California Golden Bears Athletics
Friday, November 11
Moraga, CA
5:30 PM
California
at
Saint Mary's (California)
Photo by: Ariel Nava
Bears Begin Season On The Road
11/9/2016 11:27 PM | Women's Basketball
Cal Opens 2016-17 Campaign Friday at Saint Mary’s
BERKELEY - The California women's basketball team kicks off the regular season this Friday when the Golden Bears take on East Bay rival Saint Mary's. The game tips off at 5:30 p.m. PT from McKeon Pavilion in Moraga, Calif.
Friday's contest marks the 24th meeting all-time between Cal and Saint Mary's. The Bears lead the overall series 17-6, though the Gaels beat the Bears last season, snapping Cal's eight-game winning streak in the series.
Cal returns one of the best underclassmen in the country in sophomore Kristine Anigwe (20.5 PPG, 9.3 RPG). The near-consensus National Freshman last season, Anigwe is one of four starters returning for the Bears this season. Senior Courtney Range (13.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG) ranked second on the team in both scoring and rebounding last season while junior Mikayla Cowling was third in both categories (11.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG). Sophomore Asha Thomas will once again run the point, having started all 32 games last season while New Zealand international Penina Davidson joins the starting lineup, coming off a stellar performance in the 2016 Pac-12 Tournament.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
Visit SMCGaels.com for live streaming and live stats from Friday's game or follow @CalWBBall on Twitter and Instagram for updates throughout the game.
A LOOK AT THE GAELS
Saint Mary's returns four starters and seven letterwinners from the last season's squad that reached the WNIT after posting a 24-8 record, the second-most wins in a single-season in program history. Sophomore Sydney Raggio was second on the team in scoring last season, averaging 11.6 points per game while junior guard Stella Beck (9.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG) was named to the All-WCC Preseason Team for the upcoming season. As a team, the Gaels were picked third in the West Coast Conference Preseason Poll. Saint Mary's went 11-5 at home last season and has won its last three home tilts against Pac-12 opponents.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Cal opens the season on the road for the third consecutive season. And while the Bears have won their last four season-openers overall, Lindsay Gottlieb's squad will be looking to end a streak of struggles away from home. Dating back to last season, the Bears have lost nine consecutive true road games, the team's longest road losing streak since dropping 20 in a row from January 1998 to February 1999. Cal's last road win came on November 15, 2015, beating 8th-ranked Louisville 75-71 at the KFC Yum! Center.
LAST TIME OUT
Cal walked away with a 87-48 win over NAIA opponent Westmont in an exhibition at Haas
Pavilion on November 6. The Bears opened the game on a 17-5 run, leading wire-to-wire in the preseason tune-up. Kristine Anigwe went 10-for-12 from the field, leading all players with 20 points as the Golden Bears had four different scorers reach double-figures. Fellow sophomore Asha Thomas got Cal off to a hot start, scoring seven of her 15 total points in first quarter while freshmen Jaelyn Brown and Celeste 'CJ' West added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
SIGNED ON THE DOTTED LINE
On Wednesday, the Bears inked two Southern California standouts on National Signing Day. Kianna Smith, a combo-guard from Moreno Valley, Calif., and Alaysia "Bird" Styles, a 6-2 wing from San Marcos, Calif., signed their Letters of Intent to join the Bears for the 2017-18 season. Both players are five-star recruits and ranked top-10 nationally in their respective positions. Cal's recruiting class is ranked 12th in the country, the Bears' third top-15 class in the last four seasons.
2016-17 TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW
Season, group and single-game tickets for the 2016-17 women's basketball season are now on sale. Season tickets start as low as $25 ($1.47 per game, 17 games) for youth and seniors and $75 ($4.41 per game, 17 games) for adult general admission tickets. Single-game tickets are available starting at $5 for youth and seniors and $8 for adults, while flex and partial plans are also available purchase. For more information, call the Gold Standard Sales and Service line at (800) GO BEARS (462-3277) or visit the CalBears.com ticket page.
JOIN THE JOURNEY: THE RETURN OF THISISCALBASKETBALL.COM
Cal's one-of-a-kind multimedia fan site, ThisIsCalBasketball.com, is back for its sixth season and once again features an unprecedented look into the inner workings of the personalities behind the Cal women's basketball's roster. Visitors to ThisIsCalBasketball.com can get an in-depth look at the personalities behind the jerseys, from action and portrait photos to bio videos and conversations between current players and alumnae.
