The California women's basketball team had a lead for a majority of the second half going up by as many as nine points in the third quarter, but came up just short in a 61-57 loss to No. 19 USC at the Invisalign Bay Area Women's Classic at the Chase Center in San Francisco on Sunday evening. The Golden Bears (8-5, 0-1 ACC) shot just 20-for-30 from the free throw line for the game.
 
The Trojans (9-3, 1-0 Big 10) re-took the lead 50-49 at the 4:05 mark of the fourth quarter and the Bears found themselves down just two points with 1:15 remaining. Cal got the stop it needed on USC's next possession and had a chance to tie the game but turned it over on its ensuing possession with 40 seconds left. USC converted on 3-of-6 from the charity stripe to keep Cal at bay the rest of the way. After Gisella Maul made a pair of free throws to put Cal within three points with six seconds left, the Bears were unable to force the tie up on the Trojans' last possession.
 
Sakima Walker posted her third-career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Lulu Twidale and Taylor Barnes added 11 points each. Twidale moved into a tie for fourth place on Cal's all-time career 3-pointers list with former teammate Ioanna Krimili.
 
Both teams opened cold from the floor to open the game, but Mjracle Sheppard drove the baseline for a layup and gave Cal a 10-7 with under three minutes to go after holding USC to a 1-for-10 stretch from the field. The Trojans ended the quarter on a 6-0 run and took a 13-10 lead into the second quarter.
 
Cal opened the second quarter on a 7-0 run fueled by a dish from Puff Morris to Barnes and a Twidale steal and fastbreak layup to put the Bears up 17-13 and force a USC timeout at the 7:38 mark. After the Trojans took a four-point lead, Twidale hit her first triple of the game at the 1:08 mark. The Trojans would take a 31-28 lead into the break.
 
A pair of consecutive steals from Sheppard and Morris powered a 7-0 run to open the third quarter and gave Cal a 35-31 lead forcing a USC timeout at the 8:18 mark. Walker found a cutting Barnes off a backdoor layup and the Bears took a 39-33 lead into the media timeout. The Trojans scored just two points in the quarter up to that point. USC was however able to convert on 4-of-5 from the field to end the quarter to cut the deficit to just 45-43 heading into the final frame.
 
"I just want to start with just acknowledging how cool this experience was," Cal head coach Charmin Smith said. "I walked out at the beginning of warmups and it felt like a tournament atmosphere. And I don't mean because we're playing a ranked opponent, but the way that the crowd was and people were just so engaged and excited and that feels like tournament time. I think these players are really trying, and I want to see them have the success and be able to celebrate and feel good. It just hasn't been our time yet and we have to stay locked in and stay committed. I do believe that our time will come this season."
 
USC was led by Jazzy Davidson's 24 points.
 
NEXT UP
Cal hosts Cal Poly on Sunday at 2 p.m. PT at Haas Pavilion.  
 
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