BERKELEY – In a game that featured 13 ties and lead changes and with neither team leading by more than six points, the California women's basketball team earned a gutsy 75-69 win over Syracuse at Haas Pavilion on Sunday afternoon. Up just three points with 1:16 left in the fourth quarter, Kayla Williams drove the lane for a layup that helped ice the game at the end. Williams finished with a team-high 21 points (7-of-13) to go along with five assists. Marta Suárez also posted an efficient line going 6-for-10 to finish with 16 points and six rebounds.
 
The Golden Bears (21-6, 9-5 ACC) finished with a 38-26 advantage in the paint over the Orange (10-15, 4-10 ACC) and came away with their second weekend ACC sweep of the season to improve to 14-1 at home – Cal's most home wins since the 2012-13 season.
 
Cal jumped out to an early 7-2 lead but Syracuse hit four consecutive baskets to take a 10-7 lead with 4:16 to go. A Lulu Twidale triple tied the game and Williams followed up with a 3-point play to spark a 7-2 response. The Bears hit 5-of-7 shots to end the quarter and take a 20-17 lead heading into the second quarter.
 
Twidale nailed a triple and Williams stole Syracuse's inbounds pass and converted the layup to fuel a 7-0 run in just over a minute to put Cal up 46-41 with 5:05 left in the third quarter. The Bears held the Orange to just one field goal over the last five minutes of the quarter, however Syracuse was able to go 7-of-8 from the free throw line to go down just 54-53 going into the final frame.
 
With the game tied at 56-56 at the 8:03 mark of the fourth quarter, Cal was able to draw an intentional foul on Syracuse and hit 1-of-2 free throws and get back-to-back field goals from Marta Suárez to take a five-point lead. The Orange responded and tied the game with five minutes to go. A Michelle Onyiah layup and Twidale's third triple of the game put the Bears up 66-61 with 3:43 to go. The Orange would cut the lead to three twice over the next two minutes, but Cal would respond with a bucket each time. After Syracuse cut the lead to three once again with 55 seconds left, the Orange were forced to foul to extend the game and the Bears hit 3-of-4 from the line to seal the win.
 
Syracuse was led by Georgia Woolley's 23 points.
 
NEXT UP
Cal hits the road to face Virginia on Thursday at 4 p.m. PT
 
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