LAS VEGAS — Leilani McIntosh scored 19 points and eighth-seeded California beat ninth-seeded Washington State for the third time this season, posting a 65-44 victory on Wednesday in the opening round of the Pac-12 Tournament.
Ioanna Krimili added 14 points and Ugonne Onyiah had 11 with nine rebounds for the Golden Bears (18-13). Marta Suarez grabbed 10 rebounds as Cal had a 48-35 rebounding advantage with 20 on the offensive end leading to a 26-8 difference in second-chance points.
Cal plays top-seeded and second-ranked Stanford in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Eleonora Villa scored 17 points for the defending tournament champion Cougars (18-14), who went 3-8 after Charlisse Leger-Walker, the tourney MVP, was lost for the season with a knee injury.
It was the worst offensive game for Washington State, which shot a season-worst 30.5% (18 of 59) in its lowest-scoring game of the season. WSU lost 73-72 in overtime at Cal and 66-59 at home.
The Golden Bears limited Washington State to 6-of-30 shooting (20%) in the first half to open a 30-14 lead. Krimili had seven points as Cal eased to a 16-10 lead after one quarter and then held the Cougars to 2-of-14 shooting in the second. WSU missed its last eight shots and Cal scored the last eight points.
The Bears shot 39% (13 of 33) in the first half, and the teams combined to go 1 of 16 from long range.
Cal was 7 of 17 behind the arc in the second half and led by as many as 23 in the third. Beyonce Bea closed the third quarter with a three-point play and Washington State had a 9-2 run to open the fourth quarter to get within 52-39 with six minutes to play but the Cougars shot 1 of 8 from there.
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