TEMPE, Ariz. - The Cal women's basketball team came up short on Friday night, falling to No. 24 Arizona State, 77-54, at Desert Financial Arena. With the loss, the Golden Bears (10-18, 2-15 Pac-12) fall to 2-8 on the road this season while the Sun Devils (20-9, 10-7 Pac-12) improve to 13-2 at home and have now won the last five meetings between the schools in Tempe.

Friday's result sets up a rematch between Cal and Arizona State next week in Las Vegas the First Round of the 2020 Pac-12 Tournament. At 10-7 in conference, the Sun Devils have secured the five seed and will square off against the 12th-seeded Bears at 11:30 a.m. PT on Thursday, March 5 in the tournament opener. The 2020 Pac-12 Tournament will be held March 5-8 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
 
Arizona State's Jamie Ruden led all scorers with 18 points off the bench, going 4-for-5 from beyond the arc. Ja'Tavia Tapley (11 points) and Eboni Walker (11 points, 13 rebounds) also finished in double-figures for the Sun Devils while freshman guard Cailyn Crocker led the Bears with 12 points. Classmate Evelien Lutje Schipholt added 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench for Cal.

Crocker, who made her third start of the season, has now scored in double-figures in each of the last four games and is averaging 17.3 points per game over that stretch.

Looking to pick up its third road win of the season, the Bears matched the Sun Devils' pressure in the early stages of the game. Cal– who entered the game averaging 6.3 steals per game this season – tallied seven steals in the first quarter alone, led by three from Phoenix-native Leilani McIntosh. The Bears finished the night with 12 steals and 22 points off turnovers. McIntosh finished the night with four steals – one shy of her career high – while seniors Jaelyn Brown and Sara Anastasieska added three steals apiece.

The Bears kept pace with the 24^th-ranked Sun Devils, trailing 16-14 at the end of the first quarter. However, Arizona State upped the intensity in the second and forced the Bears into nine turnovers in that quarter alone. Cal closed the game with 17 turnovers, snapping its streak of three consecutive games with fewer than 10 turnovers.

Cal trailed the 24^th-ranked Sun Devils, 16-14, after the first quarter, but Arizona State upped the intensity in the second, forcing the Bears into nine turnovers. The Sun Devils closed the first half on a 15-2 run, capped by a three-pointer by Ruden at the buzzer.

Arizona State went a perfect 4-of-4 from three-point range in the second quarter and shot 58.8% (10-17) from three on the night.
 
Down 35-23 at half, Cal came out strong in the second half and cut Arizona State's lead the eight after a pair of free throws by McIntosh. The Bears attempted 17 free throws in the second half, but shot 63.2 percent (12-19) from the charity stripe on the night, well below their season-average of 75.3 percent.

Arizona State outrebounded Cal 42-28 on the night and held a 20-8 advantage in second-chance points.
 
Cal will play its final game of the regular season on Sunday, taking on No. 13 Arizona (23-5, 12-5 Pac-12) at 12 p.m. MT/11 a.m. MT at the McKale Center. The Wildcats are coming off a 73-72 overtime win over No. 4 Stanford on Friday night.

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