New faces were scattered across Pete Newell Court as the California women's basketball team held its first official practice Monday in preparation for the 2023-24 season.

Six total newcomers – four transfers and a pair of freshmen – make up nearly half of the Golden Bears' roster, but you wouldn't know it based on how the team has gelled in a short amount of time.

"The chemistry is the best that it's been since I've been the head coach here," Cal head coach Charmin Smith said. "We have six newcomers who are bringing a competitive winner's mentality and we have returners that are extremely hungry and want to leave a legacy here on this program. It's made for a really cool, unique combination of individuals and we're gelling into a really special team."

The Bears are coming off a season in which they played the second-most ranked teams in the country and were incredibly competitive. In more than half of those 16 contests, Cal either had a lead or was within single-digit points with less than five minutes remaining. Smith expects this team to be just as competitive, if not more this season and fans should look forward to a fun style of play.

"We can really shoot the ball and it's so much fun to watch," Smith said. "We want to play with a lot of pace and get up and down the floor. We've put a huge emphasis on being a better defensive team. While we will be better offensively, I think the defensive end may be where you'll see the biggest leap."

One of the shooters is graduate transfer Ioanna Krimili, who owns numerous records at San Francisco for 3-point shooting, including career 3-pointers made (276), which also ranks fourth all-time in the West Coast Conference. In her second season with the Dons (2020-21), she finished second in the nation in 3-point field goals made with 97.

"Iaonna is one of the best shooters in the country," Smith said. "It was a great addition and the fact that Marta [Suarez] and KK [McKayla Williams] can shoot the three gives us shooters all around. I'm excited because it makes Ila [Lane] and Michelle's [Onyiah] jobs easier when you have people that can hit it from deep."

The addition of Lane – another graduate transfer from UC Santa Barbara – and Suarez – a junior forward from Tennessee – to a frontcourt that includes returners Onyiah and Claudia Langarita gives Smith a lot of versatility and potential matchup problems for opposing teams.

"Ila's a strong, physical, low block presence who wants to bang," Smith said. "She's extremely active on the boards. She's been dominant facing triple teams, so it's going to be really exciting to see her in one-on-one matchups. Marta has such versatility in her game. She shoots it extremely well and she's also very dominant and crafty on the block. You add those two to Michelle and Claudia, and we have a very strong front court."

With a near-even split between returners and newcomers, Smith expects everyone to play a role and contribute to the team's success this year.

"I've seen a lot of growth out of Mia [Mastrov] over the summer," Smith said. "I expect her to do more than she did last year. But we need everyone contributing at a really high level and it's one of those seasons where I have some tough decisions to make in terms of who should be on the floor but in a positive way because we have so many weapons and so many people that can help us."

One of those returners is point guard Leilani Mcintosh who announced her decision to come back for a fifth year late last season and is coming off a Pac-12 All-Conference honorable mention last year. McIntosh was one of the most improved players in the conference last year as she significantly improved her field goal and 3-point percentages, finishing in the top 15 of the Pac-12 in both categories.

"I expect Leilani to be one of the best point guards in the conference," Smith said. "I need her to facilitate and score offensively. I need her to get her defense back to one of the top five defenders in the conference and I need her to continue to knock down shots from the perimeter. I think she's up for the challenge and I think that's the reason why she came back because she wanted to do all of those things and help this team win games."

Even though they are freshmen, Lulu Twidale and Anastasia Drosouni, top recruits out of Australia and Greece, respectively, are players that Smith also expect to make an impact this season.

"When Lulu practiced with us during her visit, she was just so aggressive and getting to the rim," Smith said. "She's been shooting the ball extremely well and being active defensively. Ana is athletic, bouncy and moves really well without the ball. She's done a great job getting open on backdoors in practice and is also a very active defender."

The skillset that each player brings to the table is something Smith says gives her a lot of different looks that she can present opponents with.

"I could have Ioanna, Kemery, Lulu and Leilani on the floor with Marta and everyone in that lineup is a dangerous shooter," Smith said. They can play defense, too, but you better guard them because we're stretching the floor. I could also switch it up and go with Lulu, Leilani, Mia, KK and Michelle and now we're pressing, picking up 94 feet and being super active defensively and in passing lanes. Mia and KK can also shoot, so it feels good to have that flexibility and be able to mix it up on teams."

KEY UPCOMING DATES (all games below at Haas Pavilion)

• Oct. 8 – Open Practice and Block Party
• Oct. 21 – Race For Change 
• Nov. 2 – Exhibition vs. Westmont
• Nov. 6 – Season opener vs. Cal State Bakersfield
• Nov. 24-25 – Raising The B.A.R. Invitational
• Dec. 7 – Gonzaga
• Dec. 29 – 100^th Battle of the Bay vs. Stanford

For ticket information on the 2023-24 season, visit CalBears.com/tickets or call (800) GO BEARS (462-3277) and press option 3.
 
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