Cal Women's Basketball Falls at Stanford in a Grinder of a Game
Ultimately the lack of half court offense was too much for the Bears
Coming off a season sweep of Stanford last year, Cal Women’s Basketball faced the prospect of its first three game winning streak against the Cardinal since a streak of eight wins that was capped off in the 1985-86 season.
In a game that was physical from the start, the Bears responded well time after time but couldn’t muster enough offense in a 78-69 defeat.
This team has taken on a different identity compared to the breakneck and perimeter oriented attack of last year’s NCAA Tournament squad. Cal worked early and often to make its imprint from the inside out, running through Sakima Walker in the first stanza on the Farm.
The Bears length at the forward position also benefitted them in the first half as the pace slowed down and offense dried up. Taylor Barnes, playing in her first Battle of the Bay, had seven early points while Mjarcle Sheppard continued her steady, workmanlike play at the point of attack.
Conversely, the struggle was having consistent spacing on the floor. Lulu Twidale picked up two first half fouls, constricting where the Bears could operate. Sheppard, Barnes and Naya Ojukwu did pick up the slack, keeping Cal in the game via a three point halftime deficit.
The Bears forced a lot of Stanford missed layups, which continued in the second half. Featuring the best 10 minutes of the afternoon, Cal clawed back to take the lead off the hands of Puff Morris.
In the final frame, it was a different story. Courtney Ogden got to work for Stanford while the offensive woes came back for the Golden Bears. Amidst a mix of timely buckets, fouls and offensive rebounds, Stanford got themselves in gear with less than five minutes remaining.
Twidale remained on the bench until Charmin Smith could wait no longer, checking back in with 3:36 remaining. One foul later, Twidale was right back out as Cal could not find one last run.
Notes:
Cal shot 5/20 in the final frame and 5/20 from three overall
Ogden ran wild with 25 points on 10/12 shooting
Finishing at the rim was hard for both team, lots of missed layups
Stanford made a point to get out and run in the fourth quarter, taking advantage of transition after missed shots
Charmin Smith mentioned post game that she’s liked the effort, but needs more over a consistent stretch of a time from her team
Similarly, Smith added that Cal rushed some shots in the fourth quarter, getting away from their offensive process
Taylor Barnes wrapped her day with 16 points, taking the lead quite a few times offensively. Sakima Walker finished an efficient 6/11 from the floor but missed some bunnies that both herself and Smith mentioned postgame
Cal’s lack of secondary shooting is capping the ceiling of an offense that isn’t currently running with a ton of pace
Smith concluded that, if Cal is going to get on the board and win ACC games, they need better flow in doing the right things more all the time
Cal returns to action at the Chase Center next Sunday when they take on old friend Lindsay Gottlieb and the ranked USC Trojans.
I don't want to say we missed an opportunity but Stanford was SO BAD at the rim. Their center hit the bottom of the rim multiple times. In the first half they shot 32% from the field. . . and 50% from 3. Perhaps those two numbers have correlation - we ran under screens a lot, and had defenders in the paint and digging down on Stanford's posts all afternoon.
What I wouldn't give for one more shooter on Cal.
Also - Stanford is definitely a front-running crowd. They only got loud at the end when they took the lead. The arena was only 60% full and our small group of Bear Backers (maybe 60-75?) were louder all afternoon.