Women's college basketball roundup: Cal gets big game from Lulu Twidale in opening win

Stanford guard Hailee Swain drives between two Arizona players during the Cardinal's season opener in Las Vegas on Monday. Swain was called for an offensive foul on the play. (Icon Sportswire/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Lulu Twidale sank six 3-pointers en route to scoring 26 points and Shannon Dowell came off the bench to score 17 as Cal began its season with an 80-58 win over Washington State at Haas Pavilion on Monday night.Cal, which returns four starters from a team that was 21-15 last season, jumped to a 16-11 lead after the first quarter, led by 13 at halftime and maintained a lead of at least eight points throughout the second half.The Bears held Washington State to 35% shooting, won the rebound battle 48-34 and shot 21 free throws to seven for the Cougars. Eleonora Villa scored 20 points to lead Washington State.Arizona 84, Stanford 69:Hailee Swain scored 21 points and Shay Ijiwoye added 14, but the Cardinal fell to the Wildcats in a season opener for both teams in Las Vegas.Stanford, which trailed by 11 at halftime, opened the third quarter with an 11-0 run to get even. However, four Stanford turnovers in the final minutes of the period helped Arizona take a 61-52 lead and the Cardinal never seriously threatened in the fourth quarter. "I was extremely proud of our team for batting back, tying it," Stanford coach Kate Paye said. "People kind of gained their composure at halftime and came out and played better. But it's very disappointing. It's not the outcome that we wanted."Santa Clara 84, Wyoming 50: Sophie Glancey scored 15 points to lead four Broncos in double figures and Santa Clara outrebounded the Cowboys 45-28 and held them to 29.1% shooting in the season opener for both teams in Laramie, Wyo. Maia Jones scored 14 points, Ava Schmidt had 13 and Kylee Fox 12 for Santa Clara, which took control from the start and led by 21 at halftime."I think they were really locked in all week understanding that we had to keep our pace," said Santa Clara coach Loree Payne, who lauded her team's ability to play well at a high-altitude site. "And our rebounding effort was phenomenal from start to finish."Nebraska 81, San Jose State 54: Freshman Erika Mace scored 20 points in her debut and Sydnie Rodriguez came off the bench to score 15 points but the Spartans fell to the host Cornhuskers in a season opener.Britt Prince scored 23 points to lead Nebraska, which forced the Spartans into 32 turnovers."We obviously turned the ball over too much and gave them easy baskets, but I thought we were good for the most part when we made them execute against us," San Jose State coach Jonas Chatterton said. "As we continue to go, we'll just keep growing and growing."SubscribeThere’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Women's college basketball roundup: Cal gets big game from Lulu Twidale in opening win.