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It had all the ingredients of a tough Pac-10 loss for the Cal Bears. They went ahead of Washington State early, only to struggle early in the second half, just like in losses to Arizona and Arizona State earlier this year. But the Bears, jump-started by an injury substitute, came right back and took control of the game with a 20-4 run that gave them their second conference win of the year. 

“We could have folded, but we didn’t,” Cal head coach Caren Horstmeyer said. “We did what we had to do late in the game.” 

That fight finally showed up with five minutes left in the game. Down 46-39, Cal guard Courtney Johnson hit a three-pointer to pull her team within four points. Johnson scored Cal’s first eight points of the second half on her way to a game-high 18 to go with nine assists and just two turnovers. 

Forward Lauren Ashbaugh finally shook her Pac-10 slump with two tough baskets inside, sandwiched around a blocked shot on the defensive end, to tie the game. Ashbaugh, who averaged less than five points in the team’s first five conference games, including two scoreless efforts, scored 13 on Thursday to go with six rebounds, including four on the offensive end. 

“I haven’t played well at all in the Pac-10, because I was putting too much pressure on myself,” Ashbaugh said. “I thought back to what I did in high school and totally reset myself for this game.” 

After an Amy White free throw gave the Bears (6-10 overall, 2-4 Pac-10) the lead, Johnson went down with a muscle cramp in her calf. Losing their floor general could have brought the Bears down, but reserve Nicole Ybarra came in and gave them a lift instead. The senior scored two quick baskets to extend the lead to 51-48, then drove the baseline and found Ami Forney open under the basket. Forney made her layup and was fouled, making the free throw to give the Bears a five-point lead. Forney then hit a turn-around jumper, and Ashbaugh made a layup to finish the Bears’ furious run and seal the victory with less than a minute remaining. 

“Nicole Ybarra really set a new tempo for us when she came in, and that got us going,” Horstmeyer said. 

That surge was necessary because of a 14-5 Washington State run to start the second half. The Cougars (8-9, 3-4) started pounding the ball in low, getting four easy baskets in a row to get the lead after trailing 34-32 at halftime. Center Kelley Berglund finished with 12 points, and hefty forward Brittney Hawks bulled her way inside for seven. But Horstmeyer decided to let her inside players loose on defense, and Forney and Ashbaugh combined for five blocked shots. Overall, the Bears had seven blocks in the game, a season-high. 

“I’m usually a big supporter of the two-hands-in-the-shooter’s-face defense, but I told Ami and Lauren they could try to block some shots tonight,” Horstmeyer said. “I hope nature doesn’t strike me with lightning or something.”