Once more the Cal ladies practically pulled off a win that may have turned their season round. Once more they did not get it.
The Golden Bears led by three factors with lower than three minutes left and by some extent with lower than two minutes remaining, however they failed to attain some extent thereafter in a 78-73 loss to Oregon on Friday night time at Haas Pavilion.
Cal (10-10, 1-8 Pac-12) misplaced its sixth sport in a row and misplaced to the Geese (14-6, 5-4) for the eighth straight time.
And although the Geese slipped out of the AP top-25 this week, they entered the sport ranked No. 14 within the NET rankings. So this might have been a giant win for the Bears.
However we have seen this earlier than. The Bears had a three-point lead on then-No. 2 Stanford with 4 minutes left and misplaced by 4. They have been tied with then-No. 18 Arizonba with 6:20 remaining and misplaced by seven. They held a three-point, fourth-quarter lead on No. 24 Colorado, and misplaced by seven.
And now this one to Oregon.
Cal coach Charmin Smith couldn’t pinpoint the lacking ingredient within the closing minutes of video games.
“If I had the reply I would not maintain it a secret,” she mentioned.
She concludes, based mostly on the phrases of Steph Curry, that it is the little issues that add as much as huge issues.
“Once we had the Stanford sport, Steph got here and talked to us: What was the distinction in your group with the ability to win these video games and get to the place you need,” Smith mentioned, “and he simply talked about that the margin of error is simply so small. It is specializing in the little issues and being extraordinarily constant. I feel we battle with consistency.”
A lapse on the worst doable time mixed with a debatable officiating name doomed Cal this time.
The sport was extraordinarily shut all through, with Oregon’s last five-point margin being the largest lead by both group in a sport that featured 30 lead modifications.
Cal held a three-point lead at 71-68 when Leilani McIntosh sank a three-pointer with 2:53 left, and the Bears took a one-point lead at 73-72 when McIntosh, who completed with 11 factors, made a pair of free throws with 1:53 to go.
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Te-Hina Paopao however the Geese again in entrance 74-73 with a 15-footer with 1:27 left, and Jayda Curry, who completed with 13 factors, dedicated a turnover when she misplaced the ball out of bounds whereas making an attempt to drive the lane.
Oregon’s Phillipina Kyei made the second of two free throws with 34.8 seconds left tp make it 75-73.
Cal referred to as for a excessive display screen Curry, however she was referred to as for touring with 22.3 seconds remaining.
“I did not see a journey,” Smith mentioned. “I feel that is a troublesome name at the moment of the sport, after I thought Oregon had fast toes, Flintstone toes all night.”
When Oregon’s Likelihood Grey hit two free throws to make the margin 4 factors with 20.9 seconds left, the difficulty was settled.
Curry did make one three-point shot to increase her streak to 42 consecutive video games through which she has made at the very least one three-pointer, leaving her three video games shy of the Pac-12 document (since 1999-2000).
Statistics have been comparable for the 2 groups, the one distinction being the free throws. Oregon made 15 free throws (in 21 makes an attempt) and Cal was simply 5-for-9.
Oregon freshman Grace VanSlooten led all scorers with 20 factors, whereas Kemery Martin matched Curry for Cal high-scoring honors with 13 factors.
“As a group we simply wish to recover from this hump,” Martin mentioned.
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