Tag: California Golden Bears

Williams Controls The Pace, Cal Women Follow Suit In 71-45 Win Over Austin Peay

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–The impromptu signature session between Kayla Williams and a trio of nine-year old buddies came with a teaching moment. Williams, the Bears’ graduate strategist, provided the lesson just minutes after Sunday’s game.

“That’s the wrong answer. I’m your favorite player,” Williams corrected when the name Jayda Noble came up, not hers.

The signatures strengthened the bond between the girls and the unassuming star player. Not that Noble isn’t noteworthy, but Williams, the hooper, is transformative for the Golden Bears.

After shooting 7 for 8 floor against Austin Peay, Williams cemented her position as the focal point in Cal’s 11-1 start to the season that has them on the precipice of the national Top 25. Shooting 51 percent overall and 46 percent from the three, while operating as the savvy, offensive decision maker puts Williams on the mantle without question.

Williams has attempted just 99 shots in 12 games, so she’s hardly the first option. But she’s clearly the most efficient and perfectly content to heat her teammates up first.

“We know we have shooters, and our job is to look for each other,” she said. “And our connection, our bond, our relationship off the court is great. So that carries on to the court.”

Williams is the reason opposing coaches point to Cal’s experience and shot selection when explaining the Golden Bears’ success. She’s 123 games into her five-season college career, which includes stops at UC Irvine and USC. Williams’ current shooting streaks point to her improvement. Juju Watkins’ arrival at USC last season chopped Williams’ playing time significantly and probably motivated the Los Angeles to reclaim the spotlight at Cal.

“My goal is always to improve and get better, and I know that there’s a lot of areas where I can do that. For this team, I want to be at my best as much as possible,” she said. “Better shooter, better scorer, better passer, everything… all-around.”

Cal Women Beating Stanford “Means A Lot” And Comes With A 20-Point Margin

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Telling the whole damn world, this is Bear Territory, isn’t easy. In fact, it’s hard work, and you better mean it when you say it.

Coach Charmin Smith said it Friday night, and it meant something.

After 12 consecutive losses to Stanford and 31 losses in the last 35 meetings spanning more than a decade, something needed to be said, and more importantly, something needed to be done. Again, Smith demanded, and her Bears delivered an 83-63 win, the first for Smith over the school she attended.

“I’d be lying if I tried to downplay it… I don’t care. I’m happy we beat Stanford, and I’m going to act like it,” Smith declared.

Smith, who has been an assistant coach and now head coach at Cal over a period spanning 18 years, hasn’t enjoyed any success competing against Stanford. She was 0-11 against legendary Tara VanDerveer with a number of those defeats by lopsided margins. Friday, coaching against former teammate Kate Paye, Smith, and her team broke through, winning by 20 for the first time since February 1982.

This time, it wasn’t close, and it wasn’t competitive after halftime.

The Bears survived a cold-shooting first half by both teams with a 33-24 lead. But they caught fire in the third, burying eight 3-pointers to expand their lead to 23. The school record for made threes came crashing down in the fourth quarter as Cal finished with 18.

Lulu Twidale and Ioanna Krimili both scored 20 points, and Marta Suarez was one better with 21. Suarez capped off the third quarter with a buzzer-beating three that extended Cal’s lead to 63-40.

“The rim got real big for them,” Paye said.

“I think they flat-out wanted it more. We were out-coached, I thought we were outplayed. You saw a Cal team that was highly motivated, and they played extremely hard. They rebounded the ball well. They were very aggressive on defense.”

Nunu Agara, Stanford’s leading scorer, missed eight of her 12 shots from the floor and finished with 13. Brooke Demetre led Stanford with 18. The Cardinal were 14 of 43 shooing through the first three quarters.

The first-ever ACC conference game for both teams portended a new reality between the two rivals, now in the absence of VanDerveer, who coached Stanford since 1986. The Bears have improved immensely while Stanford is starting over. Both teams came in just outside the national Top 25 among the highest vote getters. Now Cal, riding an impressive 10-1 start to the season, should enter the polls on Monday if they can continue winning against Austin Peay on Sunday.

