Cal Women's Basketball Marks Maples Pavilion As Bear Territory

Well that was.....CARDIAC CAL

If the ACC Network goes dark and Cal closes out a game at Stanford with no one watching, did it ever happen? Why yes it did. For the first time since the 1985-86 season (year one of the Tara VanDerveer coaching tenure), the Bears swept the Cardinal. After a scorcher in Haas Pavilion last month, things were looking like more of the same midway through the third quarter in Palo Alto. Cal was up as many as 19.

For the last 15 minutes or so, it felt like everything conceivable went wrong. The offense dried up, Stanford turned Cal over repeatedly, and chaos was aplenty. In the end, the Bears got the job done in cardiac fashion, upending Stanford 75-72.

As mentioned above, Cal reset some standards with its win over Stanford. Beyond breaking the sweep drought, the Bears won in Maples Pavilion for the first time since the 2014-15 season.

Cal’s purpose to start

Early on, Cal’s dribble penetration was causing Stanford all sorts of problems. The offense was moving with purpose, guards were getting downhill, and Michelle Oniyah was working in the paint. Cal led by as many as 10 in the first quarter and if not for some silly fouls by Oniyah and Marta Suarez, could have blitzed the Cardinal further.

On the road, normally you’re the one at an aggression/desperation disadvantage. Cal sought to set the tone against Stanford, and did so effectively. Without the strong start on both ends of the floor, who knows if the Bears hold on at the very end.

The start carried over to the bench. Natalia Ackerman in particular had a well rounded stint in place of Oniyah, doing a little bit of everything including drilling an 18-footer off back rim. The more players that can contribute for Charmin Smith on the road, the merrier.

Guards giveth….taketh….and giveth

For a huge portion of this game, the Cal guards could do little to no wrong. Once Stanford went to the full court press, a lot of issues reared their ugly heads again. Despite the near turmoil down the stretch, Ioanna Krimili and Kayla Williams did a nice job of getting to the rim when it counted. In a game marred by inconsistent officiating, Cal only shooting 4/19 from three point range, and turnovers, the guards found a way to make it happen when the game needed it.

The turnovers were definitely not good for mine or anyone else’s health but the fact of the matter is that they got the job done. More teams will send pressure Cal’s way and its up to the Bears to respond to that down the stretch of the regular season. Charmin Smith stated postgame that the coaches will find a balance of cleaning this up and harping the mistakes yet also not make it more than it is. After all, Cal Women’s Basketball is 18-3.

“We have a lot of respect for this program. This is special for me. We knew it wasn't going to be 18 threes like it was at Haas. To be able to hold on and fight through a number of mistakes to get the win, I'm just really proud of this team.” - Charmin Smith postgame

Conclusions and miscellaneous postgame calibration

You can never take wins over Stanford Women’s Basketball for granted. Cal is hoping to start a new chapter of this rivalry and these two matchups were a great start in setting that tone. Last night’s victory notched another Quad 1 win for the Bears, their third of the season amidst an already solid resume. Here are some general takeaways from Palo Alto

• Moving forward, it looked as if Cal would not have Jayda Noble. Noble went down with a leg injury late in the game and was in significant pain, but Coach Smith said postgame that thankfully she’s fine.

• The Cal fans behind the bench were rowdy. They may not have had the raw numbers, but they were energetic and put out more noise than Stanford fans on several occasions.

• The Bears are finding different ways to win. Usually only four made three pointers is a recipe for a bad time but when the going got tough, Cal answered the call. Cal shot 15/18 from two point range in the first half, part of why the offense was humming to start.

• If Cal can clean up even a little bit of the sloppiness, that assists their ability to win on the margins significantly. Fouls, turnovers, positioning, it all adds up. Cal is playing well but there’s still something to find.

• If I never have to see this officiating crew again, I’ll be grateful. The second half had no flow for any team and it was generally unappealing to see a smooth game grind to a halt.
  

A big week looms for Cal. They take on North Carolina and Pitt, two teams in the upper echelon of the ACC. The Bears currently haven’t lost a game at Haas Pavilion, and it will take all 40 minutes in each affair to keep that streak in tact.