BERKELEY, Calif. – UCLA (10-14, 6-7) dropped its seventh straight regular season game to California (19-5, 11-2) which posted a 70-64 victory over the Bruins without All-American point guard Brittany Boyd on Thursday evening in Haas Pavilion.
California scored the first six points of the game as the Bruins started out with three turnovers in the first three minutes. Leading 15-12 (12:12), Cal built its largest lead of the game of 14 points (29-15) with a 14-3 run, culminating in a layup by Reshanda Gray with 8:04 to go. The Bruins closed the half on a 6-0 run over the final 1:50 to pull to within 38-31 at the break.
The Bruins shot just 38.2 percent (13-for-34) in the first half while California made 53.6 percent (15-for-28) from the field. The Golden Bears won the battle of the boards, 19-16, but UCLA forced 12 Golden Bear turnovers to lead 13-9 in points off turnovers.
In the second half, the Bruins rallied by attacking the offensive glass and the rim. Trailing 47-40 with 12:57 remaining, the Bruins engineered a 10-2 run to take their first lead of the game at 50-49 on an offensive rebound and layup by Kacy Swain (10:04). Tied at 54-54, the Golden Bears took a 60-54 lead as UCLA missed six straight shots. UCLA pulled to within one at 63-62 (1:54) on a jumper by Nirra Fields but the Bruins missed their last six shots while Cal made its last four free throws to seal the win.
Fields led a trio of Bruins in double figures with 14 points and seven rebounds, but was just 4-for-19 from the field. Freshman Jordin Canada had 12 points, four assists and four steals, but was just 4-for-18 from the field. Costa was shutout in the second half, finishing with 10 points and seven rebounds. Freshman Monique Billings had eight points and six rebounds while Swain finished with eight points and three boards. Freshman Kelli Hayes turned in season-bests of seven points and seven rebounds.
Gray ended the night with a game-high 24 points and was 10-for-16 from the free-throw line. Mercedes Jefflo chipped in 23 points and seven boards. Mikayla Cowling had 11 points to round out a trio of Golden Bears in double figures.
For the game, UCLA forced 19 California turnovers, leading to an 18-14 points off turnovers advantage (the Bruins committed just 12 miscues. UCLA outrebounded Cal 41-37, but the Golden Bears outshot the Bruins, 47.1 percent (24-for-51) to 33.3 percent (23-for-69).
TIP-INS
CAL: Has swept UCLA in each of the last three regular seasons, but the Bruins bounced the Golden Bears in the semifinals of the 2013 Pac-12 Tournament. California has defeated UCLA in four straight contests.
UCLA: Redshirt sophomore guard Kari Korver was 1-for-4 from three-point range, finishing the game with just three points, but extended her consecutive contests with a three-pointer to a team-best 11 games.
NORCAL PLAYERS SHINE IN BAY AREA
Corinne Costa (Discovery Bay, Calif.) and Kelli Hayes (San Jose, Calif.) both had solid outings in front of friends and family at California. Hayes had season-highs of seven points and seven rebounds and added an assist while Costa didn't miss a shot (5-for-5) and added an assist, a block and a steal to go with her 10 points and seven boards.
UP NEXT
CAL: Hosts USC on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 6:30 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks.
UCLA: at Stanford on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 4:30 p.m. on the Pac-12 Networks.
Women's basketball season tickets are on sale at the UCLA Central Ticket Office (310-UCLA-WIN). For more ticket information, or to buy tickets now, click here.