BERKELEY, Calif. – Auburn’s defense forced Cal into a season-high 29 turnovers, but the Tigers could not hold a late lead as the Golden Bears rallied for a 63-59 win Friday night at Haas Pavilion.
The Tigers led 57-51 with less than five minutes to play but went cold down the stretch, not scoring again until the closing seconds as Cal finished the game on a 12-2 run.
DeYona Gaston led Auburn with 16 points to go along with six rebounds. Taylen Collins hit double-digits with 13 points and seven rebounds, and Celia Sumbane led Auburn on the boards with eight to go along with seven points.
Auburn struggled from the field early and finished at a season-low 36.8 percent; the Tigers also made just one 3-pointer on the night.
The Tigers turned 29 Cal turnovers into 27 points, and Cal took 19 fewer shots than Auburn, but the Bears made the most of their limited opportunities, hitting 22-of-49 shots (44.9%).
Defense turned into offense in the third quarter as the Tigers scored 15 points off 13 Cal turnovers. With the score tied 45-45, a pair of steals by the Tigers in the final 25 seconds led to Collins layups to give Auburn a 49-45 lead with 10 minutes to play.
That lead would increase to 51-45 on the first play of the fourth as Bostic drove for a layup. That six-point lead would remain at the under-5 media timeout, but Auburn would go the next five minutes without a bucket as Cal pulled back ahead for good.
Auburn struggled from the field early and trailed 23-13 after one quarter. But the Tigers turned up their defense, turned that into offense, and opened the second quarter on a 13-2 run, taking the lead with 2:16 to play on a steal and score from Duhon. Cal would benefit from a foul while attempting a 3-pointer at the buzzer and took a 33-30 lead at the break.
Lulu Twidale led Cal with 22 points.
Auburn’s next game will be approximately 3,760 miles to the southeast as the Tigers will travel to the U.S. Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam Nov. 28-30. The Tigers will face Northern Iowa (Thursday, 2:30 CT), Pitt (Friday, 11 am CT) and Kansas (Saturday, 2:30 CT) in the three-day event on St. Thomas.