BERKELEY, Calif. – Layshia Clarendon scored 14 points and No. 6 California won its school-record 12th straight game with a 77-55 victory over Oregon on Friday night.
Afure Jemerigbe added 13 points for the Bears (24-2, 14-1 Pac-12), who early on looked somewhat ragged offensively with starting point guard Brittany Boyd sitting out because of a strained groin.
Cal started pulling away with a 12-2 run to close the first half en route to matching the record win streak set by the 2008-09 team. The Bears can break the mark against Oregon State on Sunday.
Jordan Loera and Ariel Thomas scored nine points each to lead the Ducks (4-23, 2-13).
Boyd, a sophomore who leads Cal in assists and ranks third in scoring at 12.5 points per game, sat among her teammates throughout the first half. She came out in the second half with her hair tied up and was sitting next to the coaches when play resumed, as though she'd be ready if needed.
She wasn't.
The Bears turned a nine-point halftime lead into an 18-point cushion midway through the second half and remained tied with Stanford atop the conference standings. If Cal wins its final three games, it will gain at least a share of its first ever Pac-12 title in women's basketball.
Senior Eliza Pierre started at point guard for Cal with Boyd out.
Boyd's absence was apparent in the first half, as the Bears hit just 8 of their first 33 shots and looked disjointed offensively. Missing several good looks from the paint didn't help their cause.
Cal shot 29 percent (12 for 41) overall in the first half, but the Ducks were even worse at 23 percent (7 for 31).
Oregon, which trailed 10-0 and didn't score until 5 minutes in, took a 19-18 lead on Devyn Galland's free throw with 3:49 left in the first half. But Cal's closing run, highlighted by two 3-pointers from Mikayla Lyles and five points from Clarendon, gave the Bears a 30-21 lead at intermission.
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