California
Santa Clara
12/1/2017 4:23 PM | Women's Basketball
No. 24 Cal vs Santa Clara
Saturday, Dec. 2 | 2 PM PT | Leavey Center | Santa Clara, CA
GAME NOTES | LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK
BERKELEY - Coming off an exciting offensive performance on Thursday against Seattle U, the Cal women's basketball team looks to keeps its momentum going on Saturday, visiting Santa Clara on Saturday for a 2 p.m. matchup at the Leavey Center. The Golden Bears (4-2, 0-0 Pac-12) head to the South Bay on the heels of an 87-67 victory against the Redhawks in which Cal shot a season-high 55.6 percent (35-63) from the field. The Broncos (2-4, 0-0 WCC) will be looking to bounce back from a 71-66 loss to San Jose State in overtime their last time out.
Saturday's game will be the 34th meeting all-time between Cal and Santa Clara, but just their first time facing off away from Berkeley since the 1999-00 season. The Golden Bears and Broncos last met in Santa Clara on December 2, 1999, a 68-64 victory for the host Broncos. Cal leads the overall series between the teams, 26-7, including a 73-58 victory for the Golden Bears last season in Berkeley. Four different players scored in double-figures for Cal as the Bears erased a halftime deficit to secure the win in the 2016-17 season opener.
Along with a familiar foe, a familiar face will be on the sidelines on Saturday as Kristin Iwanaga '05 enters her second season as an assistant coach for the Broncos. A four-year starter for the Golden Bears, Iwanaga was a three-time Pac-10 All-Academic selection and still ranks first in program history in career free throw percentage, shooting 89 percent (235-264) from the line.
Six games into the 2017-18 season, the Golden Bears have been led in scoring by juniors Kristine Anigwe and Asha Thomas. Anigwe, a two-time honorable mention All-American and candidate for the 2018 Wade, Wooden, and Naismith Player of the Year awards, leads the team in both scoring (16.2 points per game) and rebounding (9.2 rebounds per game), ranking in the top five in the Pac-12 in both categories. Thomas, a 5'4" guard from Oakland, is second on the team in scoring with 12.3 points per game on the year and is shooting 56 percent (15-27) from three-point range over the last three games.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Saturday's game against the Broncos will be streamed live on TheW.tv. Live stats will also be available, along with additional updates and behind-the-scenes information on the Bears social media accounts (Twitter: @CalWBBall, Instagram: @CalWBBall).
LAST TIME OUT
Led by 25 points from 2018 Wade Trophy and Citizen Naismith Player of the Year Trophy candidate Kristine Anigwe, Cal powered past Seattle University, 87-67, on Thursday afternoon at Haas Pavilion. Three Golden Bears scored in double figures as Cal hosted more than four thousand visiting elementary and middle school students in the fourth annual School Haas Rock.
Anigwe scored 21 of her 25 points in the first half as the junior center/forward registered her 36th game with at least 20 points and her second 20-point outing of the season. The two-time All-American went 12-16 from the floor and added eight rebounds in 23 minutes of action.
Sophomore center CJ West chipped in a career-high 18 points, going 7-8 from the floor, while classmate Jaelyn Brown matched her season-high with 11 points. The Bears' balanced offensive effort was highlighted with 10 different Bears contributing to the scoring effort on Thursday.
SCOUTING THE BRONCOS
Santa Clara enters Saturday's game looking to bounce back from a 71-66 overtime loss at home on Tuesday. A frantic fourth-quarter comeback by San Jose State pushed the game to overtime and the visiting Spartans prevailed for the win, despite a 23-point effort from Santa Clara's Ashlyn Herlihy.
The Broncos are 1-3 at home this season and have lost three of their last four games overall. Santa Clara returns three starters from last season's squad that went 14-16 and finished fifth in the West Coast Conference. Head coach Bill Carr's squad was picked to finish sixth in the WCC Preseason Coaches Poll.
Senior forward Morgan McGwire leads the team in scoring this season, averaging 11.2 points per game, including a season-high 22 points in the overtime loss to San Jose State. Classmate Kyla Martin is second on the team in scoring at 10.0 points per game and is shooting 35 percent from three-point range on the season. . All-WCC Honorable Mention guard Emily Wolph, who played high school basketball with Anigwe in Phoenix, scored 27 points in the Bronco's season opener, but has missed the last five games.
UP NEXT
Following Saturday's game, Cal returns to Haas Pavilion for a matchup on Thursday, December 7 against San Diego. The Golden Bears and Toreros will tip off at 7 p.m. PT, one of two home games remaining for Cal in the non-conference slate.
2017-18 TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW
Season, group and single-game tickets for the 2017-18 women's basketball season are now on sale. Season tickets start as low as $40 ($2.67 per game, 15 games) for youth and seniors and $80 ($5.33 per game, 15 games) for adult general admission tickets. Single-game tickets are available starting at $4 for youth and seniors and $5 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 seventh 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).
