BERKELEY, Calif. — After trailing by 16 points at the half, the Cavaliers rallied to pull within a pair late in the game, but it wasn’t enough to earn the victory on Thursday night (Feb. 12). Virginia (17-8, 9-5 ACC) fell to California (16-10, 7-6 ACC) by a score of 64-58 at Haas Pavilion.
Tabitha Amanze led the Cavaliers with 14 while pulling down four rebounds and blocking two shots. Sa’Myah Smith scored 11 points while pulling down four rebounds. Kymora Johnson rounded out a trio of Cavaliers in double figures with 10 points while dishing out eight assists and pulling down five rebounds.
Cal’s Sakima Walker led all players with 20 points on 7-for-10 shooting while pulling down 10 rebounds to notch a double-double. Lulu Twidale scored 17 points (5-18 FG, 3-8 3FG) for the Golden Bears while Gisella Maul pitched in 12 points.
How It Happened
The Cavaliers fell into a five-point hole [2-7] hole early and trailed by as many as seven points [9-16] in the opening quarter, but Virginia closed the period on a 6-1 run to trail by a score of 17-15 going into the second. Levy provided a spark off the bench playing seven minutes in the opening frame while tallying five points and a pair of rebounds.
Cal used an 11-2 run to stretch its lead into double digits [31-21] halfway through the second quarter and eventually increased its advantage to 15 points [26-41] and took a 45-29 lead into the second half. The Golden Bears shot the ball at a 53-percent clip while holding the Cavaliers to 35 percent from the floor in the first half. Cal’s Sakima Walker led all players with 16 points on a perfect 6-for-6 from the field.
The Cavaliers scored the first eight points of the second half to cut the Cal lead back to single digits [37-45]. After the Cal regained a 15-point advantage [38-53], the Cavaliers scored the final seven points of the quarter to trail 53-45 going into the fourth.
Virginia scored eight consecutive points in the fourth to pull within two points [53-55]. With just over two minutes to play, Clark pulled down her seventh rebound of the game and took the ball the length of the floor to cut the Cal lead to 60-58. However, the Cavaliers could not convert on their next passion to tie the game, and the Golden Bears scored the final four points of the game from the free-throw line.
Game Notes
- The Cavaliers fall to 3-5 in the all-time series with California including a 1-1 mark on the road in a series that dates back to the 1997-98 season
- Virginia is 12-5 when playing in the state of California
- The Cavaliers drop to 4-4 on the road in 2025-26
- Double figure scorers: Amanze (14), Smith (11), Johnson (10)
- Johnson has scored in double figures 22 times this season
- Tabitha Amanze has scored in double figures 13 times in 2025-26
- Sa’Myah Smith has scored in double figures seven times this season
- Paris Clark (2 blocks) recorded her third multi-block game of the season
- Tabitha Amanze (2 blocks) recorded her 11th multi-block game of the season
- Caitlin Weimar (2 blocks) recorded her eighth multi-block game of the season
- Both teams pulled down 36 rebounds; Virginia drops to 0-1 when tied in rebounding
- The Cavaliers fall to 1-7 when trailing at halftime
- Virginia’s eight turnovers tied for its second-lowest total of the season; UVA is 8-3 on the season when committing fewer than 15 turnovers
- The Cavaliers forced 11 Cal turnovers and falls to 11-2 when committing fewer turnovers than opponents
Up Next:
- The Cavaliers travel to take on Stanford Sunday (Feb. 15)
- Tipoff from Maples Arena is set for 2 p.m. ET on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX)
- Fans can also tune in live on WINA (98.9FM/1070AM)