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On The Road We Go
1/9/2019 2:44 PM | Women's Basketball
Cal Visits Arizona In First Pac-12 Road Game Of The Season
No. 24 Cal at Arizona
Friday, Jan. 11 | 7 PM MT/6 PM PT | McKale Center | Tucson, AZ | Pac-12 Networks
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TUCSON, Ariz. – After picking up its first win in Pac-12 play on Sunday, the Cal women's basketball team looks to take its momentum on the road, heading to Arizona for its first conference road trip of the year. The Golden Bears (10-3, 1-1 Pac-12) first head to Tucson, taking on the Wildcats (12-2, 2-1 Pac-12) at 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT, before a Sunday evening tilt against Arizona State (11-3, 2-1 Pac-12). Both matchups will be carried live on Pac-12 Networks.
Friday's game against Arizona marks Cal's first true road game in over a month and the team's first game outside of the state of California since a 70-52 win at BYU on November 13. However, the Bears have been successful away from home to start the season, posting a 4-0 record on the road during the 2018-19 campaign and winning their last six road games dating back to last season.
Cal will put that record to the test in Tucson in a matchup that will feature two of the top scorers in the nation. Arizona's Aari McDonald leads the conference and ranks second in Division I in scoring this season at 25.4 points per game. A redshirt sophomore who sat out last season after transferring from Washington, McDonald is coming off a pair of 30-point performances over the weekend, helping Arizona split against Colorado and Utah.
On the other side is Cal senior and Phoenix, Arizona-native Kristine Anigwe, who ranks third in the conference in scoring at 22.1 points per game and leads the nation in rebounding, averaging 13.9 rebounds per game on the season. Anigwe also holds the distinction of being the only player in the country to record a double-double in every game this season and enters Friday's game with 14 consecutive double-doubles, dating back to last season.
The 6'4" Anigwe is coming off a 21-point, 16-rebound effort in Cal's victory over USC on Sunday, capping off a stellar weekend in which she averaged 26.5 points and 15 rebounds per game, while shooting a combined 63 percent (20-32) from the floor and 77 percent (13-17) from the foul line. Fellow senior Asha Thomas, who leads the Pac-12 in free throw percentage, opened her Pac-12 campaign with back-to-back performances in double-figures as well. Thomas is second on the team in scoring this season at 11.5 points per game and is enters the weekend with 198 career three-pointers, just two away from becoming the second player in program history with 200 career threes.
Cal has owned the series against Arizona as of late, winning the last five head-to-head meetings between the teams and 22 of their last 23 overall.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Friday's game against USC will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks with Cindy Brunson and Joan Bonvicini 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 WILDCATS
At 12-2 this season, Arizona has already eclipsed its win total from the 2017-18 campaign. After losing their second game of the season to LMU, the Wildcats rattled off 11 consecutive wins, the longest winning streak in program history. Arizona's win streak included a pair of victories to start Pac-12 play, beating Arizona State and Colorado to start the conference campaign. The Wildcats winning streak was snapped on Sunday, falling to Utah, 80-64, on the road. McDonald had a game-high 34 points in the loss, also adding 11 rebounds for her second double-double of the year. Redshirt junior Dominique McBryde, a transfer from Purde, and sophomore Sam Thomas also chipped in 10 points apiece for the Wildcats, who were held to just 39 percent (25-64) shooting from the field. Five different players scored in double-figures for the Utes in the win.
McDonald spent her freshman season at the University of Washington, making 21 starts of the Huskies and averaging 9.8 points per game. In her first season of competition for the Wildcats, McDonald has put together four 30-point performances, including a career-high 39 points in the loss to LMU. A 5'7" guard, McDonald averages 18.6 field goal attempts and 7.9 free throw attempts per game. Freshman Cate Reese leads Arizona in rebounding at 8.4 rebounds per game and is also averaging double-figures on the season at 11.9 points per game.
Defensively, Arizona leads the Pac-12 in scoring defense, holding opponents to an average of 52.6 points per game on the year. The Wildcats also lead the conference in three-point field goal percentage defense (28.6 percent) and steals (10.3 steals per game). McDonald ranks second in the conference with 2.6 steals per game while Thomas is fifth at 2.1 steals per outing.
Head coach Adia Barnes is in her third season at the helm of the Wildcats program, having graduated in 1998 as the team's all-time leading scorer. Arizona was picked 10th in the Pac-12 Preseason Coaches' Poll.
UP NEXT
Cal continues its road trip on Sunday, heading to Tempe for a 5 p.m. MT/4 p.m. PT matchup against 19th-ranked Arizona State. The Sun Devils (11-3, 2-1 Pac-12) open the weekend against No. 6 Stanford before Sunday's finale against the Golden Bears. Cal will be looking for its first win at the Wells Fargo Center in four years, dropping its last three road games against Arizona State, all by 10 points or fewer. The Sun Devils have won six of the last seven meetings overall between the teams, with Cal's last win coming via upset in the 2016 Pac-12 Tournament. Ranked No. 19 in the latest AP Poll, Arizona State is the second Top 25 opponent the Bears will take on this season, falling to No. 1 Connecticut, 76-66, on December 22.
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).
