This weekend, Cal women’s basketball begins their regular season on the East Coast as they take on the Harvard Crimson on Friday at 7:00 PM EST/4:00 PM PST before heading down to Storrs, Connecticut to take on the UConn Huskies on Sunday at 1:00 PM EST/10:00 AM PST. UConn comes in as the #5 ranked team in country in the AP Top 25 and the #4 ranked team in the country in the Coaches Poll. What I want to do in this preview is quickly address things I’ve seen in this Cal team from their two exhibitions and what they need to do to have a successful road trip.

The good: When looking at this Cal team, what jumps out right away is the quality play of the freshmen. Especially Leilani McIntosh and Evelien Lutje Schipholt. Both have shown a real willingness to lead out and not shy away from the moment.

“We got her in July and oftentimes I’m like oh my goodness, where would we be without this kid,” Cal head coach Charmin Smith said of McIntosh after last week’s win over Vanguard. “We’re just really fortunate. I think she really controls things on both ends of the floor. Today you saw a lot of the defensive intensity. She’s a great ball stopper, she’s really active, she can pick up and guard 94 feet and always positive with her head up. I think she’s going to be a great leader for us.”

As for Schipholt, her tenacity on the glass is what has really stood out. She’s very active inside and not afraid to bang around. That tenacity and toughness will be needed if Cal is to walk away with at least a split on this road trip.

“I think that’s just a natural thing I’ve always had,” Schipholt said of her rebounding. “When the ball goes up, I wanna go get it. I used to tell my teammates every missed shot is an assist for me and that’s what I go by…We’re so excited because UConn is a big name, Harvard is a big name. I love playing good players and this is an opportunity for us to prove ourselves and to see where we’re at right now.”

In addition to having quality play from their freshmen, Cal’s upper classmen have shown a willingness to raise their game as well. Alaysia Styles is excited to be one of the veteran leaders and backed it up with a solid 15 points and 10 rebounds outing last Sunday. Redshirt senior Chen Yue, who started in both exhibitions and finished with 8 points and 10 rebounds last week also appears eager to have an expanded role in her final year.

While Cal lost a lot of talent from last year’s team, they have a nice blend of youth and veteran leadership. Everyone is buying into what Charmin Smith is preaching and is committed to putting the team first. There are no egos on this team and that’s a huge plus.

Areas for growth: The biggest areas for growth on this Cal team is going through the fire of key situations. Especially for Smith, who is a first year head coach. Like every head coach, it will be an adjustment for Smith to have to make the final decisions on what plays to run when they really need a basket or what defensive schemes to go with. In addition, everyone else on this staff has an expanded role as well. Kai Felton is now an associate head coach, filling Smith’s old role, etc. It’s going to be an adjustment for everybody, and growing pains are to be expected.

Also, there’s no clear cut go-to player. At least not yet. Styles had much more of a back seat role last year and it’s unclear if she’ll automatically slide into that go-to role. She seems eager to do it, but will she is another question. Cal will need to figure out who their go-to player is, and this road trip will be their first chance to really figure that out.

Finally, Cal’s perimeter shooting needs to improve. They shot 1-14 from 3-point range against Vanguard and 4-16 from 3-point range against Beijing Normal University. That’s plain hideous. Cal has to find ways to get more open looks from 3-point range and knock them down. If they shoot like that on this road trip, they’ll almost certainly walk away with two losses.

Overall: This is an exciting weekend for Cal women’s basketball. The Charmin Smith era begins on the opposite side of the country, giving them a chance to really bond and come together as a group. Regardless of what the outcome of is of both games, Cal will certainly learn a lot and be better prepared for their home opener against UC Riverside on November 17th.

Note: For details on how to watch both games this weekend, CalBears.com has you covered.