Women's Basketball; After Slow Start, Cal Dominates Wake Forest 75-52
Sakima Walker records a double double, Lulu Twidale and other starters rest for the entire fourth quarter as Cal cruises to the victory
The #10 seed California Golden Bears opened up ACC Tournament play this morning against #15 Wake Forest. Currently on the outside of the NCAA Tournament, the Golden Bears need to win at least three games this week to get back into the conversation. Cal defeated the Deacons in early January at Haas Pavilion to earn their first conference win of the year. Would the East Coast rematch play out differently?
Both teams got off to slow starts as Cal connected on 4-of-17 shots in the first quarter, while the Deacons were only 4-of-13. It wasn’t due to defense; both teams were missing layups and the shots were not very eye-pleasing. After missing the last nine games, Taylor Barnes made her return to the court midway through the quarter. It is the first time since December both Puff Morris and Taylor Barnes were available for the Bears. After the first period, Cal led 11-10.
The Bears shook of their rust in the second quarter, and connected on 9-of-16 shots to take control of the game. Cal was effective against Wake Forest’s zone defense, using inside-out ball motion effectively. Sakima Walker was a perfect 4-of-4 from the field on her way to 9 points for the quarter. Lulu Twidale connected on 2-of-4 from long range to keep the defense honest. Cal’s defense was mainly man-to-man, with doubling underneath after the entry pass. Wake Forest continued to struggle, only connecting on 4-of-14 shots in the second quarter. The Demon Deacons scored only one point over the last three minutes of the quarter. Cal led 32-21 at halftime.
The Bears continued to feed the ball to Sakima Walker in the third period, scoring 4 early points as Cal pushed the lead to 39-21 early in the period. Mjracle Sheppard and the perimeter players continued to attack the lane with great success. Cal scored 16 points in the paint for the quarter, seven different players scored for the Bears, as Cal pulled away and led 61-33 entering the final quarter.
Cal pushed the lead to 29 early in the period as Coach Smith started pulling the starters in preparation for tomorrow’s game. Lulu Twidale, Gisella Maul and Mjracle Sheppard rested the entire quarter as Cal emptied the bench for most of the quarter. Walk-on Sofia Bowes scored with under a thirty seconds left as Cal closed out the 75-52 victory.
Sakima Walker led Cal with 17 points and 10 rebounds in 27 minutes of playing time. Gisella Maul 10 points and 8 rebounds. Lulu Twidale contributed 10 points and 7 rebounds. Puff Morris added 10 points in her best game since returning from her injury.
Wake Forest shot 37% for the game. The Deacons have found success this year in the interior led by Grace Oliver and Mary Carter averaging 25 points on high percentage shooting. Oliver and Carter got their points, 23 combined, but could not control the interior flow.
Notes and Observations
Cal scored 38 points in the paint, on 21-of-37(57%) shooting from inside the arc. On a day when Cal was only 7-of-25 (28%) from deep, the interior points were doubly important.
Of the thirteen Cal players who logged minutes, eleven of them scored. Only Claudia Langarita and Isis Johnson-Musah missed out on scoring.
Claudia Langarita played in the first quarter but left for the locker room early after suffering a thigh injury. No word yet on what her status is for the rest of the week.
Coach Charmin Smith, on the difficulties Cal present to their opponents; “It's hard to play against us when Gisella and Lulu and our shooters are making shots; and then you add on Sakima inside with a double-double, that inside-out presence is something that we really want to have.”
Gisella Maul, on going deep into the bench today; “Yeah, I would say we've had a lot of dogfights throughout conference play, so it was an amazing feeling to just get everyone in the game and have some people get a chance to rest their legs and be ready for tomorrow.”
Gisella’s answer above earned a “Good answer, G.” response from Coach Smith.
Taylor Barnes scored 4 points in 12 minutes of play. This was a good game for her to get playing time, but not have to rely on her for big minutes as she returns from injury. Coach Smith, on her return; “Yeah, she was a threat in the middle of the zone. She has size that can match up and guard forwards, so she helps us a lot defensively. She lets G get back to the three, which I'm sure she appreciates. It was really good to have her back and to see her out there. It was good to also be able to rest her and not use her legs up completely as she's just returning. I thought it was a good day for Taylor and for us.”
Wake Forest finishes the years at 14-17. This is the first time since 2022-23 that the Deacons have qualified for the ACC Tournament as Coach Meghan Gebbia continues to rebuild the program. This year was a step forward for Wake Forest and they look to build around all-conference freshman Milan Brown going forward(7 points, 9 rebounds today).
The Golden Bears need at least two more wins to rejoin the NCAA Tournament discussion. Cal will play #7 seed Syracuse tomorrow at 2pm Pacific Time. In January, Cal battled back from a 20-point deficit before falling to the Orange in three overtimes, 90-87. Cal is at full health(pending Langarita’s availability), was able to rest their starters today down the stretch, and is coming off two dominant performances. I expect a different outcome in the rematch tomorrow.
This was a game where superior talent at every position did what you’d expect. Nice to have a laugher like this game once in a while. Go Bears!