Nine Wins, 99 Problems: Cal Women Win At Pacific 74-66, But Don’t Like How They Look

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By Morris Phillips

STOCKTON, CA–Coaches are demanding. Charmin Smith is demanding.

An 8-1 start to the season with wins over Arizona, Alabama, Auburn and Gonzaga wasn’t going to guarantee Smith’s Bears a 9-1 start and a win at Pacific Saturday.  Wanting results, she sent a group text.

“(We) messaged the whole team, ‘This Is A Really Big Game. This is a really good team. Bradley is a really good coach.’ And it took us a couple of good quarters to figure that out. But I’m glad that we were able to weather the storm and come away with the win,” Smith said.

Cal got their 9-1 start, but they didn’t play as poised as they did in the two previous wins. They couldn’t pull away as Pacific hung around by making shots when they didn’t turn it over. The host Tigers had 27 turnovers, 22 in the first three quarters.

But Cal saw some curious referee calls, and Michelle Onyiah foul out with 1:17 remaining. The free throws cut Cal’s lead to eight, and then briefly, it was cut to 70-64 with 36 seconds remaining before Cal closed.

Cal started breezy weezy with Ioanna Krimili making three 3-pointers in the first four minutes for an 11-4 lead. But their intensity waned, and Pacific led 21-19 after one quarter.

The second quarter was better for Cal by limiting the Tigers to 2 of 12 shooting. But they never gained any separation, missing 23 shots after the break. They didn’t play well without Onyiah either, who eventually fouled for the third time in four games.

The Pacific turnovers kept them from mounting a run and subdued their crowd as well. But Cal didn’t fully take advantage, scoring just 14 points off of them while flubbing a few, favorable fastbreak situations.

“I just said in the locker room to our team, we have not arrived, we have not done anything. We’ve done more than we did last year at this point. Right? By beating a Top 20 team,” Smith preached.

Krimili led Cal with 22 points, Marta Suarez had 21, and Onyiah 15 points, five rebounds in 22 minutes.

The Bears brace for Stanford’s annual appearance in Berkeley on Friday. The first-ever ACC regular season game for either team will be loud, intense, and pivotal. The two do meet a second time on January 23 at Stanford.

Composed Cal Women Hold Off No. 19 Alabama 69-65, Improve to 8-1

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Doing something once could be an aberration. Doing it repeatedly, intentionally, and forcefully is difficult but draws positive attention.

That description fits the Cal women and defines their 8-1 start to the season, which now includes a groundbreaking win over No. 19 Alabama in the ACC-SEC Challenge.

The Bears–much like a cross-country flight–have arrived. After nine games, they can say they’ve developed a method to win games that works. Combine that with being nearly completely healthy and having room for more contributors and growth over the entire season makes for a bright picture.

Thursday was a great win but also an opportunity to acknowledge the faith the Bears have shown in each other just to get them to this point.

“Doing it with people you love, and people you enjoy doing it with it’s a lot of fun,” Marta Suarez said. “It’s a great feeling for sure.”

Coach Charmin Smith, who has held the whole program together for six years despite tremendous odds caused by frequent losses and rough results, lifted the moment after the final horn on the microphone to the departing crowd. 

“See you at the next one. You know who’s next,” she said, reminding everyone that Stanford visits a week from Friday.

Smith was brief, needing to say just a little, and noticeably emotional. Good stuff, and not only for people who compare coaches’ exhortations.

Suarez became effusive when asked about the team’s growing chemistry and their uncanny knack for getting the ball to the hot hand a high rate.

“We are intentional about it. We have conversations about it. We try to get to know each other better. We try to be there for each other. It’s not something that just happens,” Suarez said. “The coaches do a good job recruiting and taking care of that culture. ‘Who are we bringing in? How do they fit with the pieces we have?'”

“We’re intentional about it, and we’re proud about it.”

