Clash with Colorado presents chance to make changes
Josh Kahen/File
Cal women’s basketball has had a less-than-ideal start to its 2020-2021 campaign, as it is currently winless and at the bottom of the Pac-12 with a 0-10 record overall. That is certainly in part due to the extraordinarily tough competition the Bears have faced this season in the “conference of champions,” as four of their seven Pac-12 losses have been blowouts at the hands of top 15 teams.
And it is worth noting that when they aren’t facing off against national championship contenders, the Bears have fared much better, highlighted by a 56-53 loss on the road to Arizona State that came down to the final possession. Today’s matchup in Colorado should be similar in that the Buffaloes are not one of the conference’s elite: They are 2-5 in conference play and have experienced similar blowout losses to teams such as No. 11 Oregon, who crushed the Bears 100-41 in their last outing.
Cal falls to USC, drops to bottom of Pac-12 standings
Josh Kahen/Senior Staff
Cal is officially 0-7 on the season and alone at the bottom of the Pac-12. As today’s game against USC was the Bears’ last of the year, Cal has nowhere to go but up in 2021.
While this was a 23-point blowout, the blue and gold had several individual performances to feel optimistic about. Freshman forward Ugonne Onyiah had the game of the night for Cal, logging 16 points, seven rebounds, two blocks and three steals on an efficient 8-15 shooting from the field.
Dalayah Daniels and Evelien Lutje Schipholt both chipped in 11 points on the night, in addition to grabbing a combined 19 rebounds. Rounding out the Bears’ impressive showings was freshman center Fatou Samb, who had nine points and three rebounds on the night.
As Vince Lombardi said, “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get up.” Although Stanford’s decisive 83-38 victory Sunday night marked the Bears’ fifth straight loss, all they can do is pick themselves up and march through this tumultuous season.
Here are the key takeaways from Sunday’s game.
Positives
The box score may not suggest it, but there are a few positives for the Bears to reflect on. For example, throughout the first three quarters, Cal was outscored by an average of 12 points per quarter. However, in the final period, Cal was only outscored by 9 points, putting up a respectable 15 points against Stanford’s 24. The Bears showed resilience in the last frame, the quarter in which they had the least incentive to do so.