No. 23 Cal vs No. 25 Arizona State
Sunday, Jan. 28 | 3 PM PT | Haas Pavilion | Berkeley, CA | Pac-12 Networks
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BERKELEY - The 23rd-ranked California women's basketball team tips off the second half of the 2017-18 conference campaign on Sunday afternoon, hosting No. 25 Arizona State at 3 p.m. PT, presented by UC Optometry. Having already matched their conference win total from last season, the Golden Bears (15-5, 6-3 Pac-12) look to bounce back from a narrow loss to the Sun Devils (14-7, 5-4 Pac-12) earlier this season in Tempe.
 
The teams last squared off on January 5, a high-scoring affair that resulted in an 80-71 victory for the Sun Devils. After poor shooting and turnovers troubled the Bears in the first half, Cal went on a run in the third quarter and was able to cut the deficit to just four points. However, the hot-shooting Sun Devils prevailed, earning their fifth consecutive regular season win over the Golden Bears, despite a pair 20-point performances from Kristine Anigwe and Asha Thomas. Arizona State now leads the all-time series between the schools, 37-35, and has won seven of the last ten head-to-head meetings.
 
But the Bears have responded, winning five of their last six games following the loss in Tempe. Cal enters Sunday's game on the heels of a dominant performance on Friday night in which they held Arizona to just 39 points, outscoring the Wildcats in the paint, 42-6, and holding a 51-30 advantage on the glass.
 
The Sun Devils meanwhile, have lost four of their last five games since completing the home sweep of Cal and Stanford in early January. Arizona State, who won last season's meeting in Berkeley, 54-45, is coming off a 74-50 loss to the Cardinal on Friday night at Maples Pavilion.  Robbi Ryan was the lone Sun Devil to reach double-figures, scoring 11 points in 4-11 shooting from the floor. The Sun Devils shot just 37.3 percent on the night, including a 1-12 performance from beyond the arc. Arizona State went 5-16 from three earlier this season against the Bears.
 
The first 500 fans at Sunday's game will receive a co-branded UC Optometry and Cal micro-fiber glass cleaning cloth, courtesy of Cal Athletics partner UC Optometry.
 
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Sunday's game against the Sun Devils will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks with Christian Miles and Julianne Viani on the call. The game can also 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
The Bears capped off the first half of the conference campaign in victorious fashion, beating Arizona, 63-39, on Friday night at Haas Pavilion to complete the season sweep of the Wildcats. Three different players scored in double-figures for the Golden Bears, led by a 12-point, 15-rebound double-double from Kristine Anigwe. Senior Penina Davidson added 10 points and seven rebounds while Asha Thomas scored 12 points in the win.

Sam Thomas led the Wildcats with 11 points while Destiny Graham added 10 points and 11 rebounds. The Bears held Wildcats leading scorer JaLea Bennett, who entered the night averaging 15.1 points per game, scoreless.

The 39 points are the fewest the Bears have allowed in any game all season and the fewest Cal has given up in any conference game over the last two seasons.

While the first meeting between the Bears and Wildcats in Tucson went down to the wire, Cal was in control from the outset, opening the game on a 9-0 run.  Arizona shot 50 percent (4-8) from three-point range in the first quarter, but the Bears locked down on defense in the second and held Arizona to just three points in the period, taking a 38-17 lead at the half. The three points marked the fewest the Bears have allowed in any quarter all season.

Anigwe made her mark felt on both ends of the floor in the opening half, starting the game with two blocks in the first few minutes and grabbing 10 rebounds in the first half alone. The two-time honorable mention All-American ended the game with 12 points on 6-12 shooting from the floor and registered her fourth game this season with 15 or more rebounds. No other player in the Pac-12 has more than two such games this season.

Thomas continued her steady output on the offensive end, scoring in double-figures for the sixth time in her last seven games. Davidson continued her steady performance in post, adding 10 points the Bears outscored the Wildcats, 42-6, in the paint.

SCOUTING THE SUN DEVILS
After going 4-0 to start Pac-12 play, the Sun Devils have since lost four of their last five games, including a 74-50 loss at Stanford on Friday night. Stanford held Arizona State to just 37.3 percent shooting on the night, including a 1-12 performance from three-point range and outscoring the Sun Devils 24-14 in the second quarter. Robbi Ryan was the lone Sun Devil to reach double-figures, scoring 11 points on 4-11 shooting from the floor.

The Sun Devils boast one of the top defenses in the conference, ranking second in the Pac-12 as they allow just 58.2 points per game on the season. Arizona State is also among the conference leaders in assist-to-turnover ratio,tied with Oregon at a Pac-12 best 1.5 assists-to-turnover rate on the season.

Kianna Ibis leads the Sun Devils in scoring this season, averaging 13.2 points per game and has upped her scoring to 14.8 points per game in conference play. Ibis had 26 earlier this season against the Golden Bears. Ryan is also averaging double-figures in Pac-12 play at 10.6 points per game. Sophomore guard Reili Richardson currently leads the Pac-12 with a 3.6 assist-to-turnover ratio (105 assists, 29 turnovers).

The Sun Devils return two starters from last season's team that went 20-13, reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Arizona State was picked to finish sixth in the Preseason Pac-12 Coaches' Poll, one spot behind the Golden Bears

UP NEXT
The Bears will be back on the road weekend, heading to Oregon for a pair of games against ranked foes. Cal takes on 7th-ranked Oregon on Friday at 8 p.m. PT before squaring off against the 17th-ranked Beavers on Sunday at 1 p.m. PT in Corvallis. The Bears split the series vs the Ducks last season, falling on buzzer beater at home before responding with a road win in Eugene. Oregon is currently in first place in the conference, its lone Pac-12 loss coming
on the road to Oregon State. The Beavers won both regular season meetings with the Bears in 2017 and beat Cal in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Pac-12 Tournament.

 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).