Cal Women's Basketball: Bears Win 7th Straight Game

Freshman Evelien Lutje Schipholt gets the key baskets in victory over Santa Clara

Cal’s women’s basketball team won its seventh straight game on Saturday and stayed unbeaten at home, but it took the work of a freshman in the closing minutes to pull it off.

Freshman Evelien Luje Schipholt scored nine straight Cal points in the closing moments, and that included the tying basket with 1:27 left and the go-ahead bucket with 53.2 seconds remaining to provide the Bears with a 69-65 victory over Santa Clara.

The Bears (7-2) are 6-0 at home, but will face a stern test next Saturday when they host 14th-ranked Kentucky.

They had to feel fortunate to walk away with a win Saturday after trailing by two with less than two minutes left against the Broncos (4-5). And Cal did it with four freshmen on the court in the final minutes.

CJ West, the team’s No. 4 scorer and top rebounder, did not play because of injury, and Jaelyn Brown led the Bears in scoring with 26 points to go along with 11 rebounds.

Lutje Schipholt, who is seated to Smith’s left in the video, finished with 19 points and nine boards, and nine of her points came in the final six minutes.

“At the end, try to get her the ball and put her in position to score, and she came through for us big time,” first-year Cal coach Charmin Smith said.

The Bears committed just four turnovers, none in the first half, and that enabled them to overcome 39.1 shooting, including 0-for-10 from 3-point range.

“I’m really satisfied with the way we played,” Smith said. “I was disappointed we let that lead go in the first half.”

Cal led by 10 points midway through the second quarter, but trailed by three at halftime.