By Morris Phillips

This time, the Cal women looked composed and focused… when they weren’t turning the ball over.

Clearly a sign of improvement, the Bears displayed their version of Bear Down, by methodically leaning on Arizona in a 74-62 win in the Acrisure Classic Consolation Game in Palm Springs that featured 25 points from Michelle Onyiah.

“Our biggest strength was getting the ball into Michelle and the way that she finished around the rim,” said Charmin Smith, who rode off into the sunset on Onyiah’s back after both were interviewed on television after the game. “We didn’t have that yesterday. I’m really proud to see her get a career high and do what she needed.”

In contrast to the jumbled manner in which the Bears concluded their loss to Michigan State, this was a walk in the park with the Cal perimeter players getting the ball to their 6’3″ center repeatedly where she converted a high rate of success.

Onyiah finished 11 of 14 from the floor, and 3 of 4 from the foul line. With Arizona missing post defender Breya Cunningham, Onyiah’s efficiency kept Cal in front from midway in the second quarter to the game’s conclusion.

“We just got murdered by the post players this weekend, and some of that was because we’re missing size and Breya’s presence inside,” Arizona coach Adia Barnes said.

Cal stacked up 13 offensive rebounds and made 20 of 26 foul shots. They conducted their offense patiently despite the Wildcats’ pressure defense. Cal’s 21 turnovers aided Arizona’s ability to hang around to the final minutes. Cunningham missed both games in Palm Springs when a family member was hospitalized, and she returned home immediately.

“Arizona is a really aggressive defensive team” Smith said. “They have some really active and athletic players on offense who can get to the basket, but we wanted to be the tougher team on both ends of the floor. And I think we did that, and I think that allowed us to get the win.”

Lulu Twidale added 18 points for Cal, and Gisella Maul played 20 minutes and scored 10 points in the absence of Jayda Noble, who was present but unable to participate.

Leading scorer Jada Williams led Arizona with 18 points, but she needed 17 shots to get there, and she missed a key, second half stretch due to foul trouble.

The Bears (7-1) are off for an entire week before hosting No. 20 Alabama and traveling to Pacific next weekend.