California Golden Bears Athletics
California
Washington
Bears Tip Off Pac-12 Tournament Thursday
2/27/2018 7:31 PM | Women's Basketball
Pac-12 Tournament: First Round
Cal vs Washington
Thursday, March 1 | 2 PM PT | KeyArena | Seattle, WA | Pac-12 Network
GAME NOTES | LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK
SEATTLE, Washington – For the second time in a five-day span, the California women's basketball team will square off against Washington, taking on the Huskies in the first round of the 2018 Pac-12 Tournament. The matchup between the five-seed Golden Bears (20-9. 11-7 Pac-12) and 12-seed Huskies (7-22, 1-17 Pac-12) is set to tip off at 2 p.m. PT on Thursday at KeyArena. Cal completed the regular season sweep of the Huskies with an 83-67 win on Sunday at Alaska Airlines Arena, headlined by 23 points and 12 rebounds from Kristine Anigwe and 16 points and eight assists from Kianna Smith.
The Bears now look for a repeat performance on Thursday, looking to reach the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament for the 16th consecutive season. Cal is 3-0 all-time vs Washington in the Pac-12 Tournament, their last meeting coming in the tournament quarterfinals in 2015 when the fourth-seeded Bears beat the five-seed Huskies, 69-53.
After winning five of its final six games of the regular season, the Golden Bears finished fifth in the conference standings, their best finish in Pac-12 play since the 2014-15 season. Cal went 11-7 in conference this season to secure their highest seed in the Pac-12 Tournament since 2015. The Bears reached the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament last season before falling to top-seeded Oregon State. Anigwe earned All-Pac-12 Tournament honors after averaging a tournament record 30 points per game in the Bears two outings, including a program-record 34 points in the Bears' first round win over USC.
Anigwe, who registered her 40th career double-double on Sunday vs the Huskies, was named to the 2017-18 All-Pac-12 Team, her third consecutive season earning All-Conference honors. Smith was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman team while Asha Thomas and Mikayla Cowling earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention. Anigwe and Cowling also earned Pac-12 All-Defensive Honorable Mention accolades.
The winner of Thursday's game between the Bears and Huskies will face four-seed UCLA at 2 p.m. on Friday in the quarterfinals. The Bruins are currently ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll, swept the season series with the Bears, including a 60-52 win in Westwood on January 19. Cal and UCLA have met five times previously in the Pac-12 Tournament, the most recent a 73-67 overtime win for the Bruins in the 2016 Tournament Semifinals.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Thursday's game against the Huskies will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks with Ann Schatz and Tammy Blackburn on the call. The matchup 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 Cal women's basketball team ended the regular season in victorious fashion, beating Washington, 83-67, on Sunday afternoon at Alaska Airlines Arena. The Golden Bears used well-balanced performance to complete the regular season sweep of the Huskies, scoring 44 points in the paint and connecting on 10 three-pointers, their most in any Pac-12 game over the last two seasons.
Cal center/forward Kristine Anigwe had another dominant outing down low, posting her third consecutive double-double with 23 points and 12 rebounds. With 23 points, Anigwe passed former Cal standout and WNBA All-Star Layshia Clarendon for fourth on Cal's career scoring list. Anigwe, who played just 27 minutes in Sunday's win, registered her 10th double-double of the season and the 40th of her career.
Three other players scored in double-figures for the Bears, including 16 points from freshman Kianna Smith, who matched her career high with four made three-pointers. The rookie point guard finished 6-13 from the floor and added eight assists and just one turnover in 37 minutes of play. Senior Mikayla Cowling scored 10 of her 12 points in the second half, also chipping in seven assists and five rebounds on the afternoon. Junior guard Asha Thomas finished with 11 points for the Bears, going 3-6 from beyond the arc.
Washington guard Amber Melgoza, who scored 40 points on Friday night vs Stanford, led all scorers with 24 points, going 7-20 from the floor.
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
Washington finished 12th in conference this season, going 1-17 in Pac-12 play. The Huskies' lone win in conference was a 56-59 win at home over Washington State on January 21. The Huskies are currently on a 10-game losing streak, with their last loss coming to Cal on Sunday afternoon.
Sophomore guard Amber Melgoza was an All-Pac-12 selection after leading the conference in scoring with 20.6 points per game in Pac-12 play. Melgoza is averaging 18.6 points per game on the season and averaged 19.5 points per game this season in two meetings with Cal, shooting at combined 12-38 (31.6%) from the floor and 2-11 from beyond the arc. As a team, Washington ranks third in the conference in steals and also ranks third with 8.4 made three-pointers per game.
Mai-Loni Henson is second on the team in scoring at 9.4 points per game and also posted double-figures in both meetings with the Bears this season.
After losing four starters and five letterwinners from last season's team that reached the Sweet 16, the Huskies went 6-5 in non-conference play, capping the preseason slate with an 84-76 win over Seattle U in overtime. Head coach Jody Wynn is in her first season as head coach of the Huskies, after spending the last eight seasons at Long Beach State, culminating in a trip to the NCAA Tournament last season.
UP NEXT
The winner of Thursday's first round game will face the four-seed UCLA at 2 p.m. PT in Friday's quarterfinal matchup. The Bruins are currently ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll and swept the season series with the Bears, including a 60-52 win in Westwood on January 19. The Bears and Bruins have met five times previously in the Pac-12 Tournament, the most recent being in the 2016 Pac-12 Tournament semifinals, a 73-67 win for UCLA in overtime.
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).
