Seniors saluted as Redbirds close 124th season of college hoops with … — and more

Junior guard Lulu Twidale scored 17 of her 30 points in the fourth quarter as Cal rallied to beat host Florida State 75-62 on Thursday night.

The Bears (17-11, 8-7 ACC), who have won seven of their past nine games, led by two at halftime and then trailed by three entering the final quarter. Cal then tied the score on a 3-pointer by Twidale and took the lead for good on a three-point play by Twidale in the first minute of the fourth quarter.

Before the fourth quarter was over, Twidale added two layups, two free throws, another 3-pointer and two more free throws as the Bears enjoyed a 25-9 advantage in the period. The outburst came after Twidale, who has three 30-point game this season, was held to five points in the first half on 2-for-9 shooting.

"It's a will to win and she willed us to this victory and wanted the game," Cal coach Charmin Smith said of Twidale, who also had nine rebounds and six assists. "She was really resilient and fought through a first half in which she struggled offensively and really dominated in the second half. And that's what we expect of her, that's what we need of her."

Gisella Maul added 10 points and Sakima Walker recorded eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds for Cal.

Sydney Bowles scored 17 points for Florida State (9-18, 4-11).

"I think we understood the importance of this game and our will to win was strong enough to get it done," Smith said.  "It's hard playing on the road. Every road win is a big win and I loved our fight in the fourth in particular."

Miami 66, Stanford 51: Hailee Swain scored 16 points and Nunu Agara added 11, but the Cardinal (16-12, 5-10 ACC) shot 31.7% - the team's third-worst effort of the season - as they fell to the host Hurricanes (14-12, 6-9).

Stanford trailed 29-20 at halftime and got to within five points in the third quarter. After the Cardinal closed to within 44-40 in the fourth, Miami used an 11-2 push regain control and send Stanford to its fourth straight loss and eighth in its past nine games. 

Gal Raviv scored 19 points to lead five players in double figures for Miami, which has won two in a row after a four-game losing streak.

Santa Clara 63, St. Mary's 55: Ava Schmidt and Delainey Miller scored 14 points apiece to lead the host Broncos (21-7, 11-4 WCC) past the Gaels (15-13, 6-9).

Santa Clara led 31-25 at halftime and built the cushion to 14 points in the third quarter before St. Mary's closed to within five entering the fourth. The Gaels further trimmed their deficit to one in the final period before the Broncos pulled away.

Ashley Hawkins had 11 points and Maia Jones added 10 for Santa Clara.

Abigale Shoff scored 14 points and Malia Latu 12 to lead St. Mary's.

Pacific 73, USF 51: The Tigers (11-15, 6-9 WCC) jumped to a 24-10 lead in the first quarter and cruised past the Dons (15-11, 8-7) in Stockton.

Daria Nestorov, who was held to four points when USF beat Pacific on Jan. 24, scored 18 points to lead the Tigers.

Natasa Tausova scored 15 points and Candy Edokpaigbe had 11 for USF, which shot just 28% and was 4-for-22 from 3-point range.

This article originally published at College basketball: Cal women top Florida State; Stanford women fall to Miami.

The No. 2 UCLA women's basketball team extended its win streak to 20 games and clinched the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten tournament Thursday night.

The Bruins beat Washington 82-67 at Pauley Pavilion. Lauren Betts scored a game-high 23 points and was one of five UCLA players to finish with double-figure scoring, while Washington freshman Brynn McGaughy recorded the second-highest point total of her college career with 19.

With the exception of Gianna Kneepkens, who was three-of-four from three-point range and scored 17 points, UCLA (26-1, 16-0 Big Ten) struggled from beyond the arc against the Huskies, shooting 26.7% — below its season’s average of 38.2%.

Washington (19-8, 9-7) had four players who scored six points during the first half, while UCLA’s Betts and Angela Dugalic led the way with 14 and eight points, respectively.

Read more:No. 2 UCLA wins its 19th straight game with thrashing of Indiana

The Bruins led the Huskies 22-12 after the first quarter and extended that lead to 42-29 by halftime, leading by as much as 19 midway through the second quarter.

The Bruins nearly doubled up the Huskies on rebounds, with 37 to their opponent’s 20.

McGaughy went on a run for the Huskies in the third quarter, scoring 10 points in a row for her team, en route to the Huskies' highest-scoring quarter of the game to that point with 19. But the Bruins still won the quarter, adding two points to their lead.

UCLA has two regular-season games remaining, playing its home finale against Wisconsin at 2:30 p.m. Sunday and against rival USC on March 1.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

It has been a difficult week for Barcelona, but from the two defeats to Atletico Madrid and Girona, determination has risen. Hansi Flick and his players are hopeful of putting recent disappointments behind them, as they seek to get back on track in La Liga and the Copa del Rey.

Gerard Martin was involved in both of the matches in the last seven days, and as per Sport, he made it clear that Barcelona will improve over the coming weeks, starting with the clash against Levante on Sunday.

“We will recover from these two defeats. We are not calm either, we have lost two games, but the advantage is that we have another game on Sunday and we can turn it around. A little self-criticism and then we get up.”

Due to Eric Garcia’s red card at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano last Thursday, Martin has chances to start in the second leg at the Spotify Camp Nou. But whether he does or not, he believes Barcelona can count a four-goal comeback.

“We are confident of coming back, if anyone can do it it is us. We will go to come back.”

Image via Judit Cartiel/Getty Images

Martin: I was teased over Gerald Maldini meme

It has been a pleasing season for the 23-year-old, who has started regularly at left-back or centre-back in recent months. His performances have pleased supporters, who have compared him to Milan icon Paolo Maldini, which he also spoke on.

“When the meme came out on the networks, the next day they teased me in the dressing room.”

Martin reacts to reported interest from Milan

In recent days, Martin has attracted transfer interest from Milan, but as he has revealed, he has not been involved in anything linked to the speculation.

“That’s what they say over there. Nothing has reached me.”