On Friday at 7:00 PM PST on Pac-12.com, Cal women’s basketball will take on the Washington State Cougars up in Pullman. Cal comes into this game at 18-9 overall and 9-7 in the Pac-12 while Washington State comes in at 10-18 overall and 3-13 in the Pac-12.

Previous meeting

Back on January 14th, Cal defeated Washington State in Berkeley by a final score of 66-60. Cal junior forward Kristine Anigwe had her best game of the season, finishing with 30 points and 17 rebounds while Washington State redshirt sophomore forward Borislava Hristova finished with 25 points.

On Washington State

Much like their men’s basketball counterparts, the Cougars have had a really rough season. Their 3-13 Pac-12 record pretty much says it all. Hristova is doing all she can to help her team win, averaging 19.1 points per game during conference play. Sophomore guard Chanelle Molina is averaging 10.1 points per game during conference play while junior guard Alexys Swedlund is averaging 9.3 points.

During conference play, the Cougars are averaging 65.8 points per game while giving up 71.9 points per game. They are averaging a -11.1 rebounding differential per game while shooting 40.8% from the field, 34.0% from 3-point range, and 62.1% from the free throw line. To say the least not a lot has gone right for them this season.

Keys to the Game

If Cal wants to come out victorious in this game, they first need to take advantage of their superior frontcourt. Kristine Anigwe and Penina Davidson should have no trouble controlling the glass in this one. The key will be to make the most of second chance scoring opportunities. Back in January, Cal controlled the glass 45-30, but only had 11 second chance points to show for it. They need to make the Cougars pay a lot more for their rebounding woes.

The second key to this game for Cal is to take good care of the basketball. If Cal plays a clean game, it will be really hard for Washington State to win since they are at a disadvantage talent wise. Cal has more weapons. If they are making good reads and not giving the Cougars free possessions with careless turnovers, I don’t see how Cal loses this game.

The third key to this game for Cal is to get off to a strong start and punch Washington State in the mouth early. We’ve seen Cal get off to strong starts and set a good tone from the opening tip and we’ve also seen Cal struggle out of the gates early, allowing their opponents to hang around. If Washington State wins this game, it will be because Cal let them hang around. If Cal wants to avoid this scenario, it would really help if they could get some threes to fall. If Asha Thomas, Mikayla Cowling, and Kianna Smith develop a nice rhythm from beyond the arc early on, Cal will be in a good position to put the Cougars away.