Jaelyn Brown with 2:07 left in the quarter. Brown scored seven of her nine points in the third quarter and was a key contributor on the glass as the Bears gained momentum. However, USC was able to capitalize on fouls and Cal turnovers late in the quarter, and cut the Bears lead to 61-60 entering the fourth quarter.

The teams traded baskets to start the fourth quarter before USC seized the momentum for good with a 6-0 run. An elbow jumper by Anigwe with 1:46 left to play made it a one-possession game, but the Bears could get no closer.

The Bears will head across town to face UCLA at 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon. The Bruins (15-10, 8-5 Pac-12) saw their six-game winning streak come to an end on Friday night with a loss to No. 10 Stanford. Cal will be looking for the season split against its UC Rival, falling to UCLA in overtime earlier this year in Berkeley.

For more information and updates on the team throughout the season, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWBball), Instagram (@CalWBball) and Facebook (Facebook.com/CalWBball).