Cal Women's Basketball: Bears Lose Pac-12 Opener to Washington

The Bears' next game against Washington State, scheduled for Sunday, has been postponed

Cal's Pac-12 women's basketball season got off to a rocky start as the Bears lost at home to Washington 80-53 in both teams' conference opener Friday night.

The young Golden Bears committed 27 turnovers in the game and slipped to 0-3 overall by losing to a Washington team picked to finish 11th in the Pac-12 in the preseason media poll. The Huskies indicate they are better than the preseason projection, however, since they are now 3-0.

"I think we have a really phenomenal group of young women who are extremely coachable," Cal head coach Charmin Smith said. "They're listening and they're trying. We just need time to get this thing working."

Cal's problems are not surprising after the Bears learned earlier this week that two of their projected starters -- freshman Alma Elsnitz and sophomore Jazlen Green -- will be sidelined for the rest of the season because of knee injuries.

.The Bears will have some time to think about the disappointing loss because their next game, scheduled for Sunday against Washington, has been postponed because the Cougars does not have the minimum number of scholarship student-athletes (seven) available for the game due to COVID-19 protocol and associated contact tracing.

Washington State released this statement:

"The Washington State women's basketball team will not travel this weekend to face California for its season-opening game, Sunday, Dec. 6, nor its following game Tuesday, Dec. 8 against Stanford. Both games have been postponed. The decision was made under the Pac-12's basketball policy as Washington State does not have the minimum number of scholarship student-athletes (7) available for the games due to COVID-19 protocol and associated contact tracing. The Pac-12 Conference will attempt to find mutually agreeable dates to reschedule the contests."

In Friday's game, Washington took the lead early in the first quarter and expanded the margin throughout the first half.

Cal closed the gap to four points at 44-40 with 2:12 left in the third quarter, but the Bears went scoreless for rest of the third quarter and the first 3:15 of the fourth quarter as turnovers ruined the rally. The Huskies scored 14 consecutive points in that span to build an 18-point lead.

"We went back to struggling to take care of the ball," Smith said.

Smith and Cal players provide comments on the loss in the video below:

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Cal sophomore Leilani McIntosh, the only returning starter from last year's squad, led the team in scoring with 12 points and three assists, and she also commtted four turnovers. Freshman Fatou Sambe was the only other Cal player who scored in double figures, collecting 10 points.

The Bears started three freshmen -- Dalayah Daniels, Ornela Muca and Sela Heide -- and two sophomores -- McIntosh and Evelien Lutje Schipholt.

The leading scorer in the game was Washington freshman Tameiya Sadler, who poured in 21 points while playing only 27 minutes.

The Golden Bears will resume their season when they host San Francisco on Thursday, December 10, at Haas Pavilion. 

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Cover photo by Soobum Im - USA TODAY Sports

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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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