No. 15 North Carolina women top No. 19 Cal 65-52, spoiling banner night for Bears' Ioanna Krimili

Jan 31, 2026, 12:28 am

BERKELEY, Calif. -- — Reniya Kelly scored 16 points and No. 15 North Carolina pulled away in the fourth quarter to beat No. 19 California 65-52 on Thursday, spoiling a banner night for the Golden Bears' Ioanna Krimili.

Kelly scored eight in the final period to help the Tar Heels (19-4, 7-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) outscore the Golden Bears (18-4, 6-3) by 11.

Krimili hit four 3-pointers to set a school record for a single season with her 66th. It was also the 403rd of her career — making her the 16th woman to top 400 in NCAA history.

North Carolina took a 47-45 lead into the fourth quarter, but Kelly and Maria Gakdeng both scored four in a 13-4 run to begin the period.

Alyssa Ustby finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Gakdeng totaled nine points and 13 rebounds. Lanie Grant scored 10 off the bench.

Krimili scored 20 to lead Cal, which is still off to its best start in 12 seasons. The Bears were coming off their first regular-season sweep of Stanford since the 1985-86 season. Ugonne Onyiah scored 14 on 6-for-7 shooting.

Indya Nivar scored all seven of her points to lead North Carolina to a 16-12 advantage after one quarter. Onyiah had all but two of Cal's points on 5-for-5 shooting.

Ustby had a rebound basket and Lexi Donarski followed with a layup and a 3-pointer as North Carolina scored the final seven points to take a 33-26 lead into the break.

Cal fell behind by 11 early in the third quarter, but Lulu Twidale and Krimili hit 3-pointers in a 12-2 run to get the Bears within a point.

North Carolina plays at Stanford on Sunday. Cal will host Pittsburgh on Sunday.

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