On Sunday at 12:00 PM PST on Pac-12 Networks, Cal women’s basketball will take on Washington State in Pullman. Cal comes into this game at 17-11 overall and 8-9 in the Pac-12 while Washington State comes in at 9-19 overall and 4-13 in the Pac-12. This is the second meeting of the year between the two schools. Cal defeated Washington State 77-63 on Friday, January 18th in Berkeley.

Last time out: Cal defeated Washington in Seattle on Friday by a final score of 71-65. Kristine Anigwe (20 points & 18 rebounds) led the way for Cal while Missy Peterson (23 points) was the top scorer for Washington.

RECAP: Cal hangs on to beat Washington

On Washington State: Similar to their men’s basketball counterparts, the Cougars have four wins in conference play and are close to the bottom of the standings. Redshirt junior forward Borislava Hristova (20.2 points & 5.7 rebounds) leads the way for the Cougars while junior guard Chanelle Molina (15.8 points) and senior guard Alexys Swedlund (11.0 points) are also scoring in double figures. Together, the three of them form a pretty solid trio.

Also like their men’s basketball counterparts, this Cougars team lacks depth. Once you get outside of their top three scorers, there’s not a lot of other weapons that they possess. No one else averages over 7 points per game, so it really is on Hristova, Molina, and Swedlund to carry the load.

The biggest weakness of this Cougars team is their rebounding or lack thereof. They average a minus 4.6 rebounding differential per game, really getting pummeled inside. When you lose the battle on the glass night in, night out, it’s tough to pick up a lot of wins in a deep Pac-12.

Keys to the game: The first thing Cal needs to do in order to win this game is dominate the paint. As I said, the Cougars’ biggest weakness is rebounding, and Cal needs to take advantage. Even if C.J. West (concussion) is still unable to go, Cal should decisively win the rebounding battle with Anigwe alone. If Cal does as expected in this department, they’ll be tough to stop.

The second thing Cal needs to do is get production from their guards. It can be expected that Anigwe will get her 20 points and 15 rebounds. What’s unknown is how the guards will play. As of late, they’ve been playing pretty well, hence the three game winning streak. If Cal wants to pick up their fourth straight win, they’re going to need more stellar production from Receé Caldwell, Asha Thomas, and Kianna Smith. If those players step up and someone else like McKenzie Forbes is able to get going as well, Cal will cruise to a win.

Lastly, Cal needs to keep Hristova under wraps. She’s the best player on the Cougars and the one player that has the potential to give Cal serious trouble. If she has a big game, odds are good Washington State will hang around just like Washington did on Friday. If she has a quiet to average game, I really don’t see how the Cougars make this game interesting. Containing Hristova has to be atop the game plan for Cal.