WBB1/29/2019 9:01 PM | By: Cal Athletics
Battle Of The Bay
Cal Hosts No. 8 Stanford Thursday In First Game Of Rivalry Series
BERKELEY – Another chapter in the oldest rivalry in women's college basketball will be written this weekend when Cal and Stanford square off twice in a span of three days. The Golden Bears (13-6, 4-4 Pac-12) and Cardinal (17-2, 7-1 Pac-12) will tip off their series on Thursday night at Haas Pavilion in the annual Battle of the Bay with is slated for 8 p.m. PT. The series will then head to the South Bay, for a 4 p.m. PT matchup on Saturday at Haas Pavilion.
The series between the schools dates back to April 4, 1896, when Cal and Stanford squared off at San Francisco's Page Street Armory for the first ever intercollegiate women's basketball game. The most recent meeting between the teams saw the Bears pull off the upset on Senior Day, beating the then-No. 14 Cardinal, 78-66, on February 17, 2018 at Haas Pavilion. Asha Thomas led all scorers with 25 points as the Bears snapped a six-game losing streak vs the Cardinal and picked up their first home win in the series since 2009. Kianna Smith (16 points), Kristine Anigwe (11 points, 10 rebounds), and Jaelyn Brown (10 points) added key offensive production in the win.
Cal now looks to repeat that success on Thursday night with the eighth-ranked Cardinal coming back into town. The Bears are coming off a 20-point victory on the road over Colorado while Stanford looks to bounce back from its first conference loss of the season, fall at No. 21 Utah, 75-68, on Sunday afternoon.
The annual Bay Area matchup will feature two of the top post players in the nation in Cal's Kristine Anigwe and Stanford senior Alanna Smith. Anigwe leads the nation in rebounding (14.9 rebounds) and has 20 consecutive double-doubles dating back to last season, the sixth longest streak by any woman in Division I basketball history. The 6'4" senior is averaging 22.4 points per game this season for the Bears, good for second in the conference and seventh overall in the nation. Smith is in the midst of a similarly stellar senior campaign for the Cardinal. The 6'4" Australian international leads the Pac-12 in three-point field goal percentage, shooting 48 percent (52-108) from beyond the arc this season, and also leads the conference with 2.6 blocked shots per game. Smith is third in the Pac-12 in scoring this season at 21.2 points per game and had a 20-point, 10-rebound double-double in last season's meeting at Haas Pavilion. Â
Cal looks to defend home court and extend its home winning streak to four in a row with a win over the Cardinal. The Bears are also looking for their first Top-25 win of the season, dropping decision earlier this year against No. 1 Connecticut, No. 19 Arizona State, and No. 21 Utah.
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FOLLOW THE ACTION
Thursday's game against the Cardinal will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks with Mary Murphy and Kate Scott on the call. Live stats will also be 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 CARDINAL
Stanford heads to Berkeley looking to bounce back from its first conference loss of the year. The Cardinal, ranked No. 8 in the latest AP Poll, saw its 11-game win streak come to a halt on Sunday, falling on the road to No. 21 Utah, 75-68. Alanna Smith led the Cardinal with 19 points while DiJonai Carrington added 13 points in the loss, which saw Stanford shoot just 39 percent (25-65) from the floor.
Smith leads the Cardinal in both scoring (21.2 points per game) and rebounding this season (8.3 rebounds per game), averaging career bests in both categories. A member of the Australian full national team, Smith leads the Pac-12 with 2.6 blocked shots per game, anchoring a Cardinal defense that leads the conference in blocks (5.4 blocks per game) and ranks second in field goal percentage defense (36.3 percent).
Sophomore guard Kiana Williams leads Stanford with 5.0 assists per game and is second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.7 points per game. Junior DiJonai Carrington is also averaging double-figuring scoring this season and is averaging 16 points per game in Pac-12 play.
Head coach Tara VanDerveer is now in her 31st season with the Cardinal and has 1,053 victories in her college coaching career, the most of any active women's coach in the nation.
UP NEXT
Cal and Stanford will take the series to the South Bay for a Saturday afternoon matchup at Maples Pavilion (4 p.m. PT). The Bears will be looking for their first road win over the Cardinal since the 2014-15 season, though two of the last three meetings between the teams at Maples have been decided by single-digits. Cal earned its first conference road win of the season on Sunday at Colorado while Stanford has won 16 consecutive home games in conference play and 20 in a row overall at Maples Pavilion. Cal played at Maples Pavilion earlier this season in a non-conference game against Pacific on November 18 that was moved due to air quality concerns in the East Bay.
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).
