On Thursday at 6:00 PM PST on Pac-12 Networks, Cal women’s basketball will run it back against Washington State in the Pac-12 Tournament at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cal comes in as the #7 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament at 18-11 overall and 9-9 in the Pac-12 while Washington State comes in as the #10 seed at 9-20 overall and 4-14 in the Pac-12.

Last time out: On Sunday, Cal defeated Washington State 80-58 in Pullman behind 32 points and 30 rebounds from Kristine Anigwe. Borislava Hristova led the way for the Cougars with 21 points.

RECAP: Cal completes road sweep after historic game from Kristine Anigwe

On Washington State: Redshirt junior forward Borislava Hristova (20.2 points & 5.6 rebounds) leads the way for the Cougars while junior guard Chanelle Molina (15.7 points) and senior guard Alexys Swedlund (11.2 points) are also scoring in double figures. Together, the three of them form a pretty solid trio.

As we saw on Sunday, 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 5.3 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: Cal defeated Washington State on Sunday primarily due to Anigwe’s dominance inside. Judging by her 32 points and 30 rebounds, it’s clear that the Cougars have no way of stopping her. Anigwe doesn’t need to put up those exact same numbers, but if she can put up something in the 20 points and 15 rebounds range, Cal should be fine.

Secondly, Cal needs to get quality production from their guards. When Asha Thomas, Kianna Smith, and Receé Caldwell are knocking down shots from the perimeter, that really opens things up for Anigwe inside. If they can have a solid night collectively (25+ points), that will give Anigwe the support she needs.

Lastly, Cal needs to do a better job defending Swedlund, who had 17 points on 3-6 shooting from 3-point range on Sunday. Thanks to her, Washington State got within 10 points of Cal in the 4th quarter. If she has another big outing, the Cougars could put themselves in a position to make this game interesting. Cal has to make defending her a key priority going into this game.