It was going to take a near-perfect performance in the Sweet 16 for the Cal women's basketball team to knock out Connecticut, an undefeated powerhouse with the top seed in the NCAA tournament and the most prolific offense in the country.

And as good as the Bears looked early on, they couldn't withstand two halves against a Huskies team that has played like the nation's best for most of the season.

Fourth-seeded Cal handed UConn its largest deficit of the season in the first half, but it couldn't duplicate that success after the break in a 77-53 loss on Sunday at Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton, N.J.

Just by taking the court, the Bears (27-7) advanced further in the postseason than they ever had in school history. By leaving it, they marked the end of their campaign having tied the program record for most victories in a season.

For coach Joanne Boyle's team those were no small feats, even in the wake of such a devastating defeat.

"I'm extremely proud of my team," Boyle said. "They've done a lot this year, and they've done a lot in four years."

Graduating forward Ashley Walker had a team-high 21 points in the last game of her collegiate career, but only five after halftime.

Fellow senior Devanei Hampton grabbed 11 rebounds but struggled on the offensive end, making just two of her 15 field goal attempts and finishing with seven points. Junior guards Alexis Gray-Lawson and Natasha Vital scored 10 apiece.

Then there were the Huskies.

The 22 points from standout forward Maya Moore were largely expected, considering her team-leading average of 19 points per game.

But the real spark for UConn was freshman Tiffany Hayes, who exploded for a career-high 28 points on 9-for-10 shooting, including five three-pointers, to go along with seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.

Her outing more than compensated for an off-day from senior guard Renee Montgomery, who needed 17 shots to score 13 points, and a foul-plagued showing from junior center Tina Charles.

Even with Hayes on fire, Cal stayed afloat and gave the Huskies (36-0) plenty of trouble in the first 14 minutes.

The Bears were efficient in the half-court set from tipoff, and Walker's three-pointer from the top of the key with 6:38 remaining in the first half handed UConn an eight-point deficit-its largest of the season.

"We were treating it like an AAU game or an 'And 1' mixtape or something," Huskies coach Geno Auriemma said. "Once we started playing Connecticut basketball, we were all right."

With the Bears leading 31-23, UConn came alive, applying pressure on defense, gambling for steals and quickly erasing the deficit with transition baskets as part of a 12-0 run.

The Huskies didn't give up any field goals to Cal for the rest of the half, and they never trailed again.

"That was a long six minutes," Boyle said. "The reason why Connecticut is so good is because if you make one mistake they will capitalize on it."

The UConn juggernaut continued its onslaught in the second half, outscoring the Bears by 22 and holding them to 20.7 percent shooting.

Seemingly, it was only a matter of time before the Huskies took control and put the game out of reach.

So even though Cal had pushed UConn harder than any other opponent this season, it was eventually dealt the same fate that 35 other teams faced earlier this season-a loss.

"It's sad to know it had to end like this," Walker said.

Tags: CAL WOMEN'S BASKETBALL, 2009 NCAA TOURNAMENT, JOANNE BOYLE, ASHLEY WALKER