EUGENE, Ore.  – The California women's basketball team displayed poise under pressure overcoming a six-point deficit with just five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to claim victory against Oregon, 62-59, Friday night at Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene, Oregon. The win gave the Golden Bears (17-12, 7-10 Pac-12) their first season sweep against the Ducks (11-19, 2-15) since the 2012-13 season and their first road victory in the series since Feb. 24, 2017.
 
"I thought it was a really gritty win," Cal head coach Charmin Smith said. "We allowed Oregon to get the momentum heading into the fourth quarter and even fell down by six and we really had to fight to get back and I'm really proud of our fight. This team showed me what they have inside of them to be able to rally back and get the win."
 
Ioanna Krimili led all scorers with 21 points including going 4-for-4 at the free-throw line in the game's last minute to help secure the win. This marked her seventh 20-point outing during conference play. Marta Suárez tied her career high with a game-high 12 rebounds and Michelle Onyiah had a season-high four blocks.
 
"Getting the ball to her [Krimili] at the end was good," Smith said. "Those are pressure free throws and she did a great job of knocking them down. It's good to see her see the ball go in the basket. She struggled the last couple games, so to have her knocking down shots and getting on board in terms of scoring was important for us."
 
The Bears drilled eight 3-pointers giving them 241 on the season – the most all-time in program history. Cal held Oregon to just 1-of-9 from beyond the arc, tying the Ducks' season low.
 
Krimili nailed back-to-back triples to open the first quarter and Leilani McIntosh followed up with one of her own to fuel a 9-0 Cal run and help the Bears build an early 15-4 lead with 4:49 to go. The Ducks responded with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to three with under two minutes to go, before McKayla Williams ended the run with a triple to give the Bears an 18-14 lead going into the second quarter.
 
In the second quarter, Krimili hit her third 3-pointer of the game to extend Cal's lead to 28-20 at the 6:10 mark. Ila Lane grew the Bears' lead to 10 points on a layup with under four minutes to go in the quarter. Cal was able to keep Oregon scoreless from beyond the arc in the first half and take a 33-28 lead into the break.
 
After the Ducks got it to within one point early in the third quarter, McIntosh hit her second 3-pointer of the game at the 7:32 mark. The Bears then went cold from the field but were able to convert on four free-throws to maintain a 40-36 lead with under three minutes to go in the quarter. A Suárez layup at the 2:27 mark ended the Bears' scoring drought from the field. The Ducks would hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game, 42-42, going into the final frame.
 
Oregon scored the first four points of the fourth quarter for its first lead of the game before Kemery Martín got Cal on the board with a jumper at the 7:00 mark. Krimili hit back-to-back jumpers to keep the Bears within two points with under six minutes to go. The Ducks went up by six points before Martín hit a reverse layup at the 4:36 mark. Martín then drilled a triple and Onyiah and Krimili hit layups to cap a run of seven straight field goals to give the Bears a one-point lead with 2:15 to go.  
 
With under a minute to go in the game, Onyiah got fouled on a loose ball possession and converted 1-of-2 from the line to put the Bears up one point with 33 seconds left. The Ducks had an opportunity to retake the lead on the next possession with two free throws but missed both. Krimili converted both of her free throws on the other end to put the Bears up three with 23 seconds remaining. Oregon was able to hit a layup on its next possession and had to foul once again. Krimili hit both free throws and the Ducks missed their ensuing 3-point attempt as time ran out to seal the win for the Bears.
 
Oregon was led by Chance Gray who had 17 points and Grace VanSlooten and Phillipina Kyei who grabbed 11 boards each.
 
UP NEXT
 
Cal concludes the regular season at No. 11 Oregon State Saturday at noon PT.  
 
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