Thursday’s game turned immediately after halftime when the Bears got hot, hitting 10 of their 13 shots to grab a lead after trailing 34-26. Alabama briefly regained the lead to start the fourth, but Ioanna Krimili’s three on which she was fouled produced a four-point play. The Bears never trailed again over the final six minutes.

Kayla Williams led Cal with 21 points, six rebounds, and a bunch of smart decisions that kept the offense humming after halftime. Smith pointed to Michelle Onyiah’s presence after she was limited by foul trouble in the first half. With Onyiah operating around the basket, things opened things up for Suarez, who finished with 16 points, six assists.

“It was a great game for Marta on both ends of the floor. And then Kayla making plays, hitting dagger threes and responding. These guys didn’t hang their heads, and they responded. That’s the true sign of winners,” Smith said.

Zaay Green tied her season-best with 28 points to lead Alabama. Coach Kristy Curry pointed to reserve Diane Collins’ absence impacting the Tides’ rotation, which saw four starters play 38 minutes, not including starting post Essence Cody, who played 32 minutes but was under the weather.

“Cal made a few more plays,” Curry said. “They’re a really good team. They’re a veteran team. I love how they shoot the basketball. They have a great inside presence, so really balanced one through five.”

The Bears travel to Pacific on Saturday afternoon to face Pacific at 2:00p.m.

SMU Outclasses Cal, Goes 8-0 To Finish First In The ACC

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By Morris Phillips

Cal’s opportunity to end their regular season in a rarified manner fell apart before Saturday’s 12:30p.m. kickoff.

Quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Cal’s offensive catalyst, was ruled out due to an illness. Massive offensive linemen Nick Morrow, Fred Williams, and back Jaivian Thomas couldn’t go either due to injuries. Then, national-title contender SMU appeared as scheduled. And boy, were the Mustangs motivated.

“We wanted to go 8-0,” coach Rhett Lashlee said. “We wanted to win the regular season outright and not share it. And we were playing for a lot because the College Football Playoff still comes out with rankings for two more weeks. … We didn’t need to stumble. Have a setback.”

SMU glided to a 21-0 first half lead and won 38-6, the near-perfect lead-in to their ACC Championship game date with Clemson. The Bears spent more than half the game trying to score their first three points and struggled to run their offense for much of that stretch.

The Mustangs’ offensive line pushed Cal’s front around in their touchdown drives. That activity bought Kevin Jennings time to throw, or the zone blocking scheme opened lanes for Brashard Smith to run. Both had big games, and rarely did SMU run a poor play in the sequence. The home team’s failing was 17 penalties for 137 yards that limited their time of possession but didn’t negatively impact the scoreboard.

“I thought Kevin quietly played one of his better games of the year,” Lashlee said. “I think we scored on three of those first four drives. I know we didn’t score on the first one. We had 21 points pretty quick on their defense.”

Jennings was 20 of 30 for 225 yards passing, and Smith has 134 yards running and receiving. For Cal, the running game had too few explosive plays.

“Not good enough at any position to put points on the board,” coach Justin Wilcox said. “It was an offensive issue today, not just quarterback.”

Chandler Rogers completed 8 of 15 passes for 84 yards, but he left injured in the third quarter. C.J. Harris finished the game for Cal and was 6 of 8 passing. In the first half, Cal gained 45 yards in 20 rushing attempts. The closest thing to success was Derek Morris’ 38-yard field goal miss.

Cal did have its full list of pass catchers, but they weren’t sharp or productive. Nyziah Hunter led with five catches, but he had a key procedural mistake pre-snap when Cal was driving before the break. Seven others caught a pass, but the total passes caught was only 14.

After taking their 21-0 leady early in the second quarter, the Mustangs went more than half the game before scoring again in the fourth. A field goal, a second touchdown pass from Kevin Jennings, and a 40-yard touchdown pass from Preston Stone capped the scoring.

The Bears may wait 10 to 14 days to find out what their bowl destination will be as the 13th of 17 conference teams to reach bowl eligibility.

Cal Women Capture Acrisure Classic Consolation Game 74-62 Over Arizona

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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.

