BERKELEY – The premier rivalry in Bay Area women's basketball resumes on Thursday night when Cal hosts No. 10 Stanford at 8 p.m. PT in the first leg of the "Battle of the Bay". The Golden Bears (17-9, 5-9 Pac-12) and Cardinal (22-4, 12-2 Pac-12) will meet again on Sunday afternoon at Maples Pavilion to close out the home-and-home. Cal's final home game of the 2016-17 season, the Bears will honor seniors Courtney Range and KC Waters on Thursday night, including a postgame reception that is open to all fans in attendance.

Thursday's game marks the 87th meeting all-time between the teams, whose campuses are separated by less than 50 miles. The Cardinal lead the overall series 67-19 and have won the last three meetings with the Bears, all of which have been decided by seven points or fewer. Cal's last win in the series came at Maples Pavilion on February 22, 2015, a 63-53 victory that denied Stanford the Pac-12 regular season title. The Golden Bears' last home win over the Cardinal came on January 18, 2009, as Alexis Gray-Lawson led the Bears with 37 points in a 57-54 victory at Haas Pavilion.

In last season's meeting at Haas Pavilion, the Bears led by seven at halftime, before the Cardinal pulled ahead in the third quarter to secure a 60-55 victory. Range had 25 points for the Bears in the loss while 2016 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Kristine Anigwe added 12 points and nine rebounds.

Anigwe leads the Bears in both scoring (21.8 PPG) and rebounding (9.6 RPG) this season, as the Bears are looking to bounce back from back-to-back home losses to Utah and Colorado. Cal is 10-5 this season at home, including a home sweep of No. 13 UCLA and USC earlier this month. After a slow start to the Pac-12 campaign, junior guard Mikayla Cowling has scored in double-figures in each of the last four games, including an 18-point outing in Cal's win over the 13^th-ranked Bruins.

Stanford is currently tied for first in the conference, with a 12-2 record in Pac-12 play. The Cardinal have won nine of their last 10 games overall, the lone loss an 85-76 defeat to UCLA on February 6. On February 3, Stanford beat USC, 58-42, giving Cardinal head coach Tara Vanderveer 1,000 career wins. Vanderveer joins former Tennessee Lady Vol's head coach Pat Summitt and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski as the only head coaches in Division I basketball history to win 1,000 games.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
Friday's game will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks, with Kate Scott and Mary Murphy on the call and Kerith Burke providing sideline coverage. Fans can also keep up with the action by listening to KALX 90.7FM Berkeley or following online with live stats and @CalWBBall on Twitter for updates throughout the game.

A LOOK AT THE CARDINAL
Tenth-ranked Stanford is 22-4 on the season and tied for first in the Pac-12, at 12-2 in conference play. The Cardinal have won nine of their last ten games and are a perfect 6-0 on the road in conference play. Stanford is coming off an 87-51 win over Utah on Sunday afternoon, in which the Cardinal had four different players score in double-figures. Sophomore Alanna Smith had a game-high 16 points off the bench while Karlie Samuelson and Brittany McPhee added 13 points apiece.

One of the top defensive teams in the league, Stanford leads the conference in field goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 34.2 percent shooting this season, and ranks second in scoring defense, allowing just 56.4 points per game.

Offensively, the Cardinal have three players averaging double-figures, led by senior Erica McCall, the team's leading scorer (15.6 PPG) and rebounder (8.3 RPG). Junior guard Brittany McPhee 13.6 points per game this season while senior guard Karlie Samuelson adds 12.5 points per game and is shooting 47.7 percent from beyond the arc, the fourth-best mark in the nation this season.

Head Coach Tara Vanderveer is in her 31^st season with the Cardinal, leading Stanford to two NCAA titles. On February 3, Vanderveer earned her 1,000^th career win as Stanford beat USC. Vanderveer joins Pat Summitt and Mike Krzyzewski as the only head coaches in Division I basketball history with 1,000 career wins.

LAST TIME OUT
Despite an inspired comeback attempt in the fourth quarter, the Cal women's basketball team could not overcome a slow start, falling to Colorado, 64-59, Sunday afternoon at Haas Pavilion. The Golden Bears  narrowed a 13-point deficit to two, but the visiting Buffaloes held on to secure their first conference road win in two seasons.

For the second consecutive game, Cal was slow coming out of the gates, trailing Colorado 17-4 midway through the first quarter. The Bears narrowed the deficit to seven entering halftime, outscoring the Buffaloes 12-11 in the second quarter. Sophomore center Kristine Anigwe, who picked up her third foul just 31 seconds into the second half, scored 10 of her team-high 15 points in the first half and added five rebounds and four blocked shots on the night.    

The teams traded baskets to start the second half before Cal made a push late in the third quarter. After starting the game 0-9 from three-point range, Asha Thomas drained a three-pointer with 57 seconds left in the period and Mikayla Cowling added another triple as time expired to cut Colorado's lead to three. Thomas, who had just two points in Friday's loss to Utah, finished with 14 points while Cowling had 12 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, her fourth consecutive game scoring in double-figures.

NEXT UP
The Bears play their final three games of the regular season on the road, visiting Stanford on Sunday at 5 p.m. to wrap up the Battle of the Bay. Cal then heads to Oregon, facing the Ducks on February 24 before closing out the regular season on February 26 against Oregon State.
 
REBOUNDS FOR RAMA
Rama N'diaye, a member of the Cal Women's Basketball team from 2006-2011, was diagnosed with Stage 2 Breast Cancer this past July at the young age of 29. As a result of the side effects of her treatments, Rama has not been able to consistently work and therefore has sustained significant financial hardship.
It is our goal as a Cal Family to help support Rama in her fight against Breast Cancer emotionally, spiritually and financially. We've introduced Rebound for Rama to allow our extended Cal Family to participate in that end goal, once again proving that our support extends well beyond the hardwood. Donations may be made based on the number of total rebounds that the current Cal team secures over the course of this season or as a flat rate.

Rama, several members of her family, and former teammates were in attendance on February 12, as the Bears hosted Colorado in the final game of Play4Kay weekend.

Visit www.pledgeit.org/ReboundsForRama to learn about Rama's fight and please consider joining us in this effort.

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).