On Sunday at 2:00 PM PST on Cal Live Stream, Cal women’s basketball will host the Arizona Wildcats for Senior Day. Cal comes into this game at 15-11 overall and 6-9 in the Pac-12 while Arizona comes in at 17-9 overall and 7-8 in the Pac-12. This is the second meeting of the year between the two teams. Arizona came out victorious in their first meeting 60-55 back on January 11th.
Last time out: On Friday, Cal got a huge NCAA Tournament resume boosting win over #17 Arizona State. Receé Caldwell (20 points) and Kristine Anigwe (20 points & 15 rebounds) led the way for Cal while Reili Richardson (12 points) and Courtney Ekmark (10 points) were the top performers for Arizona State.
RECAP: Cal upsets #17 Sun Devils
On Arizona: Arizona redshirt sophomore guard Aari McDonald still leads the Pac-12 in scoring, averaging 24.7 points per game on 45.0% shooting from the field, 29.1% shooting from 3-point range, and 77.2% shooting from the foul line. McDonald scores 35.5% of her team’s total points (69.5 points), putting a ton of weight on her shoulders. Freshman forward Cate Reese is averaging 11.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, doing her part to take off some of that load.
Despite relying so heavily on one player to produce for them, the Wildcats have proven themselves to be a dangerous team in the Pac-12. They nearly knocked off Stanford on Friday and feel like they can hang with any team in the conference. What’s been key to the Wildcats’ success is their team defense. They hold opponents to 61.0 points per game on 37.8% shooting from the field and 31.0% shooting from 3-point range, not allowing any easy baskets. When you play the type of defense that they do, you don’t need to have a plethora of offensive weapons.
Keys to the game: I’m stating the obvious here, but the first thing Cal needs to do to win this game is keep McDonald in check. In their first meeting of the year, McDonald had 36 points in 39 minutes, so she knows she’s capable of putting up points on the Bears. Cal will need to do a much better job defending her the second time around. If they don’t, they’ll be setting themselves up for a major letdown on Senior Day.
On Friday, Cal’s guards really stepped up and gave Anigwe the support that she needed. If Cal’s guards can have a similar type of outing against Arizona, they should expect a similar result. Part of having successful guard play is getting shots to fall from the perimeter. If Asha Thomas, Receé Caldwell, and Kianna Smith are able to shoot effectively from 3-point range over Arizona’s defense, Cal should walk out with a homestand sweep over the Arizona schools.
Lastly, Cal needs to feed off the energy of the crowd and make the most of Senior Day. This game will be the last game Kristine Anigwe and Asha Thomas play at Haas Pavilion and the Cal fans are certain to give them all of their support. If Cal can feed off of the crowd’s energy and bring an extra level of intensity to the floor as a result, they’ll be really tough to stop.