Spartans Shield Cal Women in 78-72 win at the Acrisure Classic in Palm Springs

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By Morris Phillips

At some point, Michigan State needed that 96.3 points a game, and that best-nationally 50.5 average margin of victory to be a factor.

For almost three quarters, Cal made sure the numbers didn’t matter. After that, the Spartans took over, and the numbers were overwhelming.

Trailing 58-42 with 2:12 remaining in the third quarter, MSU took flight, outscoring the Bears by 22 the rest of the way in a 78-72 victory at the Acrisure Classic in Palm Springs on Tuesday afternoon.

“We got a shot of confidence, started to play better, started getting stops without fouling,” coach Robyn Fralick said. “This tournament is what you want, amazing arena, amazing destination, great teams to play against.”

The Bears played the first of 19 men’s and women’s games at Acrisure Arena over a four-day period ending Friday. The crowd was sparse given the 11:00a.m. tip, but the game was nationally televised and played at a high level.

For 28 minutes, the Bears made shots and kept MSU as far as they possibly could from scoring at least 90 points for the sixth time in their seven games thus far. But the Spartans didn’t conduct themselves like they were cooked. And when their persistence at getting to the basket started to work, along with some friendly whistles, they pounced, and Cal was held scoreless for a significant stretch.

A 16-2 run from the point of Cal’s biggest lead wasn’t answered until Lulu Twidale calm sank a three with 6:30 left. Cal still led 65-60, but Michigan State was fully realized. Julia Ayrault, turning and facing with the ball at every opportunity, drew some fouls that eventually would get Marta Suarez and Michelle Onyiah to their fifth fouls. The Spartans got it done at the foul line, making 11 of 14 in the final quarter.

The contrast was jarring as Cal limited MSU to 2 of 19 shooting with three turnovers in the second quarter when they seized control with the finish of an 18-0 run that put them 36-26 four minutes before the half.

Twidale and Suarez keyed that stretch with eight points a piece, while Michigan State saw its shooting get as low as 27 percent from the floor before the break.

Cal (6-1) played without key reserve Jayda Noble, who coach Charmin Smith decided to replace with additional minutes from Gisella Maul, freshmen Lola Donez, and Gabrielle Abigor. Four Bears starters scored in double figures led by Twidale with 20 points.

Ayrault had 22 points, nine rebounds despite missing 13 shots. She also keyed the Spartans’ gritty style and pestering defense that totaled 10 steals and 20 offensive rebounds.

“Michigan State plays very aggressive,” said coach Shea Ralph of Vanderbilt, MSU’s opponent in Tuesday’s championship game. “Watching them today, they play really hard, they press. A lot of what we saw today against Arizona we’re going to see again tomorrow.”

Cal plays Arizona in the consolation game at 11:00a.m. on Wednesday with Michigan State-Vanderbilt to follow at 1:30p.m.

Ayrault, Michigan State Threaten An Unprecedented 7-0 Start To The Cal Women’s Season

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By Morris Phillips

Last season, Michigan State center Julia Ayrault’s inclusion to the All-Big Ten First Team was a no-brainer. Along with WNBA talents Caitlin Clark and Jacy Sheldon, Ayrault was one of the conference’s ten best players, averaging 15.4 points per game, 7.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks.

This season, with Clark and Sheldon off to the pros, and some new, prominent names added from USC and UCLA, Ayrault’s name didn’t appear on the conference’s pre-season list. Given her talent, activity and versatility, the omission is glaring.

No confirmation here, but just assume Ayrault, the child of two former collegiate basketball players, might be taking all this personally. Her play in Michigan State’s dominant 6-0 start to the season would suggest as much. Ayrault has scored in double figures in all five games she’s played despite none of those games being in doubt after halftime.

On Tuesday morning in Palm Springs’ Acrisure Arena, Ayrault becomes the Cal women’s problem, as a big roadblock in the Bears attempt to forge a 7-0 start to the season for the first time under Coach Charmin Smith.

The meeting of undefeated teams comes as part of the Acrisure Classic, a four-team tournament that features Vanderbilt and Arizona in the second, opening day matchup.

