On Saturday at 4:00 PM PST on Pac-12 Networks, Cal women’s basketball will run it back against #8 Stanford. Cal comes into Saturday’s game at 14-6 overall and 5-4 in the Pac-12 while Stanford comes in at 17-3 overall and 7-2 in the Pac-12.
Last time out: On Thursday, Cal senior Asha Thomas hit the game winning shot to knock off Stanford 81-80. Cal senior Kristine Anigwe finished with 25 points and 24 rebounds while Stanford junior DiJonai Carrington finished with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
RECAP: Asha Thomas hits game winner to knock off #8 Stanford
Keys to getting the sweep: Cal is in a unique position to get a sweep over Stanford. Typically, if they beat Stanford, it’s on the second try, so they’re entering uncharted waters by leading 1-0 in the season series. Given how Thursday’s game ended, Stanford is certain to be motivated to bounce back and not let their rival school beat them on their home floor. As good as Thursday’s win was for Cal, they by no means played a perfect game. What I’ll outline below are three things Cal must shore up in order to get the season sweep.
The first thing Cal needs to do on Saturday is defend much better. Cal gave up way too many easy cuts to the basket on Thursday, resulting in a lot of easy looks for Stanford inside. Despite shooting 5-23 from 3-point range, Stanford shot 59.5% from 2-point range, getting just about every shot inside the arc to fall. If Cal allows Stanford to get those kind of looks on their home floor, it’s going to be tough to get the sweep. As an extension of that, Cal has to defend the perimeter much better. Stanford missed a lot of wide open looks that they normally would make. If Cal’s defensive rotations are once again sloppy, odds are good Stanford will make them pay the second time around.
Secondly, Cal needs to figure out how to better defend DiJonai Carrington. Carrington got whatever she wanted inside on Thursday and did a good job getting to the foul line, where she shot 8-12. Cal will not walk away with another win if Carrington has another big night. Cal needs to make her priority number one while also continuing to guard Alanna Smith well.
Third, Cal needs to get more out of Asha Thomas. While she was the hero on Thursday night, she scored just 4 points that came in the final minutes of the game. It’s tough to see Cal winning at Stanford with Thomas having another night in which she shoots 1-7 from the field and 0-5 from 3-point range. On the road, your seniors have to carry the load, which means Cal needs way more from Thomas.
If Cal can shore up these three areas and continue to excel in the areas that they did on Thursday, they have a chance to get the sweep. Quite honestly, I was skeptical of Cal’s chances to win one game, let alone two coming into this series, so to a certain extent they’re playing with house money here. More than anything, they need to play this game like nobody expects them to win. The pressure is all on Stanford. If Cal plays more relaxed and under control, maybe the pressure will get to Stanford. It certainly seemed to get to them a bit towards the end of Thursday night.
