Former California women's basketball players Kristine Anigwe and Layshia Clarendon will be a part of the WNBA's opening nightas the 2023 season tips off Friday. Anigwe and the Chicago Sky will be on the road to face the Minnesota Lynx at 5 p.m. PDT while Clarendon and the Los Angeles Sparks will host the Phoenix Mercury at 8 p.m. on ESPN.
 
Anigwe – the ninth overall pick in the 2019 WNBA Draft following a decorated collegiate career at Cal in which she was the 2019 Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year, a three-time All-American, the 2016 Pac-12 and USWBA Freshman of the Year and Cal's all-time career leader in points, rebounds and blocks – will be playing in her fifth WNBA season. Anigwe played with the Phoenix Mercury in 2022 and she recently completed a stint overseas with the Passalacqua Ragusa in the Italy-Serie A1, where she averaged 16.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game.
 
Clarendon, the ninth overall pick in 2013, is entering her 10th season in the WNBA. A 2013 AP and WBCA All-America Honorable Mention, Clarendon is fifth on Cal's all-time career scoring list and had a huge role in leading the Bears to their first Final Four appearance in 2013. They most recently played with the Minnesota Lynx in 2021 and have appeared in 239 career games with 127 starts in the league. Clarendon just finished a stint in the new Athletes Unlimited league where they averaged 10.9 PPG and 3.1 RBG, while ranking sixth in the league in assists. They also serve as the WNBPA Vice President and were a founding member of the WNBA Social Justice Council.
 
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