On Sunday at 12:00 PM PST on Pac-12 Networks, Cal women’s basketball will welcome the Washington State Cougars to Haas Pavilion. Cal comes in at 8-4 overall and 0-1 in the Pac-12 while Washington State comes in at 7-7 overall and 0-2 in the Pac-12.
Last time out: Cal lost to Washington in their Pac-12 opener on Friday by a final score of 67-64.
RECAP: Cal falls to Washington to open up Pac-12 play
On Washington State: The Cougars are led by redshirt senior forward Borislava Hristova (18.6 points & 6.6 rebounds) and senior guard Chanelle Molina (15.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, & 4.0 assists). Both players form a nice one-two punch that gives the Cougars some pop in the frontcourt and in the backcourt. For strategic reasons, redshirt junior forward Jovana Subasic comes off the bench, averaging 9.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game.
As a team, the Cougars average 67.3 points per game on 44.0% shooting from the field, 34.9% shooting from 3-point range, and 71.8% shooting from the foul line. They average a +1.3 rebounding margin, 14.2 assists, 6.4 steals, 3.4 blocks, and 16.0 turnovers per game. Their opponents average 65.9 points per game on 40.2% shooting from the field, 34.7% shooting from 3-point range, and 62.8% shooting from the foul line.
After their loss to Washington on Friday, Cal head coach Charmin Smith shared her early thoughts on this matchup:
“Molina is a handful. She’s a really good point guard. She’s just really good and Bobby [Borislava Hristova] is no Robin to the Batman. I don’t know which one. They’re both just really good players. So, we’re gonna have to work. I do have a lot of confidence in this team. I told them in the locker room based off of what we did on that Harvard-UConn swing, we had a one day prep for UConn at UConn. And we did really well on with the one day prep so I’m confident that we can bounce back and play well on Sundays in Pac-12 play just because I know that they’re good with walking through things and retaining information and being able to put a game plan in place with just one day of practice.”
Keys to the game: If Cal is to get back in the win column, the first thing they need to do is cut back on the turnovers. Cal had 17 turnovers against Washington on Friday, giving the Huskies too many free possessions while also depriving themselves of scoring opportunities. If Cal is able to take better care of the ball and have less silly possessions, they should come out victorious.
Secondly, Cal needs to win the battle on the glass. Rebounding (+10) is what kept them in the game on Friday. Cal is a really good rebounding team, averaging a +8.8 rebound margin per game. If they dominate the glass like they did on Friday with fewer turnovers, odds are very high they win.
Finally, Cal needs to apply the right amount of pressure and know when to push the ball. We saw Cal do a good job of trapping and pressing in certain situations on Friday and also do a good job pushing the ball in transition. Freshman guard Leilani McIntosh really knows how to run a fast break. If Cal is able to use their speed and quickness to create good ball pressure and opportunities to get out in the open floor, they should be fine.
