Cal Women's Basketball Marches to 15-2 in Marquee Win Over NC State
The Bears are now 10-0 at Haas Pavilion
Another big showdown at Haas Pavilion for Cal Women’s Basketball, another big win for the Bears. In a Top 25 matchup against NC State, it took all 40 minutes for Cal to claw out a well earned 78-71 victory over the Wolfpack. There’s just a certain moxy and selflessness with this team when they take the court and it has been on full display in a lot of the big games this season. Whether it was against Auburn, Alabama, Arizona, Stanford, or NC State, there have been numerous contributors who stepped up at any given point to push leads and get over the top.
NC State has been a perennial power in the ACC for quite some time now under Wes Moore, presenting a big test for a Cal team facing off against a roster that has Final Four experience from a season ago. Early on, Cal raced to a 12-5 lead off the heels of Ioanna Krimili’s aggression from inside the arc. But it was the Wolfpack who would head on a run themselves, a 17-2 run by the time it was over in the early second quarter to take a 22-14 lead. The Cal offense was in a bit of rut. Then Marta Suarez rattled off nine points in less than a minute of play to send Haas Pavilion into a frenzy ⬇️.
An all of a sudden barrage from Suarez forced a timeout from NC State and earned the Bears a lead that they would ultimately never give up. However, it wasn’t an easy task for it to stay that way. Five Bears had two fouls apiece heading into the locker room up 39-33, and with the shortening rotation, it wasn’t obvious what type of bench bandwidth Charmin Smith would be comfortable using.
Only one word can describe the second half: slobberknocker. Cal and NC State produced elite levels of basketball on both ends of the floor in what became a game of runs. Amidst the back and forth, it was one steady presence that navigated the Bears. Kayla Williams, who played all 40 minutes on the night, controlled the tempo in the half court, took advantage of NC State guards going downhill, and remained the composed floor general including a TOUGH finish at the rim.
“I thought [Kayla]Williams killed us off the bounce, she kept getting to the rim and shooting layups. We didn’t do a good job of keeping her in front of us.” - NC State Head Coach Wes Moore
For all four quarters, it was a heated back and forth affair between the Bears and Wolfpack, displaying elite guard play on both ends of the floor. Kayla Williams, Lulu Twidale, and Ioanna Krimili brought it for the Bears. Aziaha James, Zoe Brooks, and Saniya Rivers brought it for the Wolfpack. Tough shot making, change of pace in controlling the offense, and getting to their spots were on full display from both teams as neither could shake the other.
Defensive anchors in Michelle Oniyah and Jayda Noble were key down the stretch in forcing tough shots for the Wolfpack and Charmin Smith was ever complimentary of them postgame as she stated that it takes everyone for this team to be as good as it is. Just ask Ioanna Krimili and Lulu Twidale, its what Cal Women’s Basketball does.
“I think this is a great program win. I think this is one of the biggest wins for Cal basketball in some time” - Cal HC Charmin Smith
Cal will retake the floor this Sunday at Haas when Florida State visits at 2:00 PM. Roll on……
Final Stats
This Bear team has character. It comes from the coaching staff but also from Kayla Williams their floor leader. They can take a punch and punch right back. They can get knocked down but get back up. We haven't seen this level of basketball from the women's team in a long time and my goodness it's a breath of fresh air. Coach Charmin Smith has turned a corner and with an excellent recruiting class coming in it looks like the good times will roll for awhile. Super fun game last night.
One of the most fun basketball games that have been played at Haas in the last decade