Friday, February 9
Berkeley, Calif.
8:00 PM
Colorado
12-12,3-10Pac12
76
at
78
California
16-8, 7-6Pac12
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Colorado
9
20
27
20
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California
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Photo by: Jeremy Cannon
Correal's Career Night Not Enough As CU Edged At Cal, 78-76
February 09, 2018 | Women's Basketball
BERKELEY, Calif. – Zoe Correal scored a career-high 20 points, but Colorado came up just short, falling 78-76 at California on Friday night at Haas Pavilion. CU dropped to 12-12 overall and 3-10 in the Pac-12, while the Bears improved to 16-8 and 7-6.
STAT LEADERS: Correal shot 10-of-14 from the floor, playing in her hometown, and had five rebounds. She eclipsed her previous career high of 16 points set last season, also on the road at Cal.
Alexis Robinson had 19 points, four assists and three steals. Kennedy Leonard scored 16 points and had nine assists, just missing a double-double.
Asha Thomas led Cal with 18 points. Mikayla Cowling added 17 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Cal led throughout the majority of the first half, though never by much. The Bears held their largest lead before halftime at 25-19 at the 4-minute mark of the second quarter.
CU responded and tied the game at 29-29 with a 10-4 run late in the quarter, highlighted by a 3-pointer by Brecca Thomas at the 2:03 mark. Cal hit a late 3-pointer to lead 32-29 at the break.
Both teams caught fire in the third quarter as they combined to shoot 20-for-32 (.625) from the floor. Correal made back-to-back layups to open the quarter as CU quickly took a 33-32 lead.
Cal built a six-point lead with 2:40 to go, but an 8-0 run with four different Buffs scoring put them back in front 56-54. A late Bears bucket sent the two teams into the fourth tied at 56-56.
Cal's All-America post Kristine Anigwe picked up her fourth foul of the game with 9:23 remaining and CU took advantage. CU took a 68-63 lead with 6:32 to go after Robinson buried a 3-pointer.
But the Bears subbed Anigwe back in and used an 8-0 run to take a 71-68 lead with 3:41 on the block as Cowling scored three straight baskets to cap the run.
CU showed fight, however, battling back to a 72-71 lead after Correal scored back-to-back baskets.
With Cal leading 75-73, Robinson sunk a 3-pointer from the right corner at the 1:25 mark, putting the Buffs in front 76-75.
Asha Thomas drew a foul with 31.5 seconds left after the Bears grabbed two offensive rebounds on the same possession and she sunk both free throws to put Cal ahead 77-76.
CU's ensuing possession came up short as the Buffs ran a play to get Robinson a 3-pointer from the right corner again. The Bears contested the shot and pulled down the rebound.
However, with 2.6 seconds left, Cal made just 1-of-2 at the line, giving Colorado possession down just two points. After taking a timeout to advance the inbounds play to half court, Leonard tried to drive for a layup, but her shot at the buzzer missed.
KEY STATISTICS: It was one of the cleanest games the Buffs have played this season, committing just 14 turnovers and shooting 48.4 percent from the floor. Cal held a 34-33 rebounding edge, but committed just 12 turnovers to top the Buffs in both categories by a narrow margin. Cal shot 47.7 percent in the game.
NOTES: Correal eclipsed her previous career high of 16 points, also set at Cal last season ... Cal avenged a 64-59 win by the Buffs in Berkeley last season as the two teams have now split the past four meetings ... Leonard's nine assists moved her into third place in CU history with 490 assists.
UP NEXT: The Buffs will play at No. 17/21 Stanford at 4 p.m. MT on Sunday.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
JR Payne, head coach
On how the team played
"We certainly played really hard. We executed really well offensively and defensively. The game play was good defensively. In the end, we just couldn't stop (Mikayla) Cowling down the stretch."
On Cal's Mikayla Cowling
"She's a pro. She'll be a WNBA kid a year from now, she certainly showed why and how down the stretch tonight."
On Zoe Correal's night
"Zoe Correal was indispensable tonight. Her effort was great. She scored the ball, she defended. She played really well and it was a tremendous effort inside to contain her (Kristine Anigwe). Confidence and effort and toughness and grit and rebounding. Everything you could want from your post player Zoe did tonight."
On how everyone else played
"I thought everybody that played, played really well tonight. That's how it has to be. Our effort in that area from everybody who steps on the floor has to be air tight, and it was. Our effort was really good."
