Slow start costs Cal women in ACC Tournament loss to Syracuse
DULUTH, Ga. — Cal couldn’t overcome its lowest scoring half of the season and the 21-point deficit it caused and lost 70-59 to Syracuse in the women’s ACC Tournament on Thursday afternoon.
Uche Izoje recorded 23 points and 10 rebounds to lead Syracuse (23-7) to its first ACC Tournament win since 2021. The Orange, which double its conference win total from last season, will now face No. 12-ranked Louisville in today’s quarterfinals.
After trailing 37-16 at halftime while shooting just 25 percent from the field and committing 10 turnovers, the Golden Bears did stage a big comeback in their eventual second-round loss, closing within four points midway through the fourth quarter.
A 3-pointer from Lulu Twidale pulled the Bears within 56-52 with 4:08 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Syracuse answered behind Izoje, who scored during a decisive stretch late in the game. Laila Phelia connected with Izoje on an alley-oop that pushed the lead to 61-53 with just over three minutes remaining.
The Bears were unable to get closer, going the final two and a half minutes without a field goal as Syracuse closed the game at the free-throw line.
“Obviously we’re disappointed that we don’t get to continue here in Atlanta,” Cal head coach Charmin Smith said. “We just had a really awful start against a really good Syracuse team. I’m proud of how we fought in the second half to cut it to five, to have a chance. But ultimately we just dug ourselves too deep of a hole that we couldn’t get out of.”
Sakima Walker led Cal with 19 points. Twidale finished with 14 and Gisella Maul added 13.
Cal (19-14), which was attempting to advance to the ACC Tournament quarterfinals for the second straight season after beating Wake Forest 75-52, will now await an invitation to play in a postseason tournament.
The Orange struck quickly, opening the game on a 9-0 run and never trailing. Phelia added 17 points for the Orange, while Sophie Burrows extended her streak to 16 straight games with a made 3-pointer. Izoje, the ACC rookie of the year, was 11 of 19 from the field.