Women's hoops tames Bears, 80-76

Washington women's basketball received a career-high 17 points from sophomore Jill Bell on its way to defeating California 80-76 yesterday at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.

The win is the third in the last four games for the Huskies, and the 10th in a row against Cal.

Trailing 34-31 at the half, the Huskies (9-12 overall, 5-6 Pac-10) came out on fire, and they needed to be. Cal hit 55 percent of its second-half attempts, good for 42 points.

The UW missed only eight shots in the second half, torching the Golden Bears (8-12, 2-9) for 49 points and the victory. The Huskies also hit 13 out of 14 free throws in the second.

"The second half was about free throws," Daugherty said. "(Breanne) Watson hit four in a row, Kayla (Burt) had 10. I am proud of the poise they showed. Cal played a great game. We made good runs and didn't get rattled."

Burt contributed 12 points (10-of-10 from the line), seven assists and six rebounds off the bench.

"People just picked it up in the second half," Burt said. "You want to attack them, and I was able to try to penetrate, and obviously they fouled and I got to the line a lot and just knocked them down."

Defense again proved crucial for the Huskies as they converted 25 Cal turnovers into 29 points on the offensive end.

"Our defense brings us offense," Watson said. "Our defense brought us a lot of turnovers today and we capitalized on it in the second half."

Watson finished with 13 points. Cameo Hicks pitched in 10 points.

Field goal percentage showed a marked improvement, as Washington shot nearly 53 percent. That mark is nearly 16 percent higher than the team has averaged during the season.

The Huskies took the lead for good on a layup at 73-71 with just more than two minutes to play. The 80 points were a Husky Pac-10 high and the second highest for the Huskies on the season.

"We were in control of the whole game, with the exception of the last five minutes," Cal coach Caren Horstmeyer said.

Renee Wright led Cal with 17 points. Leigh Gregory pitched in 15 points. Kristin Iwanaga and Emmelie Geraedts had 10 points each and Jessica Lawson had 11.

The schedule does not let up on Washington, as it travels to California Thursday to take on UCLA (13-7, 7-4). Saturday they take on USC (14-6, 8-3), the second place team in the Pac-10.