BLACKSBURG – The California women's basketball team was down three points with 13 seconds left and Ioanna Krimili hit a running jumper from deep but her toe was on the line. The Golden Bears got the ball back down three with 10 seconds left but were unable to hit the game-tying shot and came up just short losing 87-84 at Virginia Tech on Sunday afternoon. The Hokies (17-10, 8-8 ACC) snapped the Bears' (22-7, 10-6 ACC) three-game winning streak.
 
Marta Suarez finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds for her third double-double of the season to lead four Bears in double figures. Krimili added 19 points with four triples and Kayla Williams added 17 points to go along with five assists. Cal had an efficient day from the field shooting 49. 2% overall, 41.7% from deep and 100% (14-of-14) from the free throw line.
 
Suarez scored six early points and the Bears took a 13-9 lead at the 5:15 mark in the first quarter. The teams would exchange leads five times and Virginia Tech took a 19-18 lead heading into the second quarter.
 
The Hokies took a 26-21 after Lani White converted a 3-point play at the 7:48 mark. Lulu Twidale's second triple got the Bears to within two with just over six minutes to go in the quarter. With the shot clock winding down Twidale found Jayda Noble for a corner triple that put the Bears up 33-31 with 3:40 to go. Krimili nailed a 3-pointer with 1:10 left and Cal took a 38-37 lead into the break.
 
The Bears made their first three field goals coming out of halftime to extend their lead to 45-41 with 8:07 to go. The Hokies responded with six straight field goals to take a 54-50 lead before Krimili got fouled on a 3-point attempt and converted all three free throws to cut the deficit to just one at the 4:49 mark. Virginia Tech took a seven-point lead before back-to-back triples from Krimili and Twidale closed the quarter and got Cal to within five points heading into the final quarter.
 
Cal opened the fourth quarter on a 6-0 run to re-take the lead before a Virginia Tech triple took it back at the 7:07 mark. With the Bears down four points Suarez hit a layup and drew a foul and hit the free throw with just under three minutes to go. Virginia Tech had a five-point lead before Noble grabbed an offensive rebound and hit a layup with 1:17 to go. Williams hit a running layup on Cal's next possession to get back within one point at the :49 mark but the Bears were unable to get a stop on the Hokies' next possession.
 
NEXT UP
Cal heads back to Berkeley to host Georgia Tech on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT.
 
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