Hey guys, here is the game hub for Saturday's Cal women's basketball game against St. Mary's. Tipoff is 2:00 PM PST at Haas Pavilion. This game is part of the 4-team Cal Tournament, which has been going on for years. Winner faces Villanova or Sacramento State on Sunday at 3:00 PM PST. Anyways, here is a list of 5 things to look for going into Saturday's tilt with the Gaels.
#1. Saint Mary's senior guard Lauren Nicholson can ball: Nicholson leads the Gaels in scoring with 18.4 points per game on 37.5% shooting from three-point range and 40.8% shooting from the field. She also shoots 88.5% from the foul line. She will be the player Cal keys on for sure. Keeping her away from the foul line should be a key point of emphasis. If she's smart, she'll drive inside and create contact all day. Odds are good that she will. She's already attempted 52 foul shots this season.
#2. Both teams rebound well: Saint Mary's averages 46.6 rebounds per game and allows their opponents to get only 32.3 rebounds per game. As for Cal, they pull down 40 rebounds per game while allowing their opponents to get only 33.8 rebounds. The battle on the glass will be fun to watch.
#3. Will Courtney Range bounce back? Courtney Range played in Cal's last two games and got a lot of minutes, but her production was low. The theory is that she's been battling a knee injury because before those two games, she injured her knee and didn't return to the game. It'll be important to see how she plays and whether or not she returns to her normal production level.
#4. Will Mikayla Cowling stay hot? Mikayla Cowling has been on fire as of late. Against Liberty, she scored 22 points and really had a dominating performance. While it's really early in the season, it's possible that Mikayla Cowling has a "breakout season". This would mean that seeing her score in the high teens and low 20s becomes a common thing that we see.
#5. Can Cal avoid a clunker quarter? In every game this season, Cal has had at least one quarter where they really struggle to score (Lows in each game have been 12, 11, 12, 15, 7, and 13). If Cal wants to avoid a close game they can't have one of these kind of quarters. This trend isn't good. Cal needs to be able to put together 4 good quarters of basketball. They haven't been able to do that yet, but to their credit they are 5-1 with their only loss being to Texas A&M, a top-ten team.
Prediction: Cal wins 70-62. Cal should be able to handle the Gaels, but so long as they have that one quarter where they have a scoring drought, the Gaels should be able to keep this relatively close.
#1. Saint Mary's senior guard Lauren Nicholson can ball: Nicholson leads the Gaels in scoring with 18.4 points per game on 37.5% shooting from three-point range and 40.8% shooting from the field. She also shoots 88.5% from the foul line. She will be the player Cal keys on for sure. Keeping her away from the foul line should be a key point of emphasis. If she's smart, she'll drive inside and create contact all day. Odds are good that she will. She's already attempted 52 foul shots this season.
#2. Both teams rebound well: Saint Mary's averages 46.6 rebounds per game and allows their opponents to get only 32.3 rebounds per game. As for Cal, they pull down 40 rebounds per game while allowing their opponents to get only 33.8 rebounds. The battle on the glass will be fun to watch.
#3. Will Courtney Range bounce back? Courtney Range played in Cal's last two games and got a lot of minutes, but her production was low. The theory is that she's been battling a knee injury because before those two games, she injured her knee and didn't return to the game. It'll be important to see how she plays and whether or not she returns to her normal production level.
#4. Will Mikayla Cowling stay hot? Mikayla Cowling has been on fire as of late. Against Liberty, she scored 22 points and really had a dominating performance. While it's really early in the season, it's possible that Mikayla Cowling has a "breakout season". This would mean that seeing her score in the high teens and low 20s becomes a common thing that we see.
#5. Can Cal avoid a clunker quarter? In every game this season, Cal has had at least one quarter where they really struggle to score (Lows in each game have been 12, 11, 12, 15, 7, and 13). If Cal wants to avoid a close game they can't have one of these kind of quarters. This trend isn't good. Cal needs to be able to put together 4 good quarters of basketball. They haven't been able to do that yet, but to their credit they are 5-1 with their only loss being to Texas A&M, a top-ten team.
Prediction: Cal wins 70-62. Cal should be able to handle the Gaels, but so long as they have that one quarter where they have a scoring drought, the Gaels should be able to keep this relatively close.
