Mastrov Shines In Loss To Utes
BERKELEY - The California women's basketball team returned to action Friday night after a 21-day pause, falling to Utah, 62-51, at Haas Pavilion.
Freshman guard Mia Mastrov, who joined the Bears mid-season after graduating high school in January, checked in early in the first quarter and made her first basket less than a minute later, giving the Bears an early 6-3 lead. The native of Lafayette, Calif. finished the game with a team-high 20 points on 7-for-19 shooting and 4-for-12 from three. She added six rebounds and two steals in her collegiate debut.
"We need Mia to be a scorer and she's been killing it in practice and has been extremely aggressive," head coach Charmin Smith said. "I'm glad that for her it was able to translate over and she was able to really start off on the right foot."
Freshman forward Dalayah Daniels scored all of her six points in the fourth quarter, leading Cal on an 8-3 run before the Utes began to pull away again. The Bears came within seven points of Utah with just under six minutes to go, but could not complete the comeback on the defensive end. Daniels also added four rebounds, two blocks and a steal in the game.
Freshman forward Ugonne (Michelle) Onyiah finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, two blocks and two steals. Onyiah has scored in double figures in the last three games and in five of the last six since moving into the starting lineup. Over that stretch, she is averaging 10.8 points and 7.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, leading the team in all three categories during that time.
Sophomore forward Evelien Lutje-Schipholt contributed six points, eight rebounds and two blocks on Friday.
Cal continues its homestand this Sunday, February 7, matching up against Colorado at 1 p.m. The game will be streamed here.
Fans can receive additional in-game updates and behind-the-scenes information by following the Bears' social media accounts (Twitter: @CalWBBall, Instagram: @CalWBBall and Facebook: Facebook.com/CalWBBall).