Bears Fall To Buffs
BOULDER, Colo. – California women's basketball had a number of players with career games on Friday afternoon, however the Golden Bears ultimately fell to Colorado 75-59.
The Buffaloes (5-6, 3-5 Pac-12) got off to a quick start in the first quarter and held an early 13-point (18-5) lead after six minutes of play. From there however, the Bears (0-11, 0-8 Pac-12) went on a 13-2 run which included 10 unanswered points to pull within two with under a minute to play. Cal kept within two points to begin the second quarter, but Colorado began to pad their lead and led by 17 points at the half.
The Buffs led by as much as 30 points in the second half, but the Bears were able to pull within 16 points to end the game and they outscored Colorado 34-33 in the final two quarters. Cal's 20 points in the fourth quarter are a season-high for points scored in a quarter this season and it was fueled by 50.0 percent shooting (8-for-16) which included a pair of 3-pointers. Overall, the Bears finished the game with 10 triples which is a season best and the team's most since the final game in 2019-20 against Arizona in the Pac-12 tournament. That was the team's only game with 10 triples last year.
Three Bears set career-highs for number of 3-pointers in a game against Colorado: sophomore guard Leilani McIntosh (four), freshman guard Ornela Muca (three) and junior guard Sierra Richey (two). McIntosh led the Bears with 14 points and registered her career-first double-double with 10 assists as well. Freshman forward Ugonne (Michelle) Onyiah also recorded her first collegiate double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds while matching her career-high of three blocks which she has tallied in back-to-back contests. As a team, the Bears recorded a season-high 17 assists and won the offensive rebounding game 17-15.
California will now head to Salt Lake City for a Sunday matchup with Utah at 11am PT. The contest will be broadcast on Pac-12 Mountain.
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