NC State put in a good fight during the fourth quarter in Berkeley but in the end couldn’t find enough plays to pick up the victory. The Wolfpack cut what was an eight-point deficit to begin the fourth down to three points midway through, but got no closer.
The Pack got off to a fine start and won the first quarter by six, but Cal got cooking and won the next quarter by 12. The teams went back and forth for a while in the third, then State put together to knot the score at 52 with two minutes remaining in the period. The Bears called a timeout, then closed on an 8-0 run.
Aziaha James led the Wolfpack with 21 points on 9-18 shooting and had an excellent look from the top of the key with about 15 seconds left and the deficit five points, but alas. Something—maybe a leg cramp—seemed to be nagging her toward the end, so that didn’t help.
The best development tonight was Tilda Trygger, who had a breakout 19 and 10 performance, which included 4-7 shooting from three. State has been searching all season for some reliable offense from a forward, and if this is a sign of things to come, it is very good news.
Trygger still has plenty of work to do at the defensive end, however, particularly on the boards, where she’s got to be much tougher, especially if her offense is going to merit crunch time minutes more often. But a great performance from her overall, I’m not trying to be a downer.
Tough loss, but Cal is a good team and hasn’t lost a game at home this season. The Pack will aim to salvage the west coast trip by beating Stanford on Sunday.