Cal Hosts Saint Joseph’s In WBIT Second Round

BERKELEY – The second-seeded California women's basketball team will face No. 3-seeded Saint Joseph's in the second round of the inaugural WBIT at Haas Pavilion at 1 p.m. PT Sunday.

The Golden Bears (19-14) advanced to the second round with a 65-60 win over Hawaii on Thursday night in Berkeley, while Saint Joseph's (27-5) took down Seton Hall 54-47 in Philadelphia. Sunday's game will be the first meeting between the two programs.

Cal owns an overall postseason record of 26-22 (NCAA Tournament - 13-14; WNIT - 12-8; WBIT - 1-0). This marks 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.

Saint Joseph's is led by 23rd-year head coach Cindy Griffin, who is the program's all-time wins leader. The Hawks' 27 wins this season are a program record, and they're led by three All-Atlantic 10 players in Laura Ziegler (first team), Talya Brugler (second team) and Mackenzie Smith (second team).

Sunday's game will air on ESPN+ with Ben Ross and Theo Robertson on the call.

TRAFFIC ADVISORY
The City of Berkeley has announced plans to close Bancroft Way between Bowditch Street and Ellsworth Street during the week of Spring Break. The street closure will begin on Friday, March 22 at 7 PM and last through Sunday, March 31. As traffic will be re-routed onto adjacent streets, please anticipate delays when traveling on the south side of campus.

The RSF Garage will remain accessible to fans visiting Bear Territory on gameday via Ellsworth Street. For more information about campus road closures, suggested routes, or alternative parking, click here.

GAME INFORMATION
Date & Time: Sunday, March 24 | 1 p.m. PT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Live Stream: ESPN+

QUICK HITS

In the win vs. Hawaii (March 21):
- Lulu Twidale had an extremely efficient night, shooting 6 of 7 from the field and 4 of 5 from deep on her way to a game-high 20 points. It was her third 20-point outing of the season.
- With the Bears up two points, Kemery Martín hit a crucial 3-pointer with 18 seconds left to help secure the win.
- Ila Lane grabbed three rebounds to put her over 1,000 for her career and became just the 18th active player in the country with career totals of at least 1,200 points and 1,000 rebounds.
- Leilani McIntosh hit two triples to pass Paige Bowie for seventh on Cal's all-time career 3-pointers list.
- Ioanna Krimili tied Martín for seventh on the all-time single-season 3-pointers list.
- The Bears hit 11 from beyond the arc to give them 12 games this season with double-digit 3-pointers.
Cal's19 overall and seven conference wins mark the most under head coach Charmin Smith and the program's most since the 2018-19 season.
In 8 of 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 16-0 this season when holding opponents to 60 or fewer points.

Player Notes

Krimili finished Pac-12 play tied for the league lead for 3-pointers made (47). Despite missing nine games this season, Krimili finished tied for eighth among Pac-12 players with 59 3-pointers made for the season. She is just two away from passing Asha Thomas for the sixth spot on Cal's single-season list and six 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 with 74 combined 3-point makes.
Onyiah has had a career year, setting season highs in field goals (103), FG% (55.4%), rebounds (210) and total points (255).
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.
McIntosh recorded a career-high 162 assists this season, 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 one of only four players in the nation to average at least 10.0 PPG, 4.9 APG, 1.5 SPG and shoot 40% 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 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.

Team Notes

The Bears have connected on 275 3-pointers this season, the most in program history. The previous record was 239, set in the 2018-19 season.
Cal has hit double-digit 3-pointers in 12 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 65.4 points per game, their lowest total since the 2017-18 season when they gave up 65.9 points per game.
Cal was 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 Sunday, it will face the winner of Villanova/Virginia in the quarterfinals.

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