California Sports Journal

Alisa being Alisa Lewis, Williams’ teammate of two years who died on Jan. 19, 2004, of bacterial meningitis. Like she does before every game, Williams spoke with Lewis, looked to her for help.
The game, a 58-51 loss to Oregon, would have been Lewis’ last at home, too. If she hadn’t fallen suddenly at the age of 20, she would have been standing right next to Williams and four other seniors as they lined up to receive blue and yellow roses after the game.
“You should have been here,” Williams said to herself.
It was a disappointing end for the Bears’ seniors in a career full of difficulties. Cal (10-17 overall, 4-14 Pac-10) will play Friday in San Jose against Washington State in the first round of the Pac-10 tournament, but no one was quite ready to leave behind Haas Pavilion.
“This was a tough one because you have a special group of seniors you really want to win this game for,” Cal head coach Caren Horstmeyer said.
“This was very sentimental,” senior center Khadijah Coakley said.
Oregon, meanwhile, is the likely No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. The Ducks (19-8 overall, 12-6 Pac-10) were simply too big and too fast for Cal.
Oregon’s force inside, 6-foot-4 forward Cathrine Kraayeveld, had six points and two assists in the final 5:36 and finished with a game-high 14 points. Kristen Forristall had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Corrie Mizusawa, playing with a dislocated finger, had nine assists for Oregon.
Coakley had 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds off the bench for Cal to record her second career double-double. Freshman Krista Foster chipped in nine points; Williams and fellow senior Kristin Iwanaga each had eight.
Cal only trailed by 5 at the half despite shooting 32 percent from the floor. The Bears refused to back away in the second half and a Coakley free throw cut the lead to 48-45 with less than five minutes remaining.
But for every Cal run, Oregon responded. A Williams jump shot from 15 feet? Kraayeveld answered with a move inside to stretch the lead to seven. Iwanaga’s drive down the lane to make it 54-49? The Ducks’ answer was a three from Kristen Forristall with 25.6 seconds left.
“It’s just important for us that when they do make that little run to stay focused and stay calm,” Kraayeveld said.
Despite the loss, there is hope for the future for Cal. The Bears’ incoming class of recruits was rated seventh in the country – ahead of powerhouses Connecticut and Tennessee - by Blue Star Report recruiting service. And Foster showed yesterday she is a player worth watching.
Foster, one of five Cal freshmen, took three charges, dove on the ground to save a loose ball and helped keep Kraayeveld scoreless for nearly 20 minutes.
“The things that she does for us are amazing,” Horstmeyer said. “There isn’t a day that she doesn’t give everything she’s got.”
Williams felt the same way about the home fans, a loyal group of 1,879 that started gathering in the courtyard outside the stadium over an hour before the game.
“It’s sad to know, with how good our fans are, that they won’t be able to see us at home again,” she said.
Or that Lewis wasn’t there to see them.