On Sunday at 5:00 PM PST on Cal Live Stream, Cal women’s basketball will welcome UC Riverside to Haas Pavilion in their first home game of the regular season. Cal comes in at 0-2 having dropped both of their games at Harvard and UConn last week. UC Riverside comes in at 1-3.

On UC Riverside: The Highlanders are in a tumultuous state at the moment due to the recent resignation of head coach John Margaritis over allegations of verbal and emotional abuse. Seyram Bell has taken over the head coaching role on an interim basis. How much of an effect this has had on the team is hard to say, but it certainly doesn’t help.

Redshirt senior guard Jannon Otto is the top player on this Highlanders team, averaging 15.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game last season. Senior forward Marina Ewodo out of France is another key piece on this team, averaging 11.9 points and 6.9 points per game last season.

Cal is the second Pac-12 program UC Riverside has faced this season. Their previous game was against USC at home. The Trojans won that game by a final score of 76-59.

Keys to the game: For Cal, the first thing they need to do is get off to a strong start. Given UC Riverside’s recent struggles, Cal will be in a really good position if they get out to an early lead. In order to do so, Cal needs to move the ball well, cut down on turnovers, and knock down some threes. Sara Anastasieska had a breakout game at UConn with 25 points. If she can get rolling from beyond the arc early on, Cal should get off to the kind of start they need.

Secondly, Cal needs to dominate the boards. Through two games, Cal has a -1 rebounding differential per game. Cal needs to do a better job of controlling the glass and making their opponents pay. Evelien Lutje Schipholt takes great pride in her rebounding, but in last week’s road trip, she averaged just 4 rebounds per game. In addition to Schipholt, Alaysia Styles, Chen Yue, and Jaelyn Brown need to do their part on the glass as well. Rebounding truly takes a team effort.

Lastly, Cal needs to knock down their free throws. Through two games, Cal is shooting 66.7% from the foul line. That’s not very good. If they want to cruise to a comfortable win, they need to get to the foul line and knock down their foul shots. If they can do that, they should walk out with a win.