The California women's basketball team (19-14, 9-9 ACC) earned an at-large berth and the No. 3 seed in the third annual NCAA Women's Basketball Invitation Tournament and will host Santa Clara on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT at Haas Pavilion.
 
This marks Cal's second appearance in the WBIT after earning an at-large bid and a No. 2 seed in 2024, when the Bears hosted and advanced to the second round.
 
The winner of this game will face the winner of the first-round matchup between No. 2 seed Kansas State and Georgia Tech.
 
This marks the 37th all-time meeting between the two programs in a series that dates back to the 1973-74 season, which is Cal's first season on record. The Bears hold a 29-7 series lead and have won five straight contests against the Broncos.
 
Santa Clara (24-9, 13-5 WCC) is led by first-year head coach Loree Payne, who set a program record for a Broncos' first-year head coach with 24 wins, 13 conference wins and 10 nonconference wins. Santa Clara features two First-Team All-WCC players in Ashley Hawkins and Maia Jones along with Ava Schmidt, who made the honorable mention list, and Delainey Miller, who earned all-freshman team honors.
 
Thursday's game will be streamed on ACCNX with Ashlee Jones and Greg Mescall on the call.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Date & Time: Thursday, March 19 | 7:00 p.m. PT
Broadcast: ACCNX
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
 
QUICK HITS
In the 70-59 loss to Syracuse in the second round of the ACC Tournament:

• Sakima Walker led the Golden Bears with 19 points on 9-of-15 shooting.
• Gisella Maul added 13 points to go along with eight rebounds.
• Maul also had a career night from the free throw line going 10-for-12. It marked the most free throws in a game for a Cal player since Feb. 25, 2023.
• Mjracle Sheppard tied her season high with five steals – her most since she had five against Charlotte on Nov. 15.

Starting Five

• Twidale has led the country in 3-pointers (64) since Jan. 1. She is just five away from becoming Cal's all-time single-season leader and six away from becoming the all-time career leader.
• Over her last six games, Twidale is averaging 20.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.0 3-pointers per game.
• Over her last four games, Maul is averaging 13.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.8 triples per game while shooting 50% from beyond the arc.
• Walker has 15 multi-block games, which is tied for 3rd most in the ACC.
• Sheppard has had at least two steals in 10 of the last 13 games and in 19 of 32 games overall this year, which ranks fourth in the ACC.

Inside Twidale's Performance at Florida State (Feb. 19)

• Marked her third 30-point game on the road - led the ACC and ranked second nationally at the time.
• Twidale ranked second in the ACC and 15th nationally with her three 30-point games at the time.
• She is one of only eight players to post a 30-9-6 game this season and one of three to do it with five 3-pointers. 

Inside Maul's week at Georgia Tech and Pitt
For the week of February 2:

• Averaged 18.5 points, 12.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 3-pointers
• Posted back-to-back double-doubles and shot 56.5% from the field and 50.0% from deep for the week.
• Was the only player in the ACC and one of two in the country to shoot over 50% from the field and deep (min. 10 attempts) while grabbing at least 20 rebounds.
• Nine of her 24 rebounds for the week came on the offensive end.
• Only guard in the ACC and one of three players overall to record two double-doubles for the week. 

At Georgia Tech:

• Maul took over the game in the fourth quarter, finishing with 10 clutch points in the period.
• On four separate occasions in the fourth quarter, Georgia Tech cut the Bears' lead to one possession and each time Maul answered with a 2 or 3-pointer to prevent the Yellow Jackets from taking the lead - including a baseline jumper with 35 seconds left to put Cal up by five. 

Inside Twidale's performance at Pitt

• Twidale became just the second player in the country this year with multiple games with at least 30 points and seven assists, joining Hannah Hidalgo (Notre Dame) and Mikayla Blakes (Vanderbilt).
• She is now the only player in the country to have not only one but two games with at least 30 points, seven assists and seven triples.
• She became just the fifth player in Cal history to have two 30-point games in a season and just the fourth ACC player this season. 

Inside Twidale's Week at Syracuse (1/15) and Boston College (1/18)
 
For the week (1/12 – 1/18):

• Led the ACC in points (52), assists (21) and 3-pointers (12).
• Led the country in assists.
• Was second in the country in 3-pointers.
• Was seventh in the country in points.
• Only player in the country to rank in the top 10 across all three categories.
• Averaged a double-double at 26.0 points, 10.5 assists and 6.0 3-pointers.
• Was one of only four players in the country to have 12 assists in a game.
• Was one of only two players in the country to average 10-plus points and 10-plus assists.

At Boston College:

• Became the only player in the NCAA not named Caitlin Clark (four times) to post 36 points, eight 3-pointers and nine assists in a game (since at least 2002-03 according to Stathead)
• The eight 3-pointers were second most in a game in program history (Asha Thomas: 9 vs Manhattan on Nov. 24, 2017), the second most by an ACC player this season and tied for the seventh most in ACC history.
• The 36 points were the most by a Cal player since 2018 (Kristine Anigwe: 37 vs. Houston on Nov. 6).
• Became just the fifth player in program history to score at least 36 points in a game.

At Syracuse:

• Posted first career double-double with 16 points and a career-high 12 assists along with four triples for second consecutive game.
• Became just the fifth ACC player to have 12 assists in a game this season.
• Became just the seventh player in Cal history with 12 assists in a game.
• Nailed two crucial 3-pointers in the final 21 seconds of the first overtime (including one with .3 seconds left) to force double-overtime.

 
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