On Black Friday, Cal women’s basketball defeated North Carolina Central 90-69 to open up the Cal Classic. Seniors Jaelyn Brown (20 points) and Sara Anastasieska (15 points & 8 assists) led the way for Cal while Paulina Afriyie (18 points) was the top performer for N.C. Central. Cal improves to 4-2 overall while N.C. Central falls to 1-4.
“We’re happy that we got the win today, we’re not happy with how we played collectively,” Cal head coach Charmin Smith said after the game. “We just really need to be better in terms of taking care of the ball; decision making. I thought 67 points was too many. So, some things that we definitely need to do better and clean up to have a chance at winning a championship game in our tournament tomorrow. So, excited to get back out there and get after it again tomorrow.”
This game was tight early as N.C. Central went up 11-6 with 6:13 to go in the 1st quarter. Cal would quickly rebound to retake the lead, going up 16-13 with 3:37 to go in the quarter. Both teams were shooting well as Cal was shooting 7-11 from the field while N.C. Central was shooting 5-7. Cal would go on to close out the quarter on a 21-5 run dating back to their 11-6 hole. Up 27-16 at the end of the 1st quarter, all things were going Cal’s way as Anastasieska had 9 points on 3-3 shooting from 3-point range.
Cal would continue the good vibes as they would go up 40-20 with 5:53 to go in the half. Cal was on a 9-0 run as Brown was up to 12 points on 4-6 shooting from the field and 1-2 shooting from beyond the arc. Towards the end of the half, rather than putting N.C. Central away, Cal got careless and turned the ball over four times over the final 2:01. This led to a 7-0 N.C. Central run. As a result, Cal was up 51-35 at halftime, failing to capitalize on their earlier runs.
“I think we just got sloppy,” Smith said of what happened to her team. “They were forced turnovers. I think we make some careless passes to the wing. I think we force things at times and against this team, I thought we had our best looks and our most success when we just moved it and stayed within the flow and didn’t try to do too much.
“We had two turnovers in the first quarter; we had eight in the second. And I don’t think it was because they changed. I just think we need to be smarter, settle ourselves down, and that’s going to be important tomorrow no matter who we play. Because both of those teams, Penn State and Long Beach are both really aggressive defensively. So, it’s going to be a challenge and we need to clean it up really quick.”
The 3rd quarter was a back and forth affair as Cal led 63-47 with 4:47 to go. Both teams had scored 12 points, unable to gain ground on the other. Brown (20 points) and Anastasieska (13 points) were leading the way for Cal. At the end of the 3rd quarter, Cal was up 72-54, slightly extending their 16 point halftime lead to 18 points. Afriyie was up to 12 points for N.C. Central, doing her part to keep her team in the game.
“Today, I think I was pretty angry in different moments,” Smith said of how she tries to motivate her team. “I think rightfully so. I think they responded well. Other times I think it’s encouragement and reminding them of success that we’ve had in certain moments. I reference the UConn game a lot. I know we didn’t win that game, but I think playing with UConn in their home gym is something that gave us a ton of confidence and I don’t want us to forget that.
“I mean, we know that we have those UConn types that will be coming into our gym in the Pac-12 conference and we want to play at that level. That’s the type of team we want to be and so we have to work hard every single day to try to meet those standards and those expectations in order to have any chance whatsoever and that’s what we’re building on.”
During the second half, Cal had to rely on Anastasieska as their primary point guard due to Cailyn Crocker being unable to return to the game due to “not feeling well.” With 4:23 to go, Cal was up 84-57 behind 15 points, 8 assists, and 3 turnovers from Anastasieska. In the end, Cal would walk out of Haas Pavilion with a 90-69 win. It wasn’t the prettiest of games, but at the end of the day, all that matters is that you get the win.
“So, you know everybody wants to be the point guard until they have to be the point guard,” Smith said with a laugh. “So, Chen said to me after the game ‘Charms, Charms, Charms, let me be the point!’ So, Cailyn was out for the rest of the game just with some precautions and you know, she’s our other point guard outside of Leilani. Those are the two that have gotten those reps and so not having Cailyn in the second half, I told Sara you’re going to have to play some point and she’s very excited about it. If you haven’t had reps in practice and such, it’s the hardest position to play, right? It’s like go be the quarterback and you haven’t thrown a pass.
“But I thought the important thing is the composure, like how we handle it when it doesn’t go well. Because who knows if Cailyn is going to be able to play? We hope that she will be able to, but you know, knock on wood, she’ll be back, and she’ll be ready. If that’s not the case, then I think it’s great that Sara got a little taste with a 20 point lead and we’ll be able to be better prepared if we need that from her.”
“It was difficult to begin with,” Anastasieska said of running the point. “But I think that at practice I’m familiar with all the plays. So, when someone needs a rest, I’ll run the point guard two or three possessions in practice, so I know the plays, but it’s difficult when there’s defense. But, knowing that Charmin believes in me to go out there and actually play the point guard and lets me play through these mistakes and like she said tomorrow if I am put in that position, I think I’ll do a better job just because I’ve had reps in it now.”
Up next for Cal will be the championship game of the Cal Classic on Saturday at 3:15 PM PST. That game will be against the winner of the Penn State-Long Beach State game. The consolation game will tipoff at 1:00 PM.
Note: North Carolina Central is coached by Cal Athletics Hall of Famer Trisha Stafford-Odom, who played for Cal during the 90s. She was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2013, averaging 15.3 points per game (sixth all-time at Cal) during her career. She led the Pac-10 in scoring her senior year with 23 points per game.
As for Cailyn Crocker, below is Charmin Smith’s full update on her:
“Yeah, Cailyn is not in the concussion protocol. She just wasn’t feeling well enough to go back in the second half. So, we’re hoping that she’ll feel better and be able to play. Yeah, she’s not in the protocol.”
