BERKELEY - The California women's basketball team (18-14, 7-11 Pac-12) will participate in postseason play for the first time since the 2018-19 season as it gets set to host Hawaii in the inaugural Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT at Haas Pavilion. The Golden Bears earned an at-large berth and a No. 2 seed in this year's tournament.
 
Cal owns an overall postseason record of 25-22 (NCAA Tournament - 13-14; WNIT - 12-8). This will mark the 21st overall postseason appearance for the Bears (14 NCAA Selections, 6 WNIT), with the last appearance coming in 2018-19 when the Bears were a No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament and defeated No. 9 North Carolina to advance to the second round before falling to No. 1 overall seed Baylor.
 
Thursday's game marks the 11th all-time meeting between Cal and Hawaii in a series that dates back to the 1976-77 season. Cal owns a 6-4 series lead and a two-game winning streak heading into the contest. The two teams last met on Nov. 21, 2014, in a 79-72 Cal win at the Hawaii Tournament.
 
Hawaii is led by 12th-year head coach Laura Beeman, who guided the Wahine to a 20-10 record this season and the Big West regular-season title, the third under her tenure. For her efforts this season, Beeman was named the Big West Coach of the Year. The Wahine are led by Big West Sixth Player of the Year and All-Big West First-Team member Daejah Phillips along with Lily Wahinekapu and Imani Perez, who were named to the All-Big West Second Team.
 
Thursday's game will air on ESPN+ with Ben Ross and Theo Robertson on the call.  
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date & Time: Thursday, March 21 | 7 p.m. PT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Live Stream: ESPN+
 
QUICK HITS

• In the loss vs. #2 Stanford (March 7):
  • Cal went into halftime up eight points and was down just two heading into the fourth quarter but was only able to shoot 23.8% in the fourth.
  • Cal held Stanford to its lowest first-half scoring output of the season at 28 points.
  • The Bears were led by Marta Suárez with 14 points before she fouled out.
  • Making her first start since Feb. 2, McKayla Williams pulled down eight rebounds, which were her most since grabbing 10 against Oregon on Jan. 21.
  • Ioanna Krimili moved into ninth place on Cal's all-time single-season list for 3-pointers (58).
• The 18 overall and seven conference wins mark the most under head coach Charmin Smith (finished 13-17, 4-14 last season) and the most for Cal since the 2018-19 season.
• The Bears have connected on 264 3-pointers this season, which are the most in program history. The previous program record was 239 made 3-pointers during the 2018-19 season.
• In 8 of the 11 games against ranked opponents or teams receiving votes at the time Cal played them this season, the Bears have had a lead or been within single digits in the fourth quarter.
• Cal is 15-0 this season when holding opponents to 60 or fewer points.

 
Player Notes

• Krimili finished Pac-12 play tied for the league lead for 3PM (47) and even with missing nine games this season, Krimili finished tied for eighth in the Pac-12 for 3PM (58) for the season. She is just two away from passing Kemery Martin and Jayda Curry for the seventh spot on Cal's all-time single-season list and seven away from taking the top spot.
• Krimili is currently fourth (behind Caitlin Clark, Iowa; Abbey Hsu, Columbia; Dyaisha Fair, Syracuse) among all active players in the country for career 3-pointers made per game (2.7) and ninth for total 3PM (334).
• Krimili is tied for second among all active players in the country for most career games with at least five 3PM (24):
  • Caitlin Clark, Iowa – 43
  • Ioanna Krimili – 24
  • Abbey Hsu, Columbia – 24
  • Sara Scalia, Indiana – 21
  • Hannah Jump, Stanford - 19  
• Krimili's seven 20-point games during conference play were tied for fourth in the conference behind USC's JuJu Watkins (14), Stanford's Kiki Iriafen (8) and Arizona State's Jalyn Brown (8).
• Krimili and McIntosh finished tied for the Pac-12's top 3-point shooting duo during conference play having combined for 74 makes from beyond the arc.
• Williams' 45 offensive rebounds finished ranked second among all true guards in the Pac-12 and rank 23rd overall.
• Michelle Onyiah has had a career year, setting season highs in field goals (93), FG% (56.4), rebounds (187) and total points (231).
• Onyiah finished fourth in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage at 56.4%. During conference play she finished second in the Pac-12 at 61.4%. For the month of February, she shot 72.0%, which ranked second in the nation.
• Suárez's versatility at the forward position has been on display all year as her 37 made 3-pointers finished fourth in the Pac-12 and 39th in the country among all forwards.
• Leilani McIntosh recorded her most assists in a season this year with 156 - good for second in the conference and 43rd in the country. Her 5.0 assists per game finished third in the Pac-12.
• McIntosh is 1 of only 4 players in the nation to average at least 10.0 PPG, 4.9 APG, 1.5 SPG and shoot 40.0% from 3-point range. She is the only player to do it from a major conference.
• Over her last 14 games to finish the regular season, McIntosh shot 45.3% from deep - good for fifth in the Pac-12 during that span.
• McIntosh is just two triples away from passing Paige Bowie for seventh on Cal's all-time career list. The 51 triples she has hit so far are a career season high.
• McIntosh is the only player in the Pac-12 to finish in the top 10 in both assists and steals while shooting 40% from deep.
• Ila Lane is just two rebounds from joining the 1,000-rebounds club for her career. If she reaches that milestone, she will be 1 of 18 active players in the nation with at least 1,200 points and 1,000 rebounds for their career.

 
Team Notes

• This is the best 3-point shooting team in program history. The 264 made triples are the most in Cal history. The next closest team was the 2018-19 squad that hit 239 in 33 games.
• Cal has hit double-digit 3-pointers in 11 games this season - second behind Utah for the most of any Pac-12 team and tied for 21st most in the country. The 11 games mark the most in program history since 1999-00. Over the last two months (since Jan. 19) the Bears have hit 129 triples, good for 18th in the nation.
• The Bears have secured 20+ offensive rebounds in six games this season – the most of any Pac-12 team. The next closest teams are Washington and UCLA with two each.
• The Bears finished the season giving up 65.6 points per game, their lowest total since the 2017-18 season when they gave up 65.9 points per game.
• Cal is 1 of 2 teams in the Pac-12 with three players who rank in the top 20 in total rebounds: Suárez (11th: 212), Onyiah (15th: 198) and Williams (20th: 175).
• Four or more different players scored in double figures in 10 games this season, a significant improvement from last season when four players scored in double figures just four times all season.
• The Bears have had 10 or more steals in eight games this season, beating their total (2) from last year.

 
NEXT UP
If Cal wins Thursday, it will host the winner of Saint Joseph's/Seton Hall in the second round.
 
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Cal women's basketball, follow the Bears on Twitter (@CalWBBall), Instagram (@CalWBBball) and Facebook (/CalWBBall/).