WBB1/2/2019 7:40 PM | By: Cal Athletics
Pac-12 Play Begins
Golden Bears Host Bruins Friday Night In Conference Opener
BERKELEY – Conference play is here! The Cal women's basketball team opens the Pac-12 slate at home on Friday night, hosting UCLA at 7 p.m. PT at Haas Pavilion. The Golden Bears (9-2, 0-0 Pac-12) will be looking start the conference schedule with a win for the third consecutive year and get back in the win column after closing the non-conference plate with a pair of losses at home. Cal will be taking on a UCLA squad that already has one conference win on the year. The Bruins (8-5, 1-0 Pac-12) began Pac-12 play last weekend, beating cross-town rival USC, 72-65.
The series between the Bears and the Bruins has been one of the most exciting in the conference as of last, with six of the last eight meetings between the teams being decided by eight points or fewer. UCLA won both meetings between the teams last year during the regular season and just narrowly avoided the upset in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Pac-12 Tournament, coming away with a 77-74 win over the Bears. Cal has won six of its last seven games at home against UCLA and posted a 7-2 record at Haas Pavilion last season in Pac-12 play.
Picked fourth in the 2018-19 Pac-12 Preseason Coaches' Poll, Cal is looking to bounce back from a 85-79 loss at home to Harvard to close the non-conference slate. Freshman McKenzie Forbes had a career-high 22 points on 6-8 shooting from beyond the arc and Kristine Anigwe recorded her 11th double-double of the year, but it was not enough to counter a 13-24 effort by the Crimson from three. Forbes' 22 points are the most by any Pac-12 freshman in a single game this season and mark the highest-scoring game by any Cal rookie in the last three seasons.
Despite Sunday's setback, the Bears bring depth and experience into conference play. Anigwe continues to assert herself as one of the top post players in the nation, ranking second in all of Division I in rebounding (13.7 rebounds per game) and 15th nationally in scoring (21.3 points per game). The only player in Division I basketball with a double-double in every game this season, Anigwe recently became just the 11th woman in Pac-12 basketball history to amass 2,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. Guards Asha Thomas (11.1 points per game) and Kianna Smith (11.0 points per game) are also averaging double-figures for the Bears this season. Graduate transfer Recee Caldwell brings additional experience to the Bears' backcourt and leads Cal with 4.6 assists per game. Friday's game against the Bruins will be of extra significance for Caldwell, who began her collegiate career at UCLA, averaging 6.9 points per game during the 2014-15 campaign. Caldwell appeared in 17 games for the Bruins as a rookie before suffering a season-ending injury. She then transferred to Texas Tech, where she played two seasons and earned a bachelor's degree in business.
Friday's conference opener marks Cal's annual "90s Night" with free Cal fanny packs for the first 1,000 fans.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Friday's game against the Bruins will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks with Mary Murphy and Kate Scott on the call. Live stats will also be available, along with audio coverage from KALX Radio. 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 BRUINS
UCLA opened conference play on Sunday with a 72-65 win on the road over Los Angeles rival, USC. The Bruins trailed by as many as 13 points late in the second quarter before control of the game in the third quarter, during which they outscored the Trojans, 31-10. Sophomore forward Michaela Onyenwere had a game-high 27 points for the Bruins, going 11-21 from the floor and 3-6 from beyond the arc. A Pac-12 All-Freshman selection last season, Onyenwere added 12 rebounds for her fourth double-double of the season, while senior Lajahna Drummer added a double-double of her own with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Kennedy Burke also scored in double-figures for the Bruins, adding 11 points to go with six assists and five rebounds.
Onyenwere leads the Bruins in scoring this season and ranks 10th in overall in the conference, averaging 15.8 points per game. The 5'11" Onyenwere also ranks eighth in the conference in rebounding at 8.4 rebounds per game and is second in the Pac-12 in offensive rebounding (3.9 offensive rebounds per game). Burke, an All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention last season, is second on the team in scoring at 14.4 points per game while guard Japreece Dean is also averaging double-figures for the Bruins and is the team's top three-point threat, shooting 34.5 percent (20-58) from beyond the arc this season.
UCLA enters Friday's game on a five-game winning streak, bouncing back from a string of four consecutive losses in the middle of non-conference play. The Bruins graduated a pair of All-Pac-12 selections and WNBA Draft picks in Jordin Canada and Monique Billings, with Drummer and Burke the lone starters returning from last season's squad. UCLA went 27-8 last season and finished fourth overall in the conference table.
Head coach Cori Close is in her eighth season in Westwood and has led the Bruins to three consecutive Sweet 16 appearances, highlighted by a trip to the Elite 8 last season. UCLA was picked to finish sixth in the 2018-19 Pac-12 Preseason Coaches' Poll.
UP NEXT
Cal continues Pac-12 play on Sunday, hosting USC at 3 p.m. PT. The Bears have won their last four head-to-head meetings with the Trojans, the team's second-longest active winning streak against a Pac-12 opponent. Cal and USC met in Berkeley last season to open the conference campaign, with the Bears winning 76-64 behind 16 points and 13 rebounds from Kristine Anigwe. USC is 10-2 on the season and will face off against Stanford at 8 p.m. PT on Friday before Sunday's game in Berkeley. The Trojans were picked seventh in the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches' Poll.
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).
