BERKELEY, Calif. — Sophomore forward Ashlyn Lockard returned to her home state and poured in a season-high 10 points for the North Carolina Central University women's basketball team in a 90-69 loss to host University of California on the opening day of Cal Classic Friday afternoon at Haas Pavilion.
 
Two other Eagles also had season-best scoring performances in senior Paulina Afriyie and sophomore Jasmine Pollock. Afriyie led the Eagles with 18 points, six rebounds and two steals. Pollock poured in 11 points, making half of her shot attempts. Junior Kieche White added 10 points to score in double digits for a fourth straight game.
 
NCCU third-year head coach Trisha Stafford-Odom, who is in the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame, was recognized on court before the game in her return to the Berkeley campus.
 
The Golden Bears, who are receiving votes in the current Associated Press (AP) Top 25 Poll, shot a season-high 64.3-percent from the floor on the way to their fourth straight win. Cal (4-2 Overall) did not have a letdown after upsetting No. 20 University of Arkansas on Sunday.
 
The Eagles made four of their first five shot attempts to fly out to an 11-6 edge. White provided a pair of assists on NCCU's first two made shots and then swished her own jumper to finish off the opening surge.
 
Cal followed with a 21-5 run to finish the quarter. Senior Sara Anastasieska cashed in on all three of her 3-point attempts during that run to put the Golden Bears up 27-16 after 10 minutes of play. Anastasieska totaled 15 points and eight assists for the contest.
 
Senior Jaelyn Brown is the reigning ESPNW National Player of the Week and Pac-12 Player of the Week. She continued her strong play scoring 18 of her game-high 20 points in the first half as Cal's lead grew to as many as 25 points in the second quarter.
 
However, NCCU finished the half on a 13-4 rally to cut the deficit to 16 (51-35) at halftime. Freshman Khadija Demry bucketed a couple baskets during the comeback attempt, including a late jumper as time was expiring to the half. Demry finished with six points.
 
Afriyie led the Eagles at the intermission with nine points despite picking up three fouls before the break. White had seven points and three assists at the half.
 
The Golden Bears shot 61.3-percent (19-31) from the floor in the first half and actually improved on that impressive rate in the second half to maintain a double digit cushion until the final buzzer. Cal fired at 68-percent (17-25) over the final 20 minutes.
 
The Eagles were playing without two of their regular post players in freshman Anissa Rivera and sophomore Kiyana Brown due to injury, but received a solid seven-point performance out of freshman Simone Edmundson in her collegiate debut.
 
Cal took advantage of the depleted NCCU interior, outrebounding the Eagles 37-23 and outscoring them 58-30 in the paint.
 
NC Central (1-4) will conclude play in the Cal Classic against the loser of the Pennsylvania State University versus Long Beach State University game for third place on Saturday at 1 p.m. PST (4 p.m. EST).