Women's Basketball: Cal Takes Down Notre Dame 80-69
Mjracle Sheppard records a double-double and plays stellar defense in the victory
California most recently faced Notre Dame last March in the ACC Tournament. The #2 seed Fighting Irish defeated the #7 Golden Bears 73-64 in a game that was not as close as the final score would indicate. Cal has never defeated Notre Dame, losing all five previous matchups.
This is not the same Notre Dame team as year’s past. At 13-7 overall, the Fighting Irish have already lost more games this season than either of the previous two seasons. All-world guard Hannah Hidalgo still leads Notre Dame, but last year’s all-conference running mates Sonia Citron, Liatu King and Olivia Miles have all graduated or transferred to another school. Notre Dame has also never visited Berkeley, with all five previous matchups in South Bend or at neutral locations.
Hannah Hidalgo averages nearly 25 points and 6 steals per game. The perimeter oriented Irish have four other guards averaging at least 9 points per game. On paper the gameplan seemed simple; Cal would lean on their size and experience advantage on the interior, and force someone besides Hidalgo to step up on offense.
Cal was ultra efficient on offense in the opening quarter. The Bears were 4-of-4 from 3-point range, with four different players connecting. Mjracle Sheppard drew the defensive assignment on Hidalgo. Sheppard has the size and foot quickness to keep contact with Hidalgo. Hidalgo averages 20 shot attempts per game at a 48% success rate. In the opening quarter, she scored 5 points on 3 attempts. Cal led 24-20 after the opening period.
The second period belonged to Gisella Maul. The Junior has been thrust into a starting role with the continued absence of Puff Morris. Maul scored 9 points on perfect 3-for-3 shooting, added 3 rebounds and 1 assist. The Bears continued to be efficient on offense. California shot 6-for-7 from long range, and were sharing the ball, recording 10 assists on 14 made baskets. Sheppard continued to play excellent defense on Hidalgo. The 4-time ACC Player of The Week was held to 2 points (free throws) on 0-for-6 shooting for the quarter. Notre Dame Guard Iyana Moore averages 11 points per game. She was picking up the slack with 12 first half points. Taylor Barnes tweaked her ankle late in the period and did not return to the game. At halftime, Cal led 43-33.
Notre Dame started the third period with a sense of urgency. They outhustled the Bears to loose balls and fought harder for rebounds to close the score to 47-43, forcing a frustrated coach Charmin Smith to call a timeout. Sakima Walker blocked a Hannah Hidalgo layup on the defensive end, then converted an alley-oop layup on a nicely placed pass from Mjracle Sheppard to get the Bears back on track. With Taylor Barnes out, Cal was mixing and matching lineups with Claudia Langarita and Naya Ujukwu earning extra time at the forward position. Hannah Hidalgo started heating up (8 points in the quarter) as Notre Dame was able to shrink the lead to two points on separate occasions. Mjracle Sheppard and Lulu Twidale connected on back to back 3-pointers to push Cal’s lead back to eight. Cal led 60-52 entering the final period.
Cal was held scoreless for nearly three minutes as Notre Dame closed the gap to 63-60 after an Iyana Moore 3-point basket with six minutes remaining. Cal went on a 8-1 scoring run over the next three minutes, punctuated by a Lola Donez corner 3-pointer, to extend the lead to 71-61 with three minutes remaining. Cal was the more energized team in the quarter, winning the loose ball battles and forcing multiple turnovers on Notre Dame. Notre Dame could not make a dent in the lead, as Cal converted the necessary free throws down the stretch to close out 80-69 victory.
Mjracle Sheppard was easily the player of the game for the Bears. Sheppard scored 8 points, dished out 10 assists, collected 4 rebounds and 4 steals in an excellent all around game. Sheppard limited Hannah Hidalgo to 22 points, but required twenty shot attempts to get there. Hidalgo committed 7 turnovers, tying her season high. Iyana Moore added 20 points for the Irish, doubling her season average.
Cal shot an exceptional 71% from long range(10-of-14), and 62% overall. Four different Bears scored in double figures, led by Lulu Twidale’s 19 points. Sakima Walked narrowly missed a double-double, scoring 12 points and grabbing 9 rebounds.
Notes and Observations
Notre Dame only played six players, with Hannah Hidalgo playing all 40 minutes. They have played the last three games with only 6 players, with two key rotational players due to injury.
Mjracle Sheppard, on the matchup against Hidalgo; “She’s a great player. Charmin challenged me today. She said you’re going to have to guard somebody that’s a great player. I was up for that challenge, and my team, it was a team effort.”
Coach Smith indicated that Taylor Barnes suffered an ankle sprain in the second quarter and her status is unknown for Sunday’s game against Louisville.
Cal was either making outside shots, or taking shots close to the basket. Many of Sheppard’s ten assists were dribble penetrations that attracted the defense, then short passes to the open player under the basket. The shot chart paints a better picture.
This is Cal’s first program win over Notre Dame, and Coach Smith’s first win after losing her first three matchups. When asked about the signifance of this win, Coach Smith paid homage to assistant Coach Eliza Pierre, who played for Cal from 2009-2013 and lost at Notre Dame in 2012. “Yeah, it’s been tough. So this means a lot. It’s a great program with a great tradition.”
Cal’s 71% 3-point shooting is the highest for any ACC team this season, and the highest since Miami made 6-of-8 shots (75%) in 2019.
Coach Smith ended her postgame comments with a plea for all in attendance to address the growing unrest across the country. “I encourage everyone to think about what you can do to impact positive change in this nation, because it’s pretty disgraceful. If you have suggestions or things I could be doing, please let me know. Shoot me an email, because we can’t just sit here and watch. Coach Tara Vanderveer always challenged us, saying you’re either part of the problem or part of the solution. And when you see things you don’t like, do something about it.”
Cal hosts #7 ranked Louisville on Sunday at 11am. Sunday is “National Girls and Women In Sports Day”. As Coach Smith says, “Bring a frickin’ friend.”