Late Surge Pushes Cal Women's Basketball to Win over Sacramento State

In a low-scoring battle, Cal finds offense late to pull away for their first win of the season

Photo via @calwbball twitter

With 5:50 left to play in the 4th quarter, Sac State’s Benthe Versteeg hit a runner to cut Cal’s lead to just 3 points, 48-45. The game, to that point, had been a defensive slugfest characterized by missed jumpers and turnovers, and it looked like Cal would have to dig in defensively to guarantee the win.

The Bears would go on a 21-7 run, scoring on 10 straight possessions until they finally missed a shot with 15 seconds left when they were more trying to run clock than score points.

That late run led to a final score (69-52) that is a little bit misleading, though this did feel like a game where it was just a matter of time until Cal’s superior talent and athleticism would take over. That was exactly what happened late when Cal hit a couple shots and Sac State tried to speed the game up to make up the deficit. The Bears were ready to race up and down the court right alongside the Hornets and it helped Cal pull away further.

The star of the game was Mjiracle Sheppard, who finished with 16 points, 6 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block . . . in just 29 minutes. As a primary ballhandler, her ability to cut into the lane and create for either herself or a team mate was Cal’s best source of offensive production. Meanwhile, she was everywhere on defense and a menace on the perimeter specifically.

Sheppard wasn’t the only Bear playing lock down defense - the entire team kept Sac State in check, and the Hornets finished with just 0.76 points/possession. The Hornets turned the ball over 19 times, but that was largely forced by Cal’s defense as the Bears totaled 9 steals.

Frankly, you can look at lots of stat sheet factors and wonder how this game was even all that close. Cal had more rebounds and fewer turnovers, for a shot volume advantage of roughly +12. That advantage mostly showed in a foul disparity - Cal attempted 20 more free throws than did Sac State.

So why was the game close? Well, at least in this game, Cal couldn’t hit shots outside of the paint. 5/21 shooting on threes and 12/22 shooting at the line kept this game close.

It’s going to be a storyline to watch all season long. Losing the bulk of the roster off of the team that put out the greatest shooting season in program history meant that this team was always going to take a step back. The question was by how much. Two games in and Cal has had two games with concerning shooting performances.

Two games is not a useful sample, and I think we all know that Lulu Twidale’s 33% career 3 point percentage is more predictive than her 1-16 start for the 25-26 season. But she’s also going to have to adapt to being the #1 concern on the opponent’s scouting report, and it’s not necessarily clear if there are other plus shooters on the roster to take the pressure off of Cal’s primary returning threat.

Other game notes:

• Lola Donez had a really nice two-way game, and she has a chance to carve out a valuable role as a 3-and-D player in her sophomore season if she can keep knocking down corner 3s while being a pest defensively.

• Right now, Taylor Barnes is Cal’s best freshman. That’s more a positive for Barnes than it is any kind of concern about Puff Morris. Barnes has the size to more quickly adapt to the college game, and has already flashed some intriguing interior passing skills, whereas Morris is going to have to learn how to maneuver, pass, and finish despite her 5’5’’ stature.

• I’d be interested in seeing more pressure defense, either in the full or half court set. Cal appears to have the athletes and the depth to make it happen, and playing to this team’s strength (defense) while also creating opportunities to score in transition seems like a reasonable strategic aim.

Cal plays UOP at home in two days ahead of back-to-back games at home in the Raising the B.A.R. Invitational. UOP should be a routine win, but the weekend invitational features two teams (Charlotte, as well as a potential game against Harvard) who are significantly above-average small conference teams that are capable of pulling an upset. If the Bears can continue to play solid defense AND find some shooting they should be able to navigate the week safely, but the offensive side of the court could be an adventure as this remade roster works through some kinks.