WBB10/30/2018 10:20 PM | By: Cal Athletics
Set For Season
Cal Hosts Westmont In Free Thursday Night Exhibition
BERKELEY – The Cal women's basketball team will play its final preseason tune-up on Thursday night, hosting Westmont in an exhibition game at 7 p.m. PT at Haas Pavilion. Thursday's matchup between the Golden Bears and Warriors is free for all spectators and will serve as final preparations before Cal officially beings the 2018-19 season next week.
The expectations and energy surrounding the program are high as head coach Lindsay Gottlieb enters her eighth season at the helm of the Golden Bear program. The Bears were picked to finish fourth in both the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches' and Media Polls, and return 11 letterwinners from last season's squad that went 21-11 and earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Seniors Kristine Anigwe and Asha Thomas headline the Bears' group of returners. A three-time honorable mention All-American, Anigwe enters her senior season already ranked among the program's all-time leaders in scoring, rebounding, and field goal percentage. The 2016 Pac-12 and USBWA National Freshman of the Year, Anigwe was recently named to the 2019 Lisa Leslie Award Watch as one of the top centers in the nation, and also landed a spot on the Preseason All-Pac-12 Team for the third year in a row. A four-year starter out of nearby Bishop O'Dowd High School, Thomas is coming off a standout junior season in which she averaged a career-high 12.8 points per game. The 5'4" point guard enters her senior season with 964 career points and is second on Cal's all-time three-point list, with 173 career triples.
Another guard Kianna Smith is also back for the Bears after a strong rookie campaign. A 6'0" point guard, Smith earned Pac-12 All-Freshman honors after leading all conference rookies with 4.8 assists per game and ranking in the top five nationally among all freshmen in assist-to-turnover ratio.
Juniors Jaelyn Brown and CJ West are also back for the Bears after making valuable contributions last season off the bench and bring additional depth to the experience to the Bears.
Cal also brings in a plethora of experience with the addition of graduate student Receé Caldwell. The first graduate transfer in program history, Caldwell began her collegiate career at UCLA before playing two seasons at Texas Tech, where she earned All-Big-12 honors following the 2016-17 season.
Other newcomers for Cal this season include freshmen McKenzie Forbes and Sierra Richey. A five-star recruit out of Folsom High School, Forbes was a McDonald's All American in 2018 while Richey was an All-League selection at Rancho Campana High School.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Thursday's exhibition 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).
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
Thursday's matchup marks the third time in the last four seasons that Cal has opened the year with an exhibition game against Westmont. The Golden Bears and Warriors last met prior to the 2016-17 season, which resulted in an 87-48 victory for the Bears.
An NAIA school, the Warriors went 26-7 last season and reached the NAIA Women's Basketball National Championship game, before falling to Freed-Hardeman of Tennessee, 76-64, in the title game. Head coach Kirsten Moore is entering her 14th season at Westmont, leading the Warriors to an NAIA National Championship in 2013.
Westmont will also play an exhibition game against UCLA on Saturday, before opening the regular season on November 6 against California Lutheran.
UP NEXT
Cal will tip off the regular season at home on November 6, hosting Houston at 7 p.m. PT. The Golden Bears opened the 2017-18 season with an 87-80 victory at home over Saint Mary's. Six different players scored in double-figures for the Bears, led by a 17-point effort from Anigwe.
Tuesday's season opener will be the Bears' third meeting all-time against Houston and the first since the 1983-84 season. The Cougars return all five starters from last season's team, which went 20-12 and reached the WNIT. Houston was picked to finish third in the American Athletic Conference Coaches' Preseason Poll, finishing third in the voting behind UConn and South Florida.
2018-19 TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW
Season, group and single-game tickets for the 2018-19 women's basketball season are now on sale. Season tickets start as low as $40 ($2.67 per game, 15 home games) for youth and seniors and $80 ($5.33 per game, 15 home games) for adult general admission tickets. Single-game tickets are available starting at $4 for youth and seniors and $5 for adult, while group rates begin at $3 per seat for groups of 10 or more. 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).
