BERKELEY – The California women's basketball team (13-9, 3-7 Pac-12) will play its second straight ranked opponent when it hosts No. 15 USC (15-4, 5-4) Sunday at 12 p.m. PT at Haas Pavilion.
 
Following the game, the team will host a WNBA-focused panel moderated by ESPN's Ros Gold-Onwude and will include current WNBA players Layshia Clarendon and Haley Jones, NBA Senior Vice President of Player Development Jamila Wideman and Cal women's basketball head coach Charmin Smith.
 
A win over the Trojans would mark the first win over a ranked opponent since the Bears defeated then-No. 25 USC on Feb 23, 2023.  
 
This game marks the 79th all-time meeting between the programs with USC owning a 35-23 series lead, which dates back to the 1978-79 season. The Bears have won two of the last three meetings, with the most recent victory coming in an 81-78 overtime win at Haas Pavilion when the Trojans were ranked No. 25 nationally.
 
USC is led by third-year head coach Lindsay Gottlieb, the former Cal head coach who guided the team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014 last season. The Trojans return two starters and feature seven newcomers, highlighted by freshman Juju Watkins, who leads the conference in scoring at 27.2 points per game and is coming off a USC-record 51-point performance at Stanford on Friday.   
 
In the most recent contest between the teams at Haas Pavilion last February, it was an extremely tight contest that featured 23 ties and 18 lead changes with the score tied after every quarter. Michelle Onyiah was the difference in the game, scoring six of Cal's eight points in overtime to lead the Bears to victory.  
 
Sunday's game will air on Pac-12 Network with Krista Blunk and Charli Thorne on the call.  
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date & Time: Sunday, Feb. 4 | 12 p.m. PT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Live Stream: Pac-12 Network
 
QUICK HITS

• In the loss to No. 7 UCLA (Feb. 2):
  • The Bears were led by Onyiah, who had a career-high 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting. She was a perfect 6-for-6 in the first half.
  • Ioanna Krimili and Marta Suárez chipped in with 15 and 14 points, respectively.
  • Leilani McIntosh dished out seven assists, her highest total in conference play this season.
  • Krimili had her fifth straight game with at least three triples.
• Cal's next win will mark the most in a season under head coach Charmin Smith (finished 13-17 last season).
• Cal is 11-2 when scoring at least 70 points.

 
Player Notes

• Krimili is one of just two active players in the country with career averages of at least 17.0 points per game and 40% shooting from 3-point range over at least three seasons. The other is UConn's Paige Bueckers.
• Krimili leads the Pac-12 during conference play for 3PM (32) and is currently third (behind Caitlyn Clark, Iowa, and Abby Hsu, Colombia) among all active players in the country for career 3-pointers made per game (2.8) and eighth for total 3PM (316).
• Krimili is tied for second among all active players in the country for most career games with at least five 3PM (22).
  • Caitlyn Clark, Iowa – 36
  • Ioanna Krimili – 23
  • Abby Hsu, Columbia – 23
  • Sara Scalia, Indiana – 20
  • Hannah Jump, Stanford - 19
• For the month of January, Krimili was tied for fifth in the nation in 3PM (27).
• Krimili is just nine points away from the 2,000-point club, a milestone only 16 active players in the country have achieved.
• Krimili and McIntosh are the Pac-12's top 3-point shooting duo during conference play, having combined for 46 makes from beyond the arc.
• McKayala Williams' 6.5 rebounds per game average is tied for the team lead and ranks fourth among all guards in the Pac-12 and 16th overall. Her 41 offensive rebounds lead all guards in the Pac-12 and rank 13th overall.
• Michelle Onyiah has been effective on the glass when she has been on the floor. While averaging just 19.2 minutes per game she ranks 17th in the Pac-12 in rebounding (6.4). She is one of only two players in the conference who aren't full-time starters in the top 20.
• Marta Suárez's versatility at the forward position has been on display all year as her 28 made 3-pointers rank third in the Pac-12 and 34th in the country among all forwards.
• McIntosh is on pace to average her most assists per game for a season. Her 5.5 assists per game rank second in the Pac-12 and 27th in the country.
• McIntosh is just 31 points away from joining the 1,000-point club.
• McIntosh is 1 of 6 players in the nation to average at least 10 PPG, 5.5 APG, 1.5 SPG and shoot 39.0% from 3-point range. She is also 1 of 7 players in the country with at least 120 assists and 35 steals.
• Over her last six games, McIntosh is shooting 40.0% from deep. She has hit multiple 3-pointers in 10 of 22 games played this season.
• McIntosh is the only player in the Pac-12 to rank in the top 10 in both assists and steals while shooting 39% from deep.

 
Team Notes

• Cal has hit double-digit 3-pointers in four of the last five games. The four games with 10+ triples during conference play are tied with Utah for the most in the Pac-12.
• The Bears have secured 20+ offensive rebounds in five games this season – the most of any Pac-12 team. The next closest team is Washington with two.
• The Bears are giving up 64.7 points per game, their lowest total since the 2014-15 season when they gave up 62.6 points per game.
• Entering this weekend, three Bears rank in the top 15 in total rebounds in the Pac-12 - more than any other school. Suarez (10th: 139), Williams (12th: 138) and Onyiah (14th: 135).
• Four or more different players scored in double figures in eight games this season, a significant improvement from last season when four players scored in double figures just four times all year.
• The Bears have had 10 or more steals in eight games this season, beating their total (2) from all of last year.
• The Bears have hit 10 or more 3-pointers in nine games, surpassing last year's total in which they hit double-figure 3-pointers in just one game. That total is second in the Pac-12 behind Utah, who has reached 10+ triples in 13 games.

 
Pac-12 Leaders as of Jan. 30 (all games):

• Assists per game - McIntosh, 2nd (5.5)
• Steals per game – McIntosh, 9th (1.8)
• Total rebounds – Suarez, 10th (139); Williams, 12th (138) and Onyiah, 14th (135)
• 3PM per game – Krimili, 1st (3.1)
• Cal 3PM – 2nd (178)

 
NEXT UP
Cal heads back on the road to take on Washington State next Friday at 7 p.m. PT.   
 
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