No. 8 Cal Faces No. 9 Washington State In Pac-12 Tournament

LAS VEGAS - The California women's basketball team (17-13, 7-11 Pac-12) enters this week's Pac-12 Tournament as the eight seed and will take on ninth-seeded Washington State (18-13, 7-11) on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. PT at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas in the tournament's opening round. This is the highest seed the Golden Bears have been in the tournament since they were the seventh seed in 2019, which is also the last time they made it past the opening round.

This will mark the 80th all-time meeting between the programs with Cal holding a 50-29 series advantage and a two-game win streak against the Cougars. This season's sweep against Washington State was the first one for Cal since 2018-19.

The Bears are 4-2 against the Cougars in the Pac-12 Tournament, with Washington State having knocked off Cal in the opening round of last year's tournament. In that matchup, Cal led for most of the game and built a nine-point lead in the third quarter but went cold in the fourth, leading to a 61-49 loss.

Washington State is led by sixth-year head coach Kamie Ethridge and is the defending Pac-12 Tournament champion. The Cougars return eight players from last year's squad including two All-Pac-12 players led by All-America guard Charlisse Leger-Walker, who will miss the rest of the season due to injury.

In the recent matchup between the two teams in Pullman, Cal won in near wire-to-wire fashion and led by as many as 18 points in the fourth quarter to cruise to a 66-59 win. Michelle Onyiah led the way with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Wednesday's game will air on Pac-12 Network with Tammy Blackburn and Ann Schatz on the call.

GAME INFORMATION
Date & Time: Wednesday, March 6 | 2:30 p.m. PT
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Live Stream: Pac-12 Network

QUICK HITS

In the loss at No. 11 Oregon State (Mar. 2):
- Leilani McIntosh hit three triples that moved her into a tie with Kristin Iwanaga for eighth place on Cal's all-time career list.
- Marta Suárez led the Bears with 14 points including two 3-pointers.
- Lulu Twidale posted 12 points for her second double-digit scoring output in the last three games.
The 17 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 248 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 6 of the 10 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 13-0 this season when holding opponents to 60 or fewer points.

Player Notes

Ioanna Krimili finished conference 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 (55) for the season. She is just two away from passing Alexis Gray-Lawson and Liz Rizzo for the 10th spot on Cal's all-time single-season list.
Krimili is currently third (behind Caitlin Clark, Iowa, and Abbey Hsu, Colombia) among all active players in the country for career 3-pointers made per game (2.8) and eighth for total 3PM (331).
Krimili is second among all active players in the country for most career games with at least five 3PM (23):
- Caitlin Clark, Iowa – 42
- Ioanna Krimili – 24
- Abbey Hsu, Columbia – 23
- Sara Scalia, Indiana – 21
- Hannah Jump, Stanford - 19
Krimili is 1 of 11 players in the nation to shoot at least 42% from the field, 42% from deep and 85% from the free throw line while averaging at least 13.0 points per game (min. 20 games played).
For the month of February, Krimili shot 40.9% from deep, which ranked sixth in the Pac-12 (min 40 attempts). Her 42.0% average from beyond the arc for the season ranks 20th in the nation (min. 130 attempts).
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.
McKayla Williams' 45 offensive rebounds finished ranked second among all true guards in the Pac-12 and rank 23rd overall.
Onyiah has been effective on the glass when she has been on the floor. While averaging just 18.9 minutes per game, she finished 19th in the Pac-12 in rebounding (6.2). She was the only player in the top 25 in the conference averaging under 20 minutes a contest.
Onyiah's 85 offensive rebounds finished fourth in the conference.
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.
McIntosh recorded her most assists in a season this year with 150 - good for second in the conference and 36th in the country. Her 5.0 assists per game finished third in the Pac-12.
McIntosh is 1 of only 3 players in the nation to average at least 9.0 PPG, 5.0 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, McIntosh is shooting 45.3% from deep - good for fifth in the Pac-12 during that span.
McIntosh is just eight triples away from passing Paige Bowie for seventh on Cal's all-time career list. The 45 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.

Team Notes

This is one of the best 3-point shooting teams in program history. The 248 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 six of the last 12 games - tied with Utah for the most of any Pac-12 team during that span and tied for sixth most in the country (since Jan. 19). During that span the Bears have hit 113 triples, which rank ninth in the nation.
The Bears have secured 20+ offensive rebounds in five games this season – the most of any Pac-12 team. The next closest teams are Washington and UCLA with two.
The Bears finished the season giving up 66.1 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 21 in total rebounds: Suárez (11th: 196), Onyiah (15th: 187) and Williams (21st: 161).
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.
The Bears have hit 10 or more 3-pointers in 11 games, surpassing last year's total in which they hit double-figure 3-pointers in just one game. That total is also the most games in program history since 1999-00.

Pac-12 Leaders as of March 2 (all games):

3PM per game – Krimili, 2nd (2.6)
3PT% - Krimili, 6th (42.0); McIntosh, 10th (41.3)
Field goal percentage – Onyiah, 4th (56.4)
Offensive rebounds – Onyiah, 4th (85)
Assists per game - McIntosh, 3rd (5.0)
Steals per game – McIntosh, 11th (1.6)
Total rebounds – Suárez, 10th (196); Onyiah, 14th (187)
Cal 3PM – 2nd (248)

NEXT UP
If Cal wins Wednesday, it will face No. 1 seed Stanford on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. PT.

STAY POSTED
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