No. 24 Cal Women Beat No. 21 North Carolina State

The 24th-ranked Cal women’s basketball team defeated a ranked opponent for the second time this season on Thursday night when the Bears knocked off No. 21 North Carolina State 78-71 at Haas Pavilion.

“I think this was one of the biggest wins for Cal women’s basketball in some time,” Cal coach Charmin Smith.

The Bears defeated then-No. 19 Alabama back on December 5 at Haas Pavilion, and on Thurday Cal beat a team that reached the Final Four last season.

Marta Suarez scored 17 points for Cal (15-2, 3-1 ACC.), and 14 of those points came in the first half when Cal took control late in the second quarter. Ioanna Krimili, Michelle Onyiah and Kayla Williams added 15 points apeice to help the Bears end the Wolfpack’s seven-game winning streak while keeping Cal unbeaten at home (11-0).

Krimili was just 6-for-18 from the the field, including 3-for-12 on three-pointers, but she hit one of the biggest shots of the game when she nailed a three-point shot with 4:57 left, 21 seconds after the Wolfpack had scored six straight points to close Cal’s nine-point lead to three points.

“She made it when we needed it, and we have a habit of doing that,” Smth said.

North Carolina State (11-4, 3-1 ACC) never got closer than four points the rest of the way and suffered its first conference loss despite 21 points from Aziaha James and 19 from Tilda Trygger.

Cal took the lead for good with 1:01 left in the third quarter, then held off every North Carolina State surge after that.

An important reason for Cal’s consistency throughout the game was the play of point guard Kayla Williams, who played all 40 minutes, shot 7-for-13 from the field and added six assists with just two turnovers while doing all the ball-handling chores and driving the lane to create opportunities for herself or others.

“I thought Williams killed us off the bounce,” North Carolina State coach Wes Moore said.

Williams may be the key to Cal’s success this season, because her strong play has come as a surprise to casual observers. She did not start any games for USC last season when she averaged 10.8 minutes, 2.6 points and 0.6 assists per game. After transferring to Cal, Williams has started every game for the Bears this season while averaging 33 minutes, 12.2 points and 4.6 assists to go along with 44.5% three-point shooting.

Thursday was the first time two top-25 women’s teams played a game at Haas Pavilion since Dec. 22, 2018, when 14th-ranked Cal lost to No. 1 UConn.

Cal led by eight points entering the fourth quarter, and the Wolfpack got as close as three points, but the Bears maintained the lead throughout. Cal had scored the final eight points of the third quarter to break away from a 52-52 tie to grab that 60-52 advantage after three quarters.

Cal held a 39-33 lead at halftime, thanks in large part to a one-minute shooting spree by Suarez.  She hit three-pointers on three consecutive Cal possessions over a span of 56 seconds to cap a 16-0 Bears run that took Cal from a 22-14 deficit to a 30-22 lead with 5:22 left in the first half.

Suarez’s one-minute shooting spree seemed to change the complexion of the game. Cal never trailed after that.

“I was feeling it,” Suarez said.

Suarez was 4-for-4 from long range in the first half and had 14 points and 10 rebounds at intermission. The rest of the Cal team was just 3-for-12 on three-pointers, and Krimili was 1-for-7 from beyond the arc at halftime.  Her one made three-pointer came from well behind the line with the shot clock running down.

Cal shot 44.4% from the field in the first half, while the Wolfpack made just 35.3% of its shots. Cal attempted just one free throw in the first half, and missed it.

NOTES: The top two scorers from North Carolina State’s Final Four team of last season are starters on this season’s Wolfpack squad – Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers.

Heading into Thursday’s action, Cal was averaging 10.1 made three-pointers per game, sixth-most in the country, and were making 37.8% of its three-point shots, which is 12th-best in the nation.

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