BERKELEY – Cal's comeback attempt fell short on Sunday afternoon, as the Golden Bears closed their nine-game homestand with a 96-75 loss to Washington State. Cal (8-5, 0-2 Pac-12) was held to a season-low six points in the opening quarter while the Cougars (8-7, 1-1 Pac-12) shot a blistering 81.3 percent (13-16) from the floor to start the game.

The Bears trailed by as many as 36 points late in the second quarter, but cut the deficit to just 13 points in the early stages of the third, courtesy of a 27-4 run. However, Cal would get no closer and suffered its second consecutive defeat to start the conference season.

It was a rough start for us and we dug ourselves a hole that was a little too big to get out of," said Cal head coach Charmin Smith. "I'm still proud of the fight in our team and the fact that we stayed even or outscored them in the remaining quarters. We kept playing hard and stuck together through a tough time."

Washington State guard Chanelle Molina led all players with 28 points, going 12-16 from the field. Borislava Hristova added 26 points for the visiting Cougs, who shot 61.9 percent (39-63) overall from the floor and 50.0 percent (7-14) from beyond the arc.

Senior Jaelyn Brown led the Bears with 20 points, her fourth 20-point performance of the season. Evelien Lutje Schipholt (15 points), CJ West (10 points), and Alaysia Styles (10 points) also scored in double-figures for the Bears, who shot 62 percent (19-31) from the floor in the second half.

With both teams looking to bounce back from losses on Friday night, Washington State got out to a hot start on Sunday, opening the game on a 12-0 run. The Cougs connected on 11 of their first 12 attempts from the floor while Cal went 1-12 to start the game. Cold shooting kept Cal to six points in the opening quarter while allowing 31 points to Washington State in the opening frame.

"We've had some struggles as of late putting the ball in the basket and we missed a lot of point-blank layups that I know we're capable of making," Smith said. "We just need to settle ourselves down because we're getting some good looks."

Washington State took its largest lead of the game with 3:56 left to play in the second quarter, after a jumper by Molina gave the Cougs a 50-14 lead. However, from there Cal came alive and closed the second half on a 15-4 run. Freshman guard Cailyn Crocker drained a three-pointer from the corner right before the buzzer to send the Bears into the locker room trailing 54-29.

The Bears' momentum carried into the third quarter, with the hosts opening the second-half on a 12-0 run. A steal and layup by freshman point guard Leilani McIntosh made the score, 54-41 with 7:09 remaining in the third quarter, but the Bears would get no closer.

Washington State responded with a run of 16-5 run of its own, and led by 20 points for the remainder of the game.

As has been the case for much of the season, Cal had a strong presence on the glass. The Bears outrebounded the Cougs, 39-30, and held a 17-3 advantage in offensive rebounds. Lutje Schipholt led the Bears with eight rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end.

Washington State capitalized on 17 turnovers by the Bears, finishing the game with 26 points off turnovers.

"These games are tough but you learn a lot from them," said Lutje Schipholt, a freshman from the Netherlands.  "We're just trying to be better for the future and for each other, because we're a family and that's what it's all about."

Pac-12 play continues as the Bears head to Palo Alto to tip-off their home-and-home against rival Stanford (13-1, 2-0 Pac-12). The first leg of the Battle of the Bay takes place on Friday, at 7 p.m. PT at Maples Pavilion, before a 5 p.m. PT showdown back in Berkeley on Sunday, Jan. 12. Cal and Stanford split the regular season meetings each of the last two seasons, with each team winning on its home court. Stanford is 9-0 at home this season and swept the Washington schools at home to open Pac-12 play.

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