California Golden Bears Athletics
California
Arizona
1/25/2018 1:17 PM | Women's Basketball
No. 23 Cal vs Arizona
Friday, Jan. 26 | 7 PM PT | Haas Pavilion | Berkeley, CA
GAME NOTES | LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS | RADIO | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK
BERKELEY - Nearing the midway mark in the Pac-12 seasons, the Cal women's basketball team looks to continue its strong start to conference play when the Golden Bears host Arizona on Friday at 7 p.m. PT at Haas Pavilion. The Bears (14-5, 5-3 Pac-12) enter the weekend in a four-way tie for fourth in the conference standings, coming off a hard-fought win at the Galen Center on Sunday. Cal is 8-2 at home this season and completed the weekend sweep of the Washington schools during its most recent Pac-12 homestand.
Cal looks to continue that home success, squaring off against Arizona for the second time in less than three weeks. After trailing by 10 points midway through the third quarter, the Bears battled back for a 53-51 victory in Tucson on January 7. Senior guard Mikayla Cowling led the Bears with 19 points and went a career-best 5-9 from three point range in the victory. The Bears have won the last four meetings with the Wildcats, including a 71-60 victory last season in Berkeley behind 24 points from guard Asha Thomas.
Cowling and Thomas are just two of the many figures in a balanced attack for the Bears this season. All five starters are averaging over eight points per game on the year, led by 17.9 points per game from junior Kristine Anigwe. The two-time honorable mention All-American ranks in the top three in the conference in scoring (17.9 points per game), rebounding (8.8 rebounds per game), and field goal percentage (58.8 pct), and had 20 points in 20 minutes against USC her last time out. Thomas, Cowling, and freshman point guard Kianna Smith also scored in double-figures for the Bears in the win, while Penina Davidson and CJ West added 10 rebounds apiece.
Arizona is also looking to build off recent momentum, picking up its first win of the conference campaign last Friday with a victory over Colorado. The Wildcats led the Bears by as many as 10 points earlier this season in Tucson and held a 26-21 advantage at the half.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Friday's game can be viewed on the Pac-12 live stream, with live stats also available. Fans can receive additional in-game updates and behind-the-scenes information by following the Bears social media accounts (Twitter: @CalWBBall, Instagram: @CalWBBall).
LAST TIME OUT
Cal came out on top last Sunday in a back-and-forth affair at USC that saw 16 ties and 14 lead changes. The Golden Bears prevailed, 62-59, at the Galen Center to secure the road split on the trip to LA. Following a narrow loss at No. 13 UCLA, the Bears responded with their second win of the season against the Trojans, moving to 6-3 on the road this season.
Junior center/forward Kristine Anigwe led the Bears with 20 points in only 20 minutes of action while senior Mikayla Cowling added 12 points on 5-11 shooting. Freshman guard Kianna Smith added 10 points and six assists while junior Asha Thomas finished with 10 points, including a crucial five-point stretch in the fourth quarter.
Trojans' forward Kristen Simon led all scorers with 21 points while Minyon Moore (19 points) and Aliyah Mazyck (13 points) also reached double-figures in the loss.
Cal opened Sunday's game at USC on a 10-2 run and shot over 60 percent (8-13) from the floor in the opening quarter. Anigwe scored 13 of her 20 points in the first quarter, going 4-4 from the field. The unanimous preseason All-Pac-12 selection put together her eight 20-point performance of the season and went 2-2 from beyond the arc, her second game this season with multiple threes. Anigwe added four rebounds in 20 minutes of action, picking up her fifth foul with 5:01 left to play.
After weathering the initial surge by the Bears, the Trojans displayed some hot shooting of their own, shooting 57 percent from the floor and 45 percent from three-point range in the first half to take a two-point lead into the locker room.
However, Cal proved ready for the challenge, erasing an halftime deficit away from home for the second time this season. The Golden Bears outscored USC, 17-13, in the third quarter, taking a 52-50 lead into the fourth quarter. After the Trojans regained the lead with a 7-0 run, the teams continued to trade baskets until a crucial three-point play by Thomas with 1:29 remaining in the game. With the Bears trailing by one and time winding down on the shot clock, the 5'4" guard drove through the lane and finished with contact. Thomas converted the ensuing free throw and sophomore CJ West soon added to the Bears lead, sinking a free throw with 18 seconds remaining to make it a three-point game after she was fouled on a rebound. The Bears defense held off numerous three-point attempts by the Trojans in the dying seconds to secure the win.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
After dropping its first six games in conference play, Arizona earned its first Pac-12 win of the season on January 19, beating Colorado, 72-53, at the McKale Center. Senior JaLea Bennett led the Wildcats with 23 points on 11-15 shooting from the floor as Arizona led for nearly the entirety of the game. The Wildcats would end the weekend with a split, falling to Utah, 80-56, on Sunday afternoon.
A 6'0" guard from Grand Prairie, Texas, Bennett leads the Wildcats in scoring and ranks ninth in the conference at 15.1 points per game on the season. Freshman forward Sam Thomas is also averaging double-figures with 10.4 points per game and leads all Pac-12 rookies with 7.9 rebounds per game. Thomas and Bennett had 13 points each against the Bears earlier this season in Tucson while Destiny Graham added 10 rebounds. Graham ranks second in the Pac-12 in free throw percentage, shooting 83.3 percent from the charity stripe on the season.
The all-time leading scorer in Arizona women's basketball history, Adia Barnes is in her second season as head coach of the Wildcats, after spending five seasons as an assistant at Washington. Arizona was picked to finish 11th in the Preseason Pac-12 Coaches' Poll.
UP NEXT
The Bears will be back in action at Haas Pavilion on Sunday, hosting 25th-ranked Arizona State at 3 p.m. PT. The Sun Devils won the matchup between the teams earlier this year in Tempe, holding off the Bears' comeback attempt for an 80-71 victory on January 5. The Sun Devils (14-6, 5-3 Pac-12) will square off against Stanford at 7 p.m. PT before Sunday's matchup with the Golden Bears. In conjunction with National Girls and Women in Sports Day, Sunday's game will feature a halftime clinic run by other women's sports teams on campus.
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).
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