Bears Late Rally Falls Short

BERKELEY – California women's basketball whipped Haas Pavilion into a frenzy on Thursday night in its penultimate regular-season game against the visiting Washington Huskies, staging a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback that tied the game with 40.4 seconds left to play, but a pair of fouls by the Bears in the final five seconds ended up deciding the game in favor of the Huskies, 61-60.

Cal (11-11, 2-9 Pac-12) played from behind for nearly the entire game, despite a 21-point performance from Dalayah Daniels and another 16 from Jayda Curry. Daniels 21 points is a new season-high, besting the old mark of 17 against McNeese. Leilani McIntosh had another active game. The junior finished with seven points, along with a career-high seven steals, and two assists.

With 7:52 remaining in the third quarter, Washington's (7-14, 2-11 Pac-12) Haley Van Dyke hit a jumper just outside the paint to give the Huskies a 14-point lead, their largest of the contest. With 2:01 to play in the third, Mia Mastrov drove to the paint and finished on a beautiful reverse layup. The bucket sparked the Bears' bench and initiated a 6-0 run that culminated with Jazlen Green's game-tying three with 40-seconds remaining.

As a team, the Bears scored just 28 points inside the paint and were held scoreless for an entire 4:08 late in the second quarter, later experiencing another field goal drought of 5:39 in the third.

The Bears managed to out-shoot the Huskies, going 21-for-54 (39 percent) to UW's 38 percent (19-for-50). Cal falls to 9-3 on the year when finishing with more field goals than their opponent.

Cal also won the turnover battle with 13 to Washington's 15 and shot 82 percent from the free-throw line; however, it was the visitors' 3-point shooting that ultimately made the difference, as the Huskies completed 6-of-14 attempts from beyond the arc.

Van Dyke led Washington with 20 points and 11 rebounds. She was joined in double figures by Nancy Mulkey with 17 points, along with four blocks, and Lauren Schwartz who had 12 points.

The Bears conclude the regular season on Saturday with a matchup against Washington State in Haas Pavilion, with tip-off scheduled for noon PT. Sunday's contest against the Cougars will be Senior Night. The Bears will celebrate lone senior Sierra Richey in a special pre-game ceremony.