WBB2/9/2019 9:46 PM | By: Cal Athletics
Cal Continues Homestand Against Oregon State
Bears Seek Weekend Split In Sunday Matchup With No. 7 Beavers
BERKELEY – Facing its fourth consecutive game against a Top-10 opponent, the Cal women's basketball team looks to secure another weekend split, squaring off against No. 7 Oregon State at 1 p.m. Sunday at Haas Pavilion. The Golden Bears (14-8. 5-6 Pac-12) and Beavers (19-4, 9-2 Pac-12) are both looking to bounce back from Friday night losses when they square off in Berkeley for their only scheduled meeting of the season. Despite a strong offensive effort led by a trio of 20-point performances, Cal was unable to contain No. 3 Oregon and the Ducks high-flying offense. Oregon State came up short in a defensive duel on the Farm, falling to No. 11 Stanford, 61-44.
The series now heads to Berkeley where the Bears will look to end a streak of seven consecutive losses to the Beavers. Oregon State won the lone meeting between the teams last season in Corvallis, using a strong first half performance to take control of the game.
Sunday's matchup will feature two former National Freshmen of the Year and current Wooden Award Late Season candidates in Cal's Kristine Anigwe and Oregon State's Destiny Slocum. A redshirt sophomore, Slocum is in her first season of eligibility at Oregon State, transferring from Maryland after a stellar rookie campaign in 2016-17. Slocum leads the Beavers in both scoring and assists this season and is coming off a 23-point effort on Friday night against Stanford. The 2016 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, USBWA National Freshman of the Year, Anigwe is now the all-time leading scorer in Cal basketball history, officially breaking Colleen Galloway's 38-year-old mark with her first basket on Friday night.
Anigwe, who is now just three rebounds away from breaking the school's all-time rebounding record currently held by Gennifer Brandon '14, extended her double-double streak to 23 in a row with 18 rebounds and 23 points in Friday's loss to the Ducks. Grad transfer Recee Caldwell added a season-high 22 points on 6-of-11 shooting from beyond the arc while sophomore Kianna Smith tied her career-high with 20 points and a 5-of-6 effort from three-point range.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Sunday's game against the Beavers 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 BEAVERS
Oregon State heads to Berkeley looking to bounce back from a 61-44 loss at Stanford on Friday night. Slocum had a game-high 23 points - but was the only player in double-figures for the Beavers, who were held below 50 points for the first time this season.
Slocum, who collected National Freshman of the Year honors in 2017 before transferring from Maryland, leads the Beavers in both scoring (16.5 points per game) and assists (5.0 assists per game) in her first season of eligibility in Corvallis. Junior guard Mikayla Pivec is second on the team in scoring at 14.4 points per game and leads the Beavers in rebounding (8.9 rebounds per game).
One of the top three-point shooting teams in the nation, Oregon State is shooting 42.1 percent from beyond the arc this season, trailing only Oregon for the top mark in the Pac-12. On the other side of the floor, the Beavers lead the conference in field goal percentage defense and are holding opponents to an average of 58.1 points per game on the year, second-best by any Pac-12 team.
Head coach Scott Rueck is in his ninth season with Beavers, leading Oregon State to five consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and a trip to the Final Four in 2015.
UP NEXT
The Bears will return to the road, heading down the California coast for a trip to Los Angeles. Cal opens the weekend at USC on Friday night before a Sunday afternoon matchup against UCLA. The Bay Area and Los Angeles schools squared off in Cal's first weekend of Pac-12 play, with Cal splitting the matchups.The Bears fell to UCLA in overtime before bouncing back with a win over USC. Cal is 5-4 overall on the road this season, but just 1-4 on the road in Pac-12 play, picking up its first conference road win of the year at Colorado at the end of January.
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).
