BearTalk

The Cal women snapped a seven-game losing streak to UCLA with a 67-58 victory at Haas Pavilion that keeps the Bears alone in second place in the Pac-12 standings.

Cal (18-6, 9-3) won for the ninth time in its past 10 games since opening the conference schedule with road losses to UCLA and USC.

Freshman Reshanda Gray had 17 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for the Bears, who overcame a season-high 25 turnovers to win.

Here’s our game story by Stephanie Hammon.

FINAL SCORE: Cal 75, USC 49. (My apologies for the absence — newspaper deadline beckoned). Cal (19-6, 9-3) moves back into a tie for first place in the Pac-12 standings after Washington’s 82-57 trouncing at Oregon. The top of the standings are a mess: Cal and UW each at 9-3, Oregon, Arizona and Colorado all at 8-4. UCLA beat Stanford, so the Bruins are 7-5. That’s six teams — half the league — within two games of each other with six to play.

Crabbe finished with 19 points, 13 of them in the first half. Kamp made all seven of his shots in the second half and had 18 points. Kravish grabbed 18 rebounds — most by a Cal player since Leon Powe had 20 against USC at the 2006 Pac-10 tournament. Cal shot 63 percent in the second half, making 10 of 11 shots during the decisive stretch, and 55.7 percent for the game.

Maurice Jones scored 17 for injury-riddled USC (6-19, 1-11), which has won just once since Dec. 19 and now has failed to score more than 50 points in eight of its past 13 games.

7:44 2nd H: Cal leads 63-42. Bigger news is Oregon is blasting Washington 47-26 with a minute left in the first half at Eugene. If both scores hold, Cal will be tied for first place.

13:22 2nd H: Cal leads 53-36. The Bears are in the midst of a 15-4 run, fueled by 12 points from Kamp (6 for 6) and a 3-pointer by Crabbe. All of it happened after Jones went out. He’s now coming back, but is it too late? Crabbe and Kamp each with 16 points. Kravish with 15 rebounds.

16:19 2nd H: Kamp has hit three straight jumpers — each from a bit farther out — and Cal leads 44-34. Kamp has 10 points. Jones has been out since 17:09 after sustaining a cut on his hand or wrist. Seems he’s a bleeder. Kravish, going all Bill Russell, has 14 rebounds.

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TIPOFF: 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Galen Center, Los Angeles. TV: None. Radio: 910-AM.

This is NOT a game Cal can afford to lose.

“The game we’ve got to have is SC right now, without question, unequivocally, no questions asked,” said Cal coach Mike Montgomery, when asked about concerns his team might look ahead to UCLA on Saturday.

The Trojans reside in last place in the Pac-12 standings and have won just once since Dec. 19. But they battled Cal in Berkeley before losing 53-49 and just last weekend trailed 29-23 minutes into the second half at Washington, then were buried.

“They’re still competing really hard. They’re in a lot of games. They just can’t sustain,” Montgomery said. “They’re up at Washington and they’re giving them fits.”

Montgomery has been impressed by the adjustments coach Kevin O’Neill has made while watching his players picked off, one by one, by injuries.

“He’s got ‘em playing hard,” Montgomery said. ”He’s doing a great job of utilizing what he has — kind of gone to a five-out deal now, which makes it difficult to defend. They’ve got all their big guys away from the basket, which opens up the court.”

Sophomore point guard Justin Cobbs, making a visit home to Los Angeles, said the Bears only need to recall their first game with USC to stay on task.

“We had a great lead and were playing well, and they ended up coming back. They hit a couple shots down the stretch and it was a four-point game and we were on our heels,” Cobbs said. “Just thinking back to that, we know anything can happen. Just make sure we focus. We’re right where we want to be.”

The Bears play five of their final seven Pac-12 games on the road — as do first-place Washington, and Colorado, which shares second with Cal.

“On the road, we need to go out and get it any way possible — one point, 20 points, anything,” Cobbs said. “As long as we end up getting the win.”

Cal is 2-2 in Pac-12 road games. USC is 1-4 at home in the conference and has drawn crowds under under 3,200 in three of those five games. The Bears won’t face a more accomodating set of circumstances on the road the rest of the season.

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TIPOFF: Cal (17-6, 8-3) vs. UCLA (12-10, 7-4 Pac-12) at Haas Pavilion, Thursday, 7 p.m.  TV: None.

GAME THEME: The Golden Bears play their second straight game against an opponent hoping to pull even with them in second place in the Pac-12. Cal beat Arizona State 67-62 at Tempe, Ariz., on Saturday to stay behind only Stanford . . . UCLA has beaten Cal seven in a row, including three times last season and by a 60-55 margin in Los Angeles to open the Pac-12 schedule on Dec. 29 . . . A big weekend for the Bears, hoping to avenge early road loss to both UCLA and USC. Cal shot 28.3 percent and averaged just 54.5 points in those two defeats, but is shooting 42.2 percent and scoring 71.2 ppg in nine games since.

NOTES: The Bears are getting terrific play from freshmen Brittany Boyd and Reshanda Gray. Boyd has totaled 53 points, 19 rebounds, 16 assists and 17 steals the past three games, and Gray had 35 points and 20 rebounds in two wins in Arizona last weekend . . . Cal is 10-1 at home, outscoring their opponents by an average of 20.5 points and outrebounding them by 20.2 per game . . . UCLA, which is 4-5 on the road, is led by senior guard Rebekah Gardner, third in the Pac-12 in scoring at 16.0 ppg. 