On CU's last possession of the game
"That was the shot we wanted at the end. It was a layup, we just didn't finish it. I think we got what we wanted, a good look. It was difficult, 2.3 seconds [left when we inbounded the ball]. I thought Kennedy stretched it out as long as she could. It was a great look."
STAT LEADERS: Correal shot 10-of-14 from the floor, playing in her hometown, and had five rebounds. She eclipsed her previous career high of 16 points set last season, also on the road at Cal.
Alexis Robinson had 19 points, four assists and three steals. Kennedy Leonard scored 16 points and had nine assists, just missing a double-double.
Asha Thomas led Cal with 18 points. Mikayla Cowling added 17 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter.
HOW IT HAPPENED: Cal led throughout the majority of the first half, though never by much. The Bears held their largest lead before halftime at 25-19 at the 4-minute mark of the second quarter.
CU responded and tied the game at 29-29 with a 10-4 run late in the quarter, highlighted by a 3-pointer by Brecca Thomas at the 2:03 mark. Cal hit a late 3-pointer to lead 32-29 at the break.
Both teams caught fire in the third quarter as they combined to shoot 20-for-32 (.625) from the floor. Correal made back-to-back layups to open the quarter as CU quickly took a 33-32 lead.
Cal built a six-point lead with 2:40 to go, but an 8-0 run with four different Buffs scoring put them back in front 56-54. A late Bears bucket sent the two teams into the fourth tied at 56-56.
Cal's All-America post Kristine Anigwe picked up her fourth foul of the game with 9:23 remaining and CU took advantage. CU took a 68-63 lead with 6:32 to go after Robinson buried a 3-pointer.
But the Bears subbed Anigwe back in and used an 8-0 run to take a 71-68 lead with 3:41 on the block as Cowling scored three straight baskets to cap the run.
CU showed fight, however, battling back to a 72-71 lead after Correal scored back-to-back baskets.
With Cal leading 75-73, Robinson sunk a 3-pointer from the right corner at the 1:25 mark, putting the Buffs in front 76-75.
Asha Thomas drew a foul with 31.5 seconds left after the Bears grabbed two offensive rebounds on the same possession and she sunk both free throws to put Cal ahead 77-76.
CU's ensuing possession came up short as the Buffs ran a play to get Robinson a 3-pointer from the right corner again. The Bears contested the shot and pulled down the rebound.
However, with 2.6 seconds left, Cal made just 1-of-2 at the line, giving Colorado possession down just two points. After taking a timeout to advance the inbounds play to half court, Leonard tried to drive for a layup, but her shot at the buzzer missed.
KEY STATISTICS: It was one of the cleanest games the Buffs have played this season, committing just 14 turnovers and shooting 48.4 percent from the floor. Cal held a 34-33 rebounding edge, but committed just 12 turnovers to top the Buffs in both categories by a narrow margin. Cal shot 47.7 percent in the game.
NOTES: Correal eclipsed her previous career high of 16 points, also set at Cal last season ... Cal avenged a 64-59 win by the Buffs in Berkeley last season as the two teams have now split the past four meetings ... Leonard's nine assists moved her into third place in CU history with 490 assists.
UP NEXT: The Buffs will play at No. 17/21 Stanford at 4 p.m. MT on Sunday.
POSTGAME QUOTES:
JR Payne, head coach
On how the team played
"We certainly played really hard. We executed really well offensively and defensively. The game play was good defensively. In the end, we just couldn't stop (Mikayla) Cowling down the stretch."
On Cal's Mikayla Cowling
"She's a pro. She'll be a WNBA kid a year from now, she certainly showed why and how down the stretch tonight."
On Zoe Correal's night
"Zoe Correal was indispensable tonight. Her effort was great. She scored the ball, she defended. She played really well and it was a tremendous effort inside to contain her (Kristine Anigwe). Confidence and effort and toughness and grit and rebounding. Everything you could want from your post player Zoe did tonight."
On how everyone else played
"I thought everybody that played, played really well tonight. That's how it has to be. Our effort in that area from everybody who steps on the floor has to be air tight, and it was. Our effort was really good."
On CU's last possession of the game
"That was the shot we wanted at the end. It was a layup, we just didn't finish it. I think we got what we wanted, a good look. It was difficult, 2.3 seconds [left when we inbounded the ball]. I thought Kennedy stretched it out as long as she could. It was a great look."
Team Stats
COLO
CAL
FG%
.484
.477
3FG%
.294
.231
FT%
.786
.867
RB
33
34
TO
14
12
STL
5
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
20
FGM
10
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
2
FTM
3
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
2
FTM
4
Pts
6
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
C
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
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