STAY POSTED
Keep up-to-date on the latest Cal women's basketball news by following the Bears on social media. View behind-the-scenes photos and videos and learn more about Cal and its student-athletes on Twitter (@CalWBball), Instagram (@CalWBball) and Facebook (Facebook.com/CalWBball).
Friday's contest marks the 24th meeting all-time between Cal and Saint Mary's. The Bears lead the overall series 17-6, though the Gaels beat the Bears last season, snapping Cal's eight-game winning streak in the series.
Cal returns one of the best underclassmen in the country in sophomore Kristine Anigwe (20.5 PPG, 9.3 RPG). The near-consensus National Freshman last season, Anigwe is one of four starters returning for the Bears this season. Senior Courtney Range (13.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG) ranked second on the team in both scoring and rebounding last season while junior Mikayla Cowling was third in both categories (11.4 PPG, 4.5 RPG). Sophomore Asha Thomas will once again run the point, having started all 32 games last season while New Zealand international Penina Davidson joins the starting lineup, coming off a stellar performance in the 2016 Pac-12 Tournament.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
Visit SMCGaels.com for live streaming and live stats from Friday's game or follow @CalWBBall on Twitter and Instagram for updates throughout the game.
A LOOK AT THE GAELS
Saint Mary's returns four starters and seven letterwinners from the last season's squad that reached the WNIT after posting a 24-8 record, the second-most wins in a single-season in program history. Sophomore Sydney Raggio was second on the team in scoring last season, averaging 11.6 points per game while junior guard Stella Beck (9.9 PPG, 5.8 RPG) was named to the All-WCC Preseason Team for the upcoming season. As a team, the Gaels were picked third in the West Coast Conference Preseason Poll. Saint Mary's went 11-5 at home last season and has won its last three home tilts against Pac-12 opponents.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Cal opens the season on the road for the third consecutive season. And while the Bears have won their last four season-openers overall, Lindsay Gottlieb's squad will be looking to end a streak of struggles away from home. Dating back to last season, the Bears have lost nine consecutive true road games, the team's longest road losing streak since dropping 20 in a row from January 1998 to February 1999. Cal's last road win came on November 15, 2015, beating 8th-ranked Louisville 75-71 at the KFC Yum! Center.
LAST TIME OUT
Cal walked away with a 87-48 win over NAIA opponent Westmont in an exhibition at Haas
Pavilion on November 6. The Bears opened the game on a 17-5 run, leading wire-to-wire in the preseason tune-up. Kristine Anigwe went 10-for-12 from the field, leading all players with 20 points as the Golden Bears had four different scorers reach double-figures. Fellow sophomore Asha Thomas got Cal off to a hot start, scoring seven of her 15 total points in first quarter while freshmen Jaelyn Brown and Celeste 'CJ' West added 12 and 10 points, respectively.
SIGNED ON THE DOTTED LINE
On Wednesday, the Bears inked two Southern California standouts on National Signing Day. Kianna Smith, a combo-guard from Moreno Valley, Calif., and Alaysia "Bird" Styles, a 6-2 wing from San Marcos, Calif., signed their Letters of Intent to join the Bears for the 2017-18 season. Both players are five-star recruits and ranked top-10 nationally in their respective positions. Cal's recruiting class is ranked 12th in the country, the Bears' third top-15 class in the last four seasons.
2016-17 TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW
Season, group and single-game tickets for the 2016-17 women's basketball season are now on sale. Season tickets start as low as $25 ($1.47 per game, 17 games) for youth and seniors and $75 ($4.41 per game, 17 games) for adult general admission tickets. Single-game tickets are available starting at $5 for youth and seniors and $8 for adults, while flex and partial plans are also available purchase. For more information, call the Gold Standard Sales and Service line at (800) GO BEARS (462-3277) or visit the CalBears.com ticket page.
JOIN THE JOURNEY: THE RETURN OF THISISCALBASKETBALL.COM
Cal's one-of-a-kind multimedia fan site, ThisIsCalBasketball.com, is back for its sixth season and once again features an unprecedented look into the inner workings of the personalities behind the Cal women's basketball's roster. Visitors to ThisIsCalBasketball.com can get an in-depth look at the personalities behind the jerseys, from action and portrait photos to bio videos and conversations between current players and alumnae.
STAY POSTED
Keep up-to-date on the latest Cal women's basketball news by following the Bears on social media. View behind-the-scenes photos and videos and learn more about Cal and its student-athletes on Twitter (@CalWBball), Instagram (@CalWBball) and Facebook (Facebook.com/CalWBball).
Players Mentioned
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