Michigan State coach Robyn Fralick has her own concerns. Cal’s guard play and experience are worrisome to her, especially Ioanna Krimili and Lulu Twidale, who lead Cal in scoring, but more importantly, have hit big shots in key moments in the Bears’ 6-0 start.

“They shoot the three very well. I think when you watch them play, you can tell they’ve played a lot of basketball and make good decisions,” Fralick said of Cal’s backcourt of Krimili, Twidale and Kayla Williams.

In the combined 12 wins for both teams, neither have had many anxious moments. Michigan State is tied for the national-lead in quarters scoring at least 20 points with LSU. Their up-tempo style has overwhelmed their six mid-major opponents, with the margins of victory all falling between 37 and 65 points.

“At this point, I think we’re ready to see where we are,” Fralick declared.

Cal led by double digits throughout the second halves of their first five games, and against Auburn in their most recent outing, they finally had a game decided late, but Twidale hit a pair of threes in the final two minutes to create a winning margin.

The Bears-Spartans matchup features a familiar face as former Oregon Duck Grace VanSlooten, the Toledo, Ohio native, entered the transfer portal following her sophomore season, and agreed to join the Spartans and create a formidable post duo with Ayrault. VanSlooten has faced the Bears three times, winning the matchup as a freshman, while scoring 20 points with nine rebounds. Last season, VanSlooten suffered a pair of losses to Cal, missing 19 of her combined 26 shots from the floor in the process as the Cal defense proved formidable.

In an interesting juxtaposition, the 6’3″ VanSlooten plays the four in Michigan State’s scheme with the 6’2″ Ayrault in the post. When Fralick was named coach prior to last season, she approached Ayrault, then listed as a guard, regarding a change of position. Ayrault agreed, and that move may have been the key in the Spartans’ 22-9 record and surprising NCAA Tournament berth.

Ayrault’s father, Andrew, now an assistant coach at his alma mater, Wayne State, likely encouraged his daughter to be open-minded to the position switch. Also, Ayrault, now in her fifth season playing for the Spartans has declared that she’s fully committed to the university, thus her decision to return to school, and not test the waters in the transfer portal.

“Staying the course, believing in a place is important to me,” Ayrault said. “I love Michigan State, I love everything about it, so just being here and loving a place and loving the people… that would be it.”

The Spartans’ fast pace and pressure defense will cause Cal problems. The Bears have been prone to turnovers, and Michigan State creates them and turns them into points. The Spartans have scored at least 95 points in all but one of their games thus far. Offensively, the Spartans attack quickly, but prudently.

“You have to play with pace on both sides of the ball,” Fralick said. “Make sure we hunt good shots. But I tell our team that doesn’t mean we (necessarily) have to shoot fast.”

The Bears and Spartans tip at 11:00 a.m., with the game televised on TruTV.

Cal Comeback: Mendoza, Bears Respond Late To Win the 127th Big Game, 24-21 Over Stanford

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Anything with 127 occurrences is likely to produce one crazy, jaw-dropping outcome that trumps all the rest.

For Stanford and Cal, this wasn’t it. That Play took place a few years back. But for 30 Golden Bears’ seniors playing at Memorial Stadium for the final time, this was it.

For that group, a 24-21 come-from-behind win cements an extremely rare college career without a loss to hated rival Stanford.

“I’m glad we get to send everyone off the right way and keep the Axe where it belongs,” said Lu-Magia Hearns, one of the 30 triumphant seniors.

Cal played lethargically into the third quarter, trailing 14-0 after Stanford’s first two possessions, and 21-7 after the Cardinal fashioned a third, lengthy scoring drive after halftime.

Cal’s Nohl Williams took a hard hit on the ensuing kickoff and fumbled, which set up Stanford with a short field. With the Cardinal threatening to fashion a three-score lead, the Bears finally responded.

Three plays without a first down left Stanford to attempt a 35-yard field goal. But placeholder Connor Weselman mishandled the snap and attempted a pass instead. That pass fell incomplete, and Cal regained possession and new life.

