Cal Women's Basketball Announces its Arrival After Strong Non-Conference Play

The Bears are ranked for the first time since 2019 and enter the ACC slate at 13-1

Lulu Twidale via Cal Athletics

It’s been a long road for Charmin Smith to get where she currently has her California Golden Bears team. Entering year six of her tenure, Cal Women’s Basketball had a record of 56-80. There were questions about the future of the program and what exactly was needed to restore the standard of an under appreciated team after losing Jayda Curry and Leilani McIntosh.

Despite all that, Coach Smith continued to go to work. With a re-structuring of the coaching staff, three of the current four assistant coaches are either in their first or second year at Cal. The new staff has come with an emphasis on post development, defense, and sustained recruiting efforts. They’ve taken chances on players who didn’t get a chance to shine at high power programs such as Kayla Williams, continued to work with homegrown talent like Michelle Oniyah, and most importantly have a renewed energy in finding ways to win on the margins.

Gains where it count

A lot of what goes into a building a program is learning how to win. It’s taken some time for Cal Women’s Basketball to go from losing big, to losing close, to eventually now winning close and winning big.

Through the non-conference portion slate, there’s enough of a sample size to draw on some of the statistical improvements that the Bears have made over the course of the last year.

Cal PPG:

‘23-’24, 66.2

‘24-’25(so far), 78.3

Cal Opp PPG:

‘23-’24, 65.3

‘24-’25, 59.2

Cal FG%

‘23-’24, 40%

‘24-’25, 46.3%

Cal 3 PT %

‘23-’24 32% on 8.3 attempts per game

‘24-’25, 38.6% on 10.5 attempts per game

Total Rebounding

‘23-’24, 36.9 rebounds with a +1.8 margin

‘24-’25, 40.7 rebounds with a +5.8 margin

This is an consistently astounding improvement across the board. A lot of what I’ve seen from Cal also incorporates the mental confidence to go on the floor and own the moment. Marta Suarez has emphasized that this team has come ready to work while also having fun, because what keeps this team together is the joy of it all. Lulu Twidale and Ioanna Krimili have become one of the swaggiest duos on the court even before they drill 10+ three pointers in your face. In college athletics, understandably a lot of development comes physically, but this Cal team has come with the right edge and mentality to power through adversity.

Rising to the occasion

There’s a lot more top heavy results in the women’s basketball game today. In recent memory, Cal would punch to their weight but struggle to consistently rise above it. In 2024-25 season, the Bears have not only gone above and beyond in this regard, they’ve sustained these attacks.

Cal has played five power four teams through Christmas, and is 4-1 in said games. Aside from a blemish against Michigan State, Charmin Smith’s team has utilized its growth on the margins to win against those marquee teams. All of Auburn, Arizona, Alabama, and Stanford currently have a record of 8-4 of better, so its not just names that Cal is beating, but good teams as well.

The ACC is one of the top power conferences in women’s basketball, with a ton of depth across the board. Some wins will not be pretty, other games may be a slog or marathon, but its important for Cal to continue to rise to the level that they have so far. One scenario that I’m ready to see is how the Bears act in true road environments with boisterous crowds. Cal passed the first test at Gonzaga, taking them down by 21 but there are a whole host of programs and fandoms that would love to notch a resume building win at the expense of the Bears.

The Challenge(s)

Cal has to cut down on its turnovers if they want to contend for an ACC regular season championship. Too many times, the Bears have had 20+ turnovers and that will not cut it when you’re facing good competition like Georgia Tech, Duke, Notre Dame etc. They have been fortunate that it has not come back to bite them yet but this is one area that can pile up quickly and keep you just out of reach of completing a comeback or swinging the momentum in a close game. Based on what I’ve seen this year, I trust the coaching staff to help limit the giveaways in conference play but will monitor the turnover numbers and what type of role they play in inflection points.

Some of the other areas that coaches and fans will look at is how much Michelle Oniyah stays on the floor. Cal’s ceiling increases exponentially the more she’s out of foul trouble, and it’ll be up to her to remain composed in ACC play. One of the final question marks is the depth that Charmin Smith can turn to. Outside of Jayda Noble, the Bears don’t necessarily have a lot of go to players off the bench. Lola Donez, Gabrielle Abigor, and Zahra King are on the outside looking in; they will have ample opportunities to showcase who they are.

My last challenge is to…..you the fans. This is a Top 25 program (now ranked No.21 as of yesterday) that deserves the support for the strides they’ve made this season. Marquee wins, player development, fun basketball, a lot of the prerequisites have been met. Some have understandably moped about football and men’s basketball this season, so its time to acknowledge those who are doing their job.

Cal Women’s Basketball deserves a filled up Haas Pavilion. I’m ready to see you all make it happen.