Cal women’s basketball rights ship with win over USC

Three straight losses.

A daunting schedule ahead.

The star player in foul trouble.

If the Cal women’s basketball team felt the pressure mounting Sunday afternoon, it sure didn’t show as the Bears rediscovered how to flip a switch and raced away from USC at Haas Pavilion 66-59.

The No. 18 Bears (10-3, 1-1 Pac-12) trailed for only 14 seconds, led by as many as 18 points and used a 22-4 run that spanned the second and third quarters to right a ship that had appeared headed for troubled waters.

After a tremendous comeback effort that fell short against top-ranked Connecticut, Cal had been unable to hold onto leads in the final minute of regulation in the past two games.