A 12-play Bears’ drive culminated with Ryan Coe’s 46-yard field goal, and Cal trimmed the deficit to 21-10 with 47 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

After a three-and-out possession by Stanford, the Bears got moving with Fernando Mendoza’s 30-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Brady on a 3rd-and-6 play. After a non-productive first half, Mendoza said he honed in on Cal’s advantages with their top receivers battling an inexperienced Stanford secondary. Brady’s catch made it 21-16 after the Bears failed to convert a two-point attempt.

Another brief Stanford possession gave Cal the ball, but punter Aidan Flintoff pinned the Bears at their own 2-yard line. An 11-play drive, aided by a pair of Stanford penalties, covered 98 yards and gave Cal their first lead with 2:40 remaining. Again, Mendoza partnered with Brady on a third down pass play that left the receiver single covered in the end zone. This time, Cal picked up a critical, two-point conversion on a catch by Jadyn Ott to lead 24-21.

“I’ve never felt something so exciting,” Brady said. “It means so much to our fans. It was exciting to see a smile on their faces.”

“We never quit, and we found a way to win,” coach Justin Wilcox said. “That means a lot. There was a time when small people or weak people could have tried to find a way out… that it’s not going to be our day. A lot of people would have quit, honestly. It’s human nature.”

Aaron Rodgers, Marshawn Lynch and Ron Rivera headlined a vested group of Cal football alumni that attended the game, and Rodgers spoke to the team on Friday, which reportedly ramped up the team’s intensity.

The last time the Bears (6-5, 2-5) captured four consecutive meetings with Stanford was 2006. Under Wilcox, the Bears have won five of the previous six editions of the Big Game.

The Cal regular season concludes on Saturday against SMU in Dallas with the Bears afforded an opportunity to play spoiler to the Mustangs’ national title aspirations.

Cal Women Pass Another Test: Bears Survive Auburn In 63-59 Win

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Wet spots on the floor, silver shoes, experienced players showing their nerves were part of an unusual night of basketball with Auburn and California Friday night at Haas Pavilion.

That describes the first 38 minutes of action. Then, in the final two minutes of close game, things really became unsettled with missed defensive assignments that led to missed layups by Auburn, followed by missed free throws by Cal.

A water-logged, rain-weary crowd was made to pause and likely ask, “Who wants this?”

The answer was Cal, who overcame a couple of two-possession deficits in the final quarter to prevail, 63-59, and improve to 6-0 on the season.

“I wasn’t proud of how we played, but I’m proud of how we fought,” coach Charmin Smith said.

After falling behind 57-51 with 5:11 remaining, the Bears responded with back-to-back 3-pointers from Lulu Twidale to tie, the start of a 12-2 finishing run that left the visiting Tigers empty handed.

“We missed a couple of layups there when we’re up, and we became impatient toward the end,” Auburn coach Johnnie Harris admitted.

What was frustrating for Harris was invigorating for Smith, who found the silver lining to match her silver shoes in what was a grit over substance-type ballgame.

“I think we really locked in at the end when we needed to and made some crucial plays, and got some crucial stops in order to get the win.”

Twidale led Cal with 22 points, and Ioanna Krimili added 14. The pair combined to make seven threes, all of which seemed to come at critical times with Auburn bearing down.

The Tigers and Bears currently project to qualify for the NCAA Tournament with the only previous loss by either team belonging to Auburn at Oregon on Wednesday. But the fast season starts by both have come without late, close game experience. That was apparent as the mistakes arose in the final two minutes with the game on the line.

“You learn from it. You learn from these losses, and you get better,” Harris said.

Deyona Gaston (16 points) and Taylen Collins (13) were the leading scorers for Auburn. Tahlia Scott, who scored 28 points against the Ducks, and 26 against Arkansas-Little Rock, was held to 7 points on 3 of 9 shooting.

The Bears next take the court in Palm Springs at the Acrisure Arena, meeting Michigan State on Monday morning at 11:00am.