No. 18 Cal women absorb worst loss of the season at No. 16 Duke

Unable to function offensively against No 16 Duke’s quick and aggressive defense, 18th-ranked Cal suffered its worst loss of its best season in 12 years on Thursday night at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The Bears turned the ball over 17 times in the first half and never recovered, falling 72-38.

The Bears (16-3, 4-2 ACC) had won three in a row and 10 of their previous 11 games, but the Blue Devils (14-4, 5-1) took them completely out of their game. Cal, whose 180 3-point baskets were second-most in the country, managed just one in each half.

Duke was in control from nearly the start and led 37-20 at the halftime break.

Pursuing their first NCAA tournament bid since 2019, the Bears had beaten seven of their previous eight opponents who played in the NCAAs a year ago, as Duke did. They had won their two previous games — against Alabama and North Carolina State — matched against Top-25 opponents.

But this was not their night. 

Cal still hasn’t beaten a ranked team on the road in nearly five years and its final point total was 20 points below its previous season low. 

The Blue Devils gave Cal shooters Ioanna Krimili and Lulu Twidale no room to operate, neutralizing the nation’s best 1-2 tandem from distance. The two arrived at Durham, NC, with 113 combined 3-pointers and each was limited to one attempt from beyond the arc in the first half. Both shots missed.

Cal finished the night at 17 percent (2 for 12) from the 3-point line, well below its season mark of 37 percent. The Bears had made at least 10 3-pointers in nine of their previous 18 games.

The bigger problem was turnovers. The Bears had 11 in the second quarter alone — five in a span of 2:16 at one point — giving them no chance to run their offense. 

By the end of the third quarter, Cal had 51 possessions and 25 of them ended with a giveaway — a turnover on 49 percent of their chances with the ball. By then, the Blue Devils had forged a 61-27 lead.

Duke outscored Cal 28-5 in points off turnovers through three quarters.

The Bears finished the night with a season-worst 31 turnovers, which Duke transformed into 32 points.

Point guard Kayla Williams led the Bears with eight points and center Michelle Onyiah had eight points and six rebounds before fouling out. All five of Cal’s starters average double-digit scoring, but the other three — Krimili, Twidale and Marta Suarez — combined for nine points on 3-for-17 shooting with 17 turnovers.

Twidale finally hit a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter, when the outcome was long decided. Krimili, the NCAA’s active career leader with 394 threes, never did connect from deep.

Freshman Toby Fournier scored 23 points to lead Duke while Ashlon Jackson had 17.

Cal never led and Duke used an 8-0 run to stretch out to a 13-5 lead with 3 minutes left in the first quarter. The spate of Golden Bear turnovers allowed the Blue Devils to assemble a 10-0 run in the second period, giving them a 35-13 lead at that point.

Cal returns to action Sunday at Wake Forest (7-10, 0-6).