BERKELEY – Coming off a weekend sweep vs USC and UCLA, the Cal women's basketball team (17-7, 5-7 Pac-12)  looks to carry its momentum into Friday night, hosting Utah (14-9, 3-9 Pac-12) at 6 pm PT. Friday's contest is the third game in a five-game homestand for the Bears and marks the start of Cal's annual Play4Kay weekend, raising awareness for the Kay Yow Cancer fund and the fight against women's cancers.

Cal and Utah met earlier this season, a 63-57 victory for the Utes on January 15 in Salt Lake City. After trailing by as many as 12 points midway through the fourth quarter, Cal went on an 11-0 run, closing the deficit to just one point when senior Courtney Range hit a jumper with 1:47 left in the game. However, the Utes held on for the victory, handing the Bears their second road loss of the season. Sophomore center Kristine Anigwe led Cal with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and a career-high seven blocked shots.

Since the loss to Utah, Cal has gone 3-3, including wins over No. 13 UCLA and USC this past weekend. On Friday, February 3, the Bears jumped out to an early lead over the 13^th-ranked Bruins, opening the game on a 16-0 run. Freshman guard Mi'Cole Cayton, making just her second career start, scored 11 of her career-high 18 points in the first quarter. All five starters scored in double-figures as the Bears won 80-77, snapping the Bruins six-game win streak for Cal's first win of the season against a Top-15 foe.

On Sunday, it was Cal's bench that provided the heroics, with junior forward Penina Davidson providing 17 points and nine rebounds in a 63-56 victory over visiting USC. With the win, Cal completed its first weekend sweep in Pac-12 play since the 2014-15 season and secured its fifth winning season in six years under head coach Lindsay Gottlieb.

Utah has lost five of its last six games since the January 15^th win over Cal, including a 61-55 defeat to Washington State the last time out. Senior guard Paige Crozon led the Utes with 25 points in the loss, going 5-13 from beyond the arc. Classmate Emily Potter leads the team in both scoring and rebounding, and had 15 points against Cal earlier this season in Salt Lake City. Utah has won three of the last four meetings between the teams, with the Bears upsetting the Utes in overtime in the 2016 Pac-12 Tournament.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
Friday's game will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks, with Anne Marie Anderson and Ann Meyers Drysdale 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 UTES
Utah is 14-9 on the season and 3-9 in Pac-12 play, coming off a 61-55 loss to Washington State at home on Sunday. Senior guard Paige Crozon had a season-high 25 points, going 5-13 from three-point range, but Utes committed 22 turnovers for their fifth loss in the last six games.

Like Cal, Utah went undefeated in non-conference play, starting the season 11-0. However the Utes have struggled to find their footing in conference and have lost three straight on the road. The Utes are one of the top defensive teams in the Pac-12, leading the conference in blocked shots (6.0 blocked shots per game) and ranking third in the league in field goal percentage defense (36.2 percent).

Redshirt junior Emily Potter leads Utah in both scoring (14.6 PPG) and rebounding (8. RPG), and has seven double-doubles on the season. Senior Malia Nawahine is second on the team in scoring at 10.0 points per game and had 15 points against the Bears earlier this season.

Head Coach Lynne Roberts is in her second season at Utah. In her first year in Salt Lake City, the Utes went 18-15, their first winning season since 2012-13 and reached the third round of the WNIT. Utah went 8-10 in conference play last season and was picked to finish eighth this year in both the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches' and Media Polls. Both polls had Cal finishing sixth.  

LAST TIME OUT
Cal completed the sweep of its Southern California rivals, beating USC 63-56 on Sunday afternoon at Haas Pavilion. Penina Davidson had a team-high 17 points and nine rebounds off the bench, while Asha Thomas, Kristine Anigwe, and Mikayla Cowling also scored in double-figures to give the Bears' their first Pac-12 weekend sweep in the last two seasons.

The back-and-forth contest saw 12 lead changes before Cal took control for good on a Cowling fastbreak layup with 2:50 left to play. Davidson soon made it a two-possession game, finishing a three-point play off an assist from Anigwe, and the Bears went 5-6 from the foul line in the final minute to seal the victory.

Davidson shot 7-9 from the floor and the Bears shot 50 percent (24-48) as a team, their third consecutive game with a field goal percentage of 50 percent or better. With the win, Cal snapped a two-game losing streak to the Trojans and improves to 8-0 this season against teams from the state of California.

NEXT UP
Cal will be back in action at Haas Pavilion on Sunday, hosting Colorado at 3 pm PT.  The Bears beat the Buffaloes, 65-53, on January 13 in Boulder. Cal erased a 12-point deficit and Kristine Anigwe scored 25 of her game-high 29 points in the second half to lead the Bears to victory. Colorado has lost seven of its last nine games, and is coming off a four-point loss to 10^th-ranked Washington on Sunday. The Buffaloes visit 8^th-ranked Stanford on Friday night.

Cal's second annual Snow Day in the Bay will be held on Sunday, featuring more than 3,000 gallons of snow, a face painter, games, and activities for all ages. The final Cal Kids' Day of the season, tickets are $1 for all youth age 17 and under.

In conjunction with Play4Kay weekend, a silent auction will be held at Sunday's game, with various jerseys, autographed balls, and gift baskets up for bid. Proceeds will go to the Kay Yow Cancer fund and Rebounds for Rama.

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.

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 and several members of her family will be in attendance on February 12, when the Bears host Colorado at 3 p.m. PT in their annual Play4Kay game.

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).