ASU women overpowered by No. 6 Cal
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) -- Layshia Clarendon scored 18 points and Gennifer Brandon added 10 points and 15 rebounds as No. 6 California beat Arizona State 66-53 on Friday night.
Talia Caldwell scored 14 points while Brittany Boyd had 11 points, seven rebounds and five assists to help the Golden Bears (20-2, 10-1 Pac-12) extend their season-high winning streak to eight games. They remained tied for first place in the conference with No. 4 Stanford.
Joy Burke had 16 points and five rebounds for Arizona State. The Sun Devils (11-12, 3-8) have lost four straight and six of seven.
Brandon's 27th career double-double was pivotal in helping the Bears overcome the loss of key reserve Reshanda Gray, who missed her third consecutive game with a hamstring injury.
Boyd also limped off the court midway through the second half after injuring her right ankle but returned to help Cal secure its third straight win over Arizona State.
The Bears also matched the 2008-09 team for the best record in school history after 22 games.
They did it despite a somewhat quiet night from Clarendon, who went 8 of 11 from the floor but scored only six points after halftime.
Caldwell, who went over 1,000 points for her career, helped pick up the slack. The senior center, who was averaging only five points through Cal's first nine conference games, went 6 for 6 from the floor and scored six points late in the second half when the Bears pulled away.
Arizona State, which trailed by as many as 18, couldn't keep up with the quicker, more aggressive Bears after giving Cal a brief scare in the first half.
It won't get any easier for Sun Devils coach Charli Turner-Thorner's team, either. Arizona State plays at Stanford on Sunday, making it back-to-back games against the top two teams in the conference.
Cal led by 13 midway through the first half before Haley Videckis scored seven straight points to help Arizona State pull to 23-17.
Clarendon ended the Sun Devils' run with a short jumper, Caldwell added two free throws to reach 1,000 points and Boyd followed with her second 3-pointer. Clarendon later made a 5-footer with 5 seconds left to give the Bears a 36-25 halftime lead.
Arizona State, which missed 13 of its first 15 shots from the floor and committed 10 turnovers in the first half, never recovered.