Women's Basketball: Cal Outlasts Idaho, 68-61

Reserves Gisella Maul and Lola Donez power the Bears to the victory

Gisella Maul, Puff Morris, Taylor Barnes and Lulu Twidale listening to late-game strategy from Assistant Head Coach Heidi Heintz

The Idaho Vandals entered tonight’s game with an 8-2 record. The Vandals have a collection of victories over solid teams like Washington State and Wichita State. Their two losses have been at UC-Davis and at home against a 5-5 Oral Roberts squad. Idaho is led by a dynamic backcourt of guards Hope Hassmann (14 points/game, 4 assists) and Kyra Gardner (13 points/game, 3 steals). Tonight’s game provided a strong test leading into Cal’s next two matchups against Stanford and USC.

Cal started sluggish in the first quarter. Coach Charmin Smith on multiple occasions was encouraging her to team speed up their pace. Mjracle Shephard tried to exploit her matchup against a smaller defender, with mixed results. She connected on 2-of-7 shots early on (6 points) and was the focal point of the offense. Neither team could find an offensive flow early on, as both teams shot 7-of-19 in the first quarter. The period ended in a 16-16 tie.

Cal came out with more energy in the second period, and played more aggressively on both ends. Gisella Maul, Lola Donez and Naya Ojukwu received extended playing time and provided a nice boost off the bench. Maul connected on a 3-pointer to give Cal a 19-18 lead. For the half, Maul and Ojukwu combined for 14 points, as Cal led 35-31 at the half.

Idaho had the size to compete on the inside, winning the first half rebounding battle 21 to 16. Cal was able disrupt Idaho’s passing lanes, forcing 6 turnovers that resulted in 10 points for the Bears. The Idaho duo of Hassmann and Gardner were held to a combined 11 points on 4-of-12 shooting. Mjracle Sheppard drew the primary defensive assignment on Hassmann and gave her very little space to operate.

The Vandals were the aggressors early in the third period. Kyra Gardner forced two turnovers on the Bears, as the Vandals briefly reclaimed the lead at 41-40 Idaho. Cal’s offensive strategy was heavily reliant on Sakima Walker receiving the inlet pass and then kicking it out to a shooter. The Vandals did an excellent job of anticipating the kickout and disrupting the passing angles.

Cal started attacking the basket more. Two consecutive Puff Morris drives to the basket resulted in 4 points for the Bears. After a Gisella Maul steal and Lola Donez breakway layup, Cal was up 50-43 with just under two minutes remaining in the period, forcing the Vandals to call a timeout and regroup. The teams would trade baskets to end the quarter. Cal led 53-45 after three periods.

The fourth quarter started off poorly for the Bears. A Kyra Gardner steal led off a 11-2 Idaho scoring run to give the Vandals the lead, 55-54. Cal had only connected on 1-of-5 shots in the period, while the Vandals started off 5-of-6. After a Cal timeout, Puff Morris connected on a 3-pointer to reclaim the lead for the Bears. Lulu Twidale connected from deep and added a running layup, as Cal went on an 8-0 run to lead reclaim the lead, 63-56 with under three minutes remaining.

Idaho ratcheted up the defensive pressure, forcing a couple Cal turnovers, as Idaho was able to close the gap to 63-59 with one minute left. Lola Donez collected a key defensive rebound with thirty seconds left, Gisella Maul connected on two free throws, Puff Morris added a free throw, and Lulu Twidale added a pair with under 5 seconds left to close out the 68-61 victory.

Gisella Maul scored a career high 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting to lead the Bears. In her postgame comments, Maul gave credit to her coaches and teammates; “The coaches and my teammates have done a really good job of just telling me to stay ready. And, you know, look for my shot, like actually look to score. Because you know I can do more than just rebounding. And so that’s what they told me.”

Cal played a tight 8-person rotation. The three reserves of Ojukwu, Maul and Donez combined for 25 points across 60 minutes of playing time. Starters Puff Morris and Lulu Twidale added 13 points each.

For the Vandals, Kyra Gardner and Hope Hassmann scored 22 points combined on 8-of-29 shooting. Gardner added 4 steals and 7 rebounds in the losing effort.

In her postgame comments, Coach Charmin Smith talked about their prep for Idaho; “I think they have a unique style in how they play, with so much pace…..I thought our team did a great job for the most part in transition, in guarding and trying to keep their guards in front.”

Cal frequently ran a small lineup with Donez, Twidale, Maul and Morris at the guards/wings, and Ojukwu at the center. When asked about this lineup, “We are a team that has four guards on the floor a lot of the time and (Gisella) was doing a really good job for us, a phenomenal job. And then, Sakima and Naya are jut kind of rotating in there. And it was just working for us. It was more about who could keep the ball in front and do the right things defensively.”

Lola Donez played twenty minutes tonight, including the final three minutes of the game when the outcome was in doubt. Her statistics don’t jump out (2 points, 1 rebound, 1 block, 1 steal, 3 fouls), but her steadying offensive presence and ability to keep the Idaho guards in front of her were crucial to the victory. She helped snap Cal out of their sluggish start, and collected a key rebound in the last minute. Coach Smith heaped praise on Donez’s performance; “I thought she helped out a tremendous amount….I think she was one for one for the game, but she got our offense moving. Like, she moves the ball, right? And she plays with with speed, pace. We were a little stagnant there…and I thought she did a really good job of getting us going offensively. And then defensively, she’s doing a lot better at keeping people in front. “

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Cal faces Stanford this weekend to kick off ACC Conference play. Coach Smith can now look ahead to that game; “I know they have some talented freshman who are doing well. We’re trying to explain to Sakima, you know, what the rivalry means. We’ve got alot of newcomers who’ve never played in the Battle of The Bay. So we’ve got to get them fired up and ready for that.”

Tipoff is Sunday at 1pm from Maples Pavilion.