On Friday at 7:00 PM PST on Washington Live Stream, Cal women’s basketball will take on the Washington Huskies in Seattle. Cal comes into this game at 16-11 overall and 7-9 in the Pac-12 while Washington comes in at 9-18 overall and 2-13 in the Pac-12.

Last time out: On Sunday, Cal had an 82-76 overtime win over Arizona. Receé Caldwell led the way for Cal with 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists while Aari McDonald had 31 points for Arizona.

RECAP: Cal wins on Senior Day in emotional overtime thriller

On Washington: The Huskies are led by junior guard Amber Melgoza, who is averaging 17.9 points per game on 40.2% shooting from the field, 29.8% shooting from 3-point range, and 81.6% shooting from the foul line. Sophomore guard Missy Peterson is the number two option on this Huskies team, averaging 9.0 points per game on 41.0% shooting from the field, 31.4% shooting from 3-point range, and 84.0% from the foul line. After that, things start to get pretty thin as no one else averages over 7 points per game.

Lacking in offensive weapons, the Huskies average just 64.8 points per game on 39.0% shooting from the field, 29.1% shooting from 3-point range, and 72.7% shooting from the foul line. Defensively, the Huskies aren’t great. They allow 71.8 points per game on 45.2% shooting from the field and 34.9% shooting from the 3-point line. When you have an offense that struggles to put up points and a defense that isn’t elite, you’re not going to win very many games.

Keys to the game: If Cal wants to ensure a victory, the first thing they need to do is not let Melgoza have a big game. That sounds simple, but Cal has had a tough time containing high scoring guards this year. Their defense on the perimeter will have to be sound and not allow Melgoza to have the type of outing that she needs to have. If Cal can keep her under her scoring average, they should be fine.

In addition to containing Melgoza, Cal needs to overwhelm the Huskies with their depth. Cal has a plethora of weapons they can go to in Kristine Anigwe, Asha Thomas, Receé Caldwell, McKenzie Forbes, Kianna Smith, and others. If Cal gets balanced production from their key players, they’ll cruise to a win by simply overpowering Washington.

Lastly, Cal needs to come out with a sense of urgency. Even though, they are heavily favored to win, they cannot take this game lightly. If they win their last two games of Pac-12 play, they’ll put themselves in a good position for the NCAA tournament. If they split this weekend or heaven forbid lose both games, then they’ll have to redeem themselves at the Pac-12 tournament, which will be no easy task. Cal needs to treat this as a must win game and play like their season is on the line. If they bring the energy and focus from the tip, they should walk out of Seattle with a win.