On Friday at 7:00 PM PST, Cal women's basketball (9-4) will take on Colorado (5-8) in their first home game of Pac-12 play. The game can be seen live on Pac-12 Networks Bay Area and Pac-12 Networks Mountain. Click here to view the preview of the game on CalBears.com. I will get this thread started with five things to look for going into the game.
#1. How will Cal respond from their 0-2 trip to the desert? Cal had less than an ideal road trip to the state of Arizona. Arizona State beat them up and Arizona took advantage two days later. Cal dug themselves into a hole no doubt, but they still have a team capable of finishing in the top-four in the Pac-12. It will be huge for Cal to put their rough road trip behind them and take care of business against a Colorado team that is coming off two straight losses at home to open up Pac-12 play.
#2. Free throws will be huge: Colorado is an excellent foul shooting team, shooting 77.1% from the foul line while Cal is a poor foul shooting team, shooting just 64.8%. Cal has to keep Colorado away from the foul line while also knocking down their own free throws. The free throw disparity is pretty huge in this game and Colorado will certainly look to keep this game close by getting to the line.
#3. Kristine Anigwe can't do it all: Kristine Anigwe is playing like Karl Malone because she always delivers. You know what you're going to get from her: 20 points and 10 rebounds. You can pretty much guarantee that she will at least give you that amount of production. But, the rest of the team is sketchy and inconsistent. Courtney Range stepped up against Arizona, but Mikayla Cowling and Asha Thomas disappeared. Cal's core four (Anigwe, Range, Cowling, and Thomas) has to play well. It can't just be Kristine Anigwe keeping the team afloat.
#4. Cal better take good shots and work it inside: Colorado is a pretty solid team when it comes to defending the three-ball, holding opponents to 35.7% from beyond the arc. But, they don't have much of an interior presence outside of 6-2 senior forward Jamee Swan who leads the team in scoring (15.4 points per game), rebounding (7.8 rebounds), and shot blocking (1.9 blocks per game). Cal has to give Kristine Anigwe a lot of touches inside and find ways to create open looks on the perimeter for Mikayla Cowling and Courtney Range. In order for this to happen, Asha Thomas will have to do a really good job running the offense. As point guard, it's her responsibility to get Anigwe, Cowling, and Range the looks that they need to be successful.
#5. Will somebody off the bench step up? Penina Davidson is the main player off the bench who needs to step up. Coach Gottlieb refers to her as the team's 6th starter, but against Arizona and Arizona State, Davidson was pretty quiet. With a thin bench and not a lot of support for the starting five, Penina Davidson has to be the player who brings some help and relief off the bench both with her scoring, rebounding,and defense. It would be great to see Penina Davidson make her presence felt in the biggest home game of the season to date.
Prediction: Cal didn't find the success they were hoping for against the Wildcats or Sun Devils, but they still are a very good team. The same cannot be said for Colorado, who lost both games at home to open up Pac-12 play and has a weak 5-8 overall record. The only way Cal doesn't win this game is if Kristine Anigwe is once again the only good player and if Mikayla Cowling and Asha Thomas have another off night. I don't see this happening. I expect Cal to bounce back and win comfortably by a final score of 75-67.
#1. How will Cal respond from their 0-2 trip to the desert? Cal had less than an ideal road trip to the state of Arizona. Arizona State beat them up and Arizona took advantage two days later. Cal dug themselves into a hole no doubt, but they still have a team capable of finishing in the top-four in the Pac-12. It will be huge for Cal to put their rough road trip behind them and take care of business against a Colorado team that is coming off two straight losses at home to open up Pac-12 play.
#2. Free throws will be huge: Colorado is an excellent foul shooting team, shooting 77.1% from the foul line while Cal is a poor foul shooting team, shooting just 64.8%. Cal has to keep Colorado away from the foul line while also knocking down their own free throws. The free throw disparity is pretty huge in this game and Colorado will certainly look to keep this game close by getting to the line.
#3. Kristine Anigwe can't do it all: Kristine Anigwe is playing like Karl Malone because she always delivers. You know what you're going to get from her: 20 points and 10 rebounds. You can pretty much guarantee that she will at least give you that amount of production. But, the rest of the team is sketchy and inconsistent. Courtney Range stepped up against Arizona, but Mikayla Cowling and Asha Thomas disappeared. Cal's core four (Anigwe, Range, Cowling, and Thomas) has to play well. It can't just be Kristine Anigwe keeping the team afloat.
#4. Cal better take good shots and work it inside: Colorado is a pretty solid team when it comes to defending the three-ball, holding opponents to 35.7% from beyond the arc. But, they don't have much of an interior presence outside of 6-2 senior forward Jamee Swan who leads the team in scoring (15.4 points per game), rebounding (7.8 rebounds), and shot blocking (1.9 blocks per game). Cal has to give Kristine Anigwe a lot of touches inside and find ways to create open looks on the perimeter for Mikayla Cowling and Courtney Range. In order for this to happen, Asha Thomas will have to do a really good job running the offense. As point guard, it's her responsibility to get Anigwe, Cowling, and Range the looks that they need to be successful.
#5. Will somebody off the bench step up? Penina Davidson is the main player off the bench who needs to step up. Coach Gottlieb refers to her as the team's 6th starter, but against Arizona and Arizona State, Davidson was pretty quiet. With a thin bench and not a lot of support for the starting five, Penina Davidson has to be the player who brings some help and relief off the bench both with her scoring, rebounding,and defense. It would be great to see Penina Davidson make her presence felt in the biggest home game of the season to date.
Prediction: Cal didn't find the success they were hoping for against the Wildcats or Sun Devils, but they still are a very good team. The same cannot be said for Colorado, who lost both games at home to open up Pac-12 play and has a weak 5-8 overall record. The only way Cal doesn't win this game is if Kristine Anigwe is once again the only good player and if Mikayla Cowling and Asha Thomas have another off night. I don't see this happening. I expect Cal to bounce back and win comfortably by a final score of 75-67.
