Cal Women's Basketball tips off against Liberty at 2:00 PM PST. Here is my list of five things to look for in this game.
#1. Liberty has two players that do the vast bulk of the scoring: Ashley Rininger (15.8 points per game) and Sadalia Ellis (12.8 points per game) are the leading scorers for this Liberty team. After them, it really drops off. Nobody else on their team averages more than 7.0 points per game.
#2. Cal can't be throwing up bricks: Against Texas A&M, Cal shot an atrocious 29.6% from the field in the first half. They have to get off to a better start when it comes to shooting the basketball.
#3. Asha Thomas and Courtney Range need to bounce back: Range and Thomas scored only 10 points combined against Texas A&M. Only Kristine Anigwe showed up. Cal needs to have strong performances from all of their key players.
#4. Cal needs to take better care of the ball: In five games so far, Cal has amassed 102 turnovers and just 66 assists. Cal needs to take better care of the basketball and today against Liberty would be a good time to start doing just that.
#5. Liberty can't shoot very well: Liberty is shooting just 41.9% from the field on the season and only 26.3% from three-point range. However, Liberty is holding their opponents to 36.3% shooting from the field and 29.4% shooting from three-point range, so defending appears to be their calling card. If Cal can shoot well and keep Liberty shooting at around their averages, Cal will be fine.
Prediction: Unlike the men, I expect the Cal women's basketball team to respond and get the win over Liberty by the score of 70-64. I could see this one being close due to Liberty's defense, but I still expect Cal to win.
#1. Liberty has two players that do the vast bulk of the scoring: Ashley Rininger (15.8 points per game) and Sadalia Ellis (12.8 points per game) are the leading scorers for this Liberty team. After them, it really drops off. Nobody else on their team averages more than 7.0 points per game.
#2. Cal can't be throwing up bricks: Against Texas A&M, Cal shot an atrocious 29.6% from the field in the first half. They have to get off to a better start when it comes to shooting the basketball.
#3. Asha Thomas and Courtney Range need to bounce back: Range and Thomas scored only 10 points combined against Texas A&M. Only Kristine Anigwe showed up. Cal needs to have strong performances from all of their key players.
#4. Cal needs to take better care of the ball: In five games so far, Cal has amassed 102 turnovers and just 66 assists. Cal needs to take better care of the basketball and today against Liberty would be a good time to start doing just that.
#5. Liberty can't shoot very well: Liberty is shooting just 41.9% from the field on the season and only 26.3% from three-point range. However, Liberty is holding their opponents to 36.3% shooting from the field and 29.4% shooting from three-point range, so defending appears to be their calling card. If Cal can shoot well and keep Liberty shooting at around their averages, Cal will be fine.
Prediction: Unlike the men, I expect the Cal women's basketball team to respond and get the win over Liberty by the score of 70-64. I could see this one being close due to Liberty's defense, but I still expect Cal to win.
