California Golden Bears Athletics
California
Oregon
Bears Set For Showdown With Ducks
1/31/2018 11:30 PM | Women's Basketball
No. 25 Cal at No. 6 Oregon
Friday, Feb. 2 | 8 PM PT | Matthew Knight Arena | Eugene, Oregon | Pac-12 Networks
GAME NOTES | LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS | RADIO | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK
EUGENE, Oregon - The Cal women's basketball team heads to the Beaver State this weekend for a pair of contests against ranked opponents. The 25th-ranked Golden Bears (15-6, 6-4 Pac-12) tip-off the weekend on Friday at 8 p.m. PT, taking on 6th-ranked Oregon (20-3, 9-1 Pac-12). Cal then continues the weekend in Corvallis, squaring off against No. 16 Oregon State (16-5, 7-3 Pac-12) at 1 p.m. PT on Sunday. Both games will be carried live on Pac-12 Networks.
The Bears have a chance to play spoiler on Friday night as the Ducks enter the weekend with a perfect 13-0 record at home this season, the lone team in the Pac-12 that remains unblemished at home on the season. However, Cal found success in Eugene last season, downing the Ducks, 55-49, at Matthew Knight Arena on the final weekend of the regular season. Kristine Anigwe posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds while Asha Thomas went 5-10 from beyond the arc in the win. The Bears victory on the road avenged a buzzer-beating defeat at home to the Ducks earlier in the season, when Oregon's Sabrina Ionescu hit a three as time expired, giving the visitors the 69-66 walk-off win.
Friday's contest marks the lone meeting between the teams this regular season, in a series that has been tightly contested as of late, with the teams splitting the last four meetings. Oregon leads the all-time series, though the Bears have won eight of the last 10 meetings overall and have nine victories in their last 10 trips to Eugene. The matchup also features two of the top scorers in the conference in Ionescu – the 2017 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year – and Anigwe – 2016 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year. Ionescu currently leads the conference in scoring at 19.5 points per game and became the NCAA's all-time leader earlier this season with nine career triple-doubles. A two-time All-American, Anigwe is averaging 17.9 points per game on the season, good for sixth in the conference, and is also second in the Pac-12 in rebounding at 9.2 rebounds per game.
The Bears will be looking to bounce back from a poor offensive showing vs Arizona State in which they shot a season-low 28.3 percent from the field. After falling at Oregon State in overtime on January 19, Oregon has won three straight.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Friday's game against the Ducks will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks with Ann Schatz and Elise Woodward 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 DUCKS
At 9-1, Oregon enters the weekend atop the Pac-12 standings, its lone loss coming in overtime at then-No. 18 Oregon State on January 19. Since that loss, Oregon has won three straight and is now ranked a program-best No. 6 in the AP Poll.
Oregon boasts the top offense in the conference, averaging 83.7 points per game on the season, which also ranks fifth overall in Division I. The Ducks also rank in the top-two in the Pac-12 and among the leaders nationally in field goal percentage (49.6 percentage), assists per game (19.5) and three-point percentage (40.1 percentage).
Oregon is led by reigning Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Sabrina Ionescu, who currently leads the conference in scoring at 19.5 points per game on the season and also ranks first in assists, at 7.6 per game. Sophomore Ruthy Hebard is second on the team in scoring at 16.8 points per game and leads the team with 8.2 rebounds per game
Now in his fourth season with the Ducks, head coach Kelly Graves returns all five starters from last season's team that went 31-5 and reached the Elite Eight, falling to Connecticut in the Regional Semifinals. The Pac-12 Preseason Coaches Poll had the Ducks in a tie for second with Stanford, with Oregon receiving three first-place votes, the most by any team other than UCLA.
UP NEXT
The Bears continue their road trip in the Beaver State on Sunday, taking on 16th-ranked Oregon State at 1 p.m. PT in Corvallis. The Beavers won both regular season meetings with the Bears in 2017 and beat Cal in the quarterfinals of the 2017 Pac-12 Tournament. Cal has lost its last six matchups with the Beavers, Cal's longest active losing streak vs any conference foe. Oregon State, the three-time reigning regular season Pac-12 champions, enters the weekend fourth in the conference at 7-3, and hosts Stanford on Friday night. The Beavers are 10-1 at home this season, the lone loss coming to No. 6 Notre Dame.
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).
