BERKELEY – After falling to the 10^th-ranked Cardinal Thursday night at Haas Pavilion, the Cal women's basketball team looks to play spoiler on Sunday, visiting Stanford at 5 p.m. in the final installment of the 2017 Battle of the Bay.  The Golden Bears (17-10, 5-10 Pac-12) have two wins in their last four trips to Maples Pavilion, both coming on the heels of a home loss to the Cardinal. Stanford (23-4, 13-2 Pac-12) is tied with Oregon State atop the Pac-12 standings while the Bears are in a tie for seventh, looking to snap a three-game losing streak.

Stanford won the first leg of the series on Thursday night, edging the Bears, 72-66, on senior night. Cal led by as many as five points in the fourth quarter, but the Cardinal closed the game on a 14-5 run over the final 3:50 to seal the victory. Sophomore Alanna Smith had a career-high 27 points for Stanford, going 3-5 from beyond the arc. For the fourth time this season, Cal had five different players score in double-figures, led by a 14-point effort from junior Mikayla Cowling. Classmate Penina Davidson added 13 points and eight rebounds off the bench, but Stanford won the overall battle on the boards, 44-34, including a 19-11 advantage in offensive rebounds.

The Bears head down the Bay looking to snap a four-game losing streak against the Cardinal. 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. In last season's meeting at Maples, the Bears jumped out to a 15-8 lead after the first quarter before the Cardinal clawed back for the 53-46 victory. Kristine Anigwe lead the Bears with 17 points and seven assists, while Courtney Range chipped in 15 points and two steals.  

Anigwe leads Cal in both scoring (21.3 PPG) and rebounding (9.4 RPG) this season, as the Bears are looking for their first win over a Top-10 opponent. Cal already has upsets over No. 20 Oklahoma and No. 13 UCLA this season, beating the Bruins on February 3 before UCLA went on to hand Stanford its second conference loss of the season.  After a slow start to Pac-12 play, Cowling has scored in double-figures in each of the Bears' last five games, her longest streak ever in conference play.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
Sunday's game will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks, with Krista Blunk and Mary Murphy on the call. 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 23-4 on the season and tied for first in the Pac-12, at 13-2 in conference play. However, both of the Cardinal's conference losses this season have come at home, a Feb. 6 loss to UCLA and a double-overtime defeat against Oregon State on January 8. Over the last five seasons, Stanford is 38-6 at home in conference play, two of those losses coming to Cal.  

One of the top defensive teams in the conference, Stanford ranks second in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage defense (34.6 pct) and third in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 56.8 points per game.

On the other end of the floor, the Cardinal are buoyed by a balanced offense that features three players averaging double-figures,led by senior Erica McCall, the team's leading scorer (15.4 PPG) and rebounding (8.4 RPG). McCall had 11 points and 14 rebounds on Thursday night at Haas Pavilion. Sophomore Alanna Smith, who averages just 7.4 points per game on the season, led all scorers with 27 points off the bench, going 3-5 from beyond the arc. Stanford senior Karlie Samuelson also added 17 points for the Cardinal on 3-4 shooting. Samuelson is shooting 48.5 percent from three this season, good for fourth in the nation.

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.

NEXT UP
The Bears close out the regular season with a trip to the Beaver state. Cal faces Oregon on Friday at 6 p.m. before closing out the 2016-17 league campaign in Corvallis, facing Oregon State at 11 a.m. on Sunday, February 26.
 
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).