NEXT TIME: USC at Cal, Saturday, Feb. 11, 8 p.m., CSNBA

Freshman Brittany Boyd tied her career-high with 19 points and equaled a school record with 10 steals, leading the Cal women past host Arizona State 67-62 in a battle for second place in the Pac-10 standings.

The Bears (17-6, 8-3) remain alone in second.

Boyd, a guard from Berkeley High, also had six rebounds and six assists. With 11 seconds left and Cal leading 64-61, Boyd turned her last steal into a layup that stretched the lead to five points.

Layshia Clarendon had 16 points and Reshanda Gray scored 13 points for the Bears. Cal sophomore Gennifer Brandon had six points and 13 rebounds in her duel with sister Kimberly Brandon, a senior at ASU, who was held to four points.

The Sun Devils dropped to 15-7, 6-5 in the Pac-12.

POSTGAME: Montgomery dismissed the notion that anything serious is wrong with Crabbe or Kamp. “Just a little sprain and a dislocated finger,” he said. “It’s basketball. Stuff’s going to happen.”

FINAL SCORE: CAL 68, ASU 47: The Bears (18-6, 8-3) retain a share of second place and avenge their first home defeat of the season. Cal is 15-1 at Haas. ASU (7-16, 3-8) had 20 turnovers.

2:45 2nd H: Word from Cal is Crabbe and Kamp are both underdoing X-rays immediately after the game.

2:45 2nd H: Cal leads 65-41. ASU has scored the past seven points after two FTs by Brandon Smith gave the Bears a 65-34 lead. Cal is 18 for 20 from the foul line today and 33 for 36 in two games this week. ASU has 19 turnovers and is shooting 35 percent.

6:56 2nd H: ASU just reached 30 points on two FTs by Kyle Cain. Moments later, Rossi nailed a 3-pointer for a 61-30 lead.

8:48 2nd H: Cal leads 58-28. Crabbe hit a 3-pointer, then was replaced by Alex Rossi. Wondering why he went back at all. He scored 19 points. Gutierrez has 10 points for Call. Kyle Cain has 12 points on 6 for 14 for ASU — the rest of the team is shooting 6 for 25.

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TIPOFF: 2 p.m. Saturday at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley. TV: CSNCA. Radio: 910-AM.

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A good story on Jorge Gutierrez by Doug Haller of the Arizona Republic.

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Arizona is not as good a team as Missouri or UNLV, two clubs that had their way with the Bears outside the Pac-12. But in terms of style and personnel, the Wildcats presented many of the same problems Cal had with the Tigers and Rebels.

They were physical, aggressive and quick. And because they are not particularly big, they created matchups that were difficult for the Bears to handle in Cal’s 78-74 loss Thursday night.

Seniors Jorge Gutierrez and Harper Kamp handled the Arizona aggression, and gave as much as they took. They combined to shoot 16 for 30 and scored 40 points to go with 15 rebounds.

Their teammates weren’t as good — shooting a combined 13 for 35 and totaling 34 points.

Saturday’s matinee vs. battered Arizona State won’t provide the same kind of test, but there is ample evidence that suggests the Bears may be fortunate not to have a rematch at Arizona (or Missouri or UNLV, for that matter).

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TIPOFF: Cal (16-6, 7-3 Pac-12) at Arizona  State (15-6, 6-4) , Saturday, 1 p.m.  TV: None.

GAME THEME: The Golden Bears are alone in second place after beating Arizona 78-74 in overtime on Thursday, but must beat Arizona State or face the possibility of dropping in a four-way tie for second by the end of the weekend. Cal beat ASU two of three meetings a year ago, but hasn’t won in Tempe since the 2008-09 season. ASU’s best player is 6-foot-2 senior forward Kimberly Brandon, who averages 10.9 points and 7.0 rebounds. Her sister is Cal sophomore Gennifer Brandon, who contributes 9.2 points and 10.6 rebounds per game.

NOTES: Cal averages 70.8 points per game but faces an ASU squad that leads the Pac-12 in scoring defense (52.4 ppg) and field-goal defense (33.4 percent) under interim coach Joseph Anders . . . Cal and ASU are tied for last in 3-point shooting accuracy at 27.7 percent.

NEXT TIME: UCLA at Cal, Thursday, Feb. 9, 7 p.m.

The Cal women blew a 12-point halftime lead against the Pac-12′s last-place team, then escaped with a 78-74 win at Arizona.

The Bears (16-6, 7-3) moved into sole possession of second place after Arizona State (15-6, 6-4) lost 62-49 to No. 4  Stanford. Cal and ASU play Saturday in Tempe.

Reshanda Gray had 22 points and 13 rebounds, Talia Caldwell had 17 and 10, and Layshia Clarendon scored 16 for Cal.

Jorge Gutierrez was not made available in the postgame interview session to discuss what happened with 4:46 left when he tumbled into the Arizona bench and came up looking like he was ready to fight.

It was an unusual moment.

While trying to save a pass, Gutierrez fell into the bench and got tangled with Cats assistant coach Joe Pasternack — the one-time Cal aide. Gutierrez came away furious and had to be restrained by teammates. Referees reviewed the video, but made no call.

“I didn’t see what happened,” teammate Harper Kamp said. “He (Gutierrez) felt Coach P said something and extended his leg and tried to kick him, something like that. I know they’re both passionate guys.”

Arizona coach Sean Miller said he wasn’t sure what happened.

Cal coach Mike Montgomery tried to downplay the incident, but said of Gutierrez, “In his opinion, one of the coaches on the other team did something he shouldn’t.”