Cal was fortunate to depart with a victory. Bamberger dominated the game but missed the two key free throws at the end. The Bears tried five different post players on her and only Langarita was competitive. Claudia is 11-13 from the floor this season (her only misses were three-point attempts). She needs to grab more rebounds, however. Peanut Tuitele is steady but not tall enough to defend 6-3 or taller posts. She grabbed 7 boards this afternoon. Different players are showing up (or disappearing) on different nights. Today two starters, Kemery Martin and Evelien Lutje-Schipholt, were terrible so Charmin only played them17 & 18 minutes. Jayda Curry has only scored in double figures once (Notre Dame) in four games. She is struggling right now. Believe it or not, she is shooting the lowest FG% (32%) on the entire team. The next game is against Loyola Marymount and her younger sister, Layla Curry. Jayda should be up for that one (I predict).

https://calbears.com/sports/womens-basketball/stats/2022/pdf

As someone stated, the inside defense looks weak. The rebounding also needs to improve. HC Smith played 11 players double digit minutes this afternoon but only Leilani scored in double figures. Cal lucked out and won the game at the free throw line. The Bears need to be more consistent in their play. It appears that right now Charmin trusts Karisma Ortiz the most coming off the bench. She is getting the most PT (19 minutes) other than the five starters. Ortiz is a steady point guard. She looks to pass first and only scores approximately 4 points per game. GO BEARS!

GATC said:

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Did anyone see that foul on Peanut with 5 seconds left? Fortunately Ali missed both free throws. She made all the free throws before but the pressure got to her I guess. Leilani was clutch. She's really playing with confidence this year. Combine that with her natural intensity she's really becoming the key player. Love Charmin putting in Mia is defensive situations and pulling Jayda back when we get the ball. The defensive team of Leilani, Charisma, Mia, Peanut and Claudia looks good.

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I'd add Amaya to that list as well. Her length and athleticism caused some disruptions...and a St. Mary's turnover.

Dat's right Lon.

Cal got a little lucky at the end. The Gaels let it slip away. I would not want to play SMC in a three game series. I think they are better than last year and will beat a lot of WCC teams if healthy.

Saint Mary's played their hearts out, Defense, rebounding and hustle for loose balls ruled this game for three quarters.

Weedin became the all time WCC 3 point shooter, as a senior last year. I am surprised to see her back after the tears at senior night last year in Moraga. She and the physically mean-and-tough Bamberger gave a big show in Moraga today. Tip-of-the-cap. But a wins is a win.

I would play videos of Bamberger's game over and over for the Cal bigs. She is not a leaper or a perimeter shooter but she is smart and active on the whole court -- and the real deal in the post. I do see improvement at the Cal 4 and 5 but there needs to be more.

Here we are again, a Cal work-in-progress with several players playing below what I feel is their capabilities. This game should be very instructive on what needs to happen. The potential is still there.

Regarding our back court players Leilani was outstanding but Jayda and Kemery were neutralized for much of the game. Other than injuries, I am not concerned as they all competitive and skilled and that SMC defense was terrific at home in their high school like gym.. The coaches need to sort this out.

Who will step up in the post?? Obviously big minutes are available for someone to seize.

But I repeat, a win is a win. Good finish, Bears!

SFCALBear72 said:

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I was at the game. Officiating was horrendous. Calls not the same at both ends of the court. Refs imposed their will on the game. Hard for us to establish any flow. I was worried Charmin might pick up a technical foul.

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Thanks for reporting that. I think officiating has historically been one reason we don't play more away games against WCC schools.

GATC said:

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Did anyone see that foul on Peanut with 5 seconds left? Fortunately Ali missed both free throws. She made all the free throws before but the pressure got to her I guess. Leilani was clutch. She's really playing with confidence this year. Combine that with her natural intensity she's really becoming the key player. Love Charmin putting in Mia is defensive situations and pulling Jayda back when we get the ball. The defensive team of Leilani, Charisma, Mia, Peanut and Claudia looks good.

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Do I remember correctly that Leilani and Mia were playing some wonderful defense together earlier this year (meaning about February)? I'd like to see them doing so again.

SFCALBear72 said:

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GATC said:

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I'd add Amaya to that list as well. Her length and athleticism caused some disruptions...and a St. Mary's turnover.

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It will be fun to watch Amaya mature; her shooting is still ragged, but she clearly has fine defensive instincts.

57 second postgame presser !

Note that Cal had the bench points: https://calbears.com/documents/2022/11/20/2168321_1.pdf

After discovering that South Carolina came back against Stanford during their 4th quarter, I found myself wondering whether Cal might do the same. Very relieved that Bears' defense stepped up in the second half: forcing more turnovers, etc.

stu said:

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SFCALBear72 said:

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I was at the game. Officiating was horrendous. Calls not the same at both ends of the court. Refs imposed their will on the game. Hard for us to establish any flow. I was worried Charmin might pick up a technical foul.

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Thanks for reporting that. I think officiating has historically been one reason we don't play more away games against WCC schools.

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They took away 8 points on questionable calls and missed fouls on at least 6 inside shots. Amaya missed 2 layups. We could have easily had 26 more points. Plus Kemery, Jayda and Evelien had off days.

I think Karisma was +10, Claudia +9 and Amaya was +7. And Claudia lost 2 on the left side driving layup where she was called for traveling and Amaya lost 4 for her 2 missed layups. We would have lost this game without them.

The officiating did not determine this game. Cal player grit and superior coaching won it. Gael's coach Thomas screaming at referees probably warranted technical fouls but again, a win is a win. The Bears are growing; future opponents will pay attention.

The Bears may not "there" yet but they are in the race with plenty of laps to go.

A win is a win, but some surprising problems evident. Sloppy passes, over dribbling, lack of off the ball screens, not getting back on fast break in last quarter. These are not "skill" problems, but IQ and effort problems. They could be much better.

St Mary's center Ali Bamberger beating Cal's entire team down the floor on two consecutive possessions should have cost the game. I blame that on the coaching staff for not having a system where someone rotates back to prevent such a catastrophe. I have not seen that happen often even with good high school teams.

Schroeder71 said:

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St Mary's center Ali Bamberger beating Cal's entire team down the floor on two consecutive possessions should have cost the game. I blame that on the coaching staff for not having a system where someone rotates back to prevent such a catastrophe. I have not seen that happen often even with good high school teams.

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We haven't gotten the 11 player rotation running smoothly yet. I noticed that in one of the combinations of 1's and 2's that we are not getting back. In general Charmin has done a pretty good job in every player knowing their role when she's had over 20 different combinations. I love it when she puts in Mia for defense then puts in Jayda for offense. I think she made that switch 3-4 times in the last two minutes and it worked out very well.

GATC-you may be correct. Most teams settle on a 7-8-9 player rotation by the time conference play begins in earnest. Right now she is rotating 11 players and giving the most minutes to the players that are performing the best on a given day. Foul trouble also causes varied substitution patterns. Hopefully, some of the players will step up and begin to play more consistently so Charmin knows her top rotation. Sometimes-it might depend upon match-ups, too. GO BEARS!