Five Bears in double figures!
Suarez with 17
Onyiah, Krimili, Williams with 15
Twidale with 11

11 turnovers for the game (is that a season low?)

Lots of Bears had their moments to shine (including excellent minutes from Abigor and great D from Noble) - but Onyiah was the MVP (imo) tonite down low. 7-12 from the field.
But, that big Swede (6'6) Trygger was a handful (19 points - 4-7 on threes) as you don't normally have a post go out to the line to guard - and even so, Cal was giving up many inches to Trygger. But, when it mattered most, Onyiah came through.

And Abigor reappeared, apparently in good shape. (Michelle and Marta had carried her off court.)

What a great night at Haas. This is a really impressive Cal team and so much credit to Charmin who has really grown as a coach. Among her new found strengths is hiring good assistants. After that 16-0 run the Bears never gave up the lead and they answered everything that NC State threw at them. At times it was like two boxers wailing away at each other with one always having an upper hand. So many different players whose praises one could sing but special shout out to Michelle who stayed out of foul trouble and collected some key rebounds and made some clutch points and to our floor leader Kayla who made some circus baskets while being a steady leader.
I love this team.

Best of all, they are playing like a team, anticipating each other's moves and whereabouts.

As for Splash Sisters, there was a trio of them on the court tonight. (Sometimes a quartet when Kayla is feeling it.)

Attendance was around 1850. If you lie live bball, it was great. If you don't like live bball, it was still great.

Refs let them play. This helped Michele. Michele made her longest shot of the season, around 10 feet. She also got an assist carrying Gabrielle off the court. At first she had her in her arms and was going to do it solo till Marta came to help. But Gabrielle came back. Sort of like an old James Brown concert when he collapses after singing Please, Please me "Baby please don't go."

I'm not used to being up this late.

First, S71 - sorry for your loss. 102 is a pretty long life! Condolences.

Second, Cal earned this one. NC State is a solid team - they don't beat themselves.

Cal had to play a buttoned up game and they did. Again, at least 3 of their TOs were on picks (not really screens but after the DHO, Gabby ran through the coming defender - can't do that!) so with 11 TOs, probably the reason why Cal won.

Michelle owned the boards at the end, going for and getting O-boards/putbacks and sweeping the defensive glass. She played BIG tonight (15/10, O TOs and only 2 fouls!) even though the NC State center was their most prolific 3-point shooter. Who would have thought, especially only shooting 12.5% coming into the game (according to ESPN stats)? Even with that, I'll take Michelle owning the boards in crunch time. Most of her rebounds came in the second half.

#10 for NC State was pretty darned good. Efficient, gets to her spots.

Marta more than even that up. Had a double/double by half and really helped Cal turn the game around in the 2nd Q. Only had one FG in the 2nd half but it was pretty play where Kayla set a screen (and paid for it) to allow Marta to turn the corner and led to a backdoor layup.

Cal got good minutes from Abigor (who had to be carried off the court, scary moment but it seems it was probably leg cramps since she was up and about soon thereafter) and Noble (so solid!) while NC State seemed reluctant to play their bench. Might have made a difference at the end.

A very solid win against a solid NC State team.

Now the Bears need to beat FLA St on Sunday to complete the sweep.

Go Bears!

Rechecked the box score, and Kayla played all 40 minutes. Her spin moves are a delight.

https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/boxscore/_/gameId/401724588

This was a game in which I think playing in front of a home crowd did make a difference, The crowd was intense throughout, and helped the players to sustain their own intensity, which never wavered. Great showing by the team.

So sorry to hear about your mother-in-law's passing. Sounds like a life well lived.

Great game tonight. So many steady performances and taking care of the ball!!! Haas was rocking even without students and band. This team is a delight to cheer for.

gljone said:

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First, S71 - sorry for your loss. 102 is a pretty long life! Condolences.

Second, Cal earned this one. NC State is a solid team - they don't beat themselves.

Cal had to play a buttoned up game and they did. Again, at least 3 of their TOs were on picks (not really screens but after the DHO, Gabby ran through the coming defender - can't do that!) so with 11 TOs, probably the reason why Cal won.

Michelle owned the boards at the end, going for and getting O-boards/putbacks and sweeping the defensive glass. She played BIG tonight (15/10, O TOs and only 2 fouls!) even though the NC State center was their most prolific 3-point shooter. Who would have thought, especially only shooting 12.5% coming into the game (according to ESPN stats)? Even with that, I'll take Michelle owning the boards in crunch time. Most of her rebounds came in the second half.

#10 for NC State was pretty darned good. Efficient, gets to her spots.

Marta more than even that up. Had a double/double by half and really helped Cal turn the game around in the 2nd Q. Only had one FG in the 2nd half but it was pretty play where Kayla set a screen (and paid for it) to allow Marta to turn the corner and led to a backdoor layup.

Cal got good minutes from Abigor (who had to be carried off the court, scary moment but it seems it was probably leg cramps since she was up and about soon thereafter) and Noble (so solid!) while NC State seemed reluctant to play their bench. Might have made a difference at the end.

A very solid win against a solid NC State team.

Now the Bears need to beat FLA St on Sunday to complete the sweep.

Go Bears!

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23good summary ... some many players had good/great games

Marta was all world, including 4-4 from downtown

Michelle was a huge key with another double-double, pulling down and scoring in the clutch ... she is so athletic that she caught some bad passes. I think she should take those 8-10 foot shots when teams leave her open

Williams ran this team like a vet

Jayda didn't take a single shot in 23 minutes, but she was another big key to the win

This is clearly the best 3 point shooting team Cal's had in last decade, maybe ever

annarborbear said:

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This was a game in which I think playing in front of a home crowd did make a difference, The crowd was intense throughout, and helped the players to sustain their own intensity, which never wavered. Great showing by the team.

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Best crowd I've seen this season. It helped that the game was exciting from the beginning. Last night's men's crowd was bigger but nowhere near as lively.

We're really playing like a team. Credit to Charmin for assembling a great cast of players and coaches and getting them all to work together so well!

Fun post game instagram

https://instagr.am/p/DEooyymRJq7

HoopDreams said:

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gljone said:

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First, S71 - sorry for your loss. 102 is a pretty long life! Condolences.

Second, Cal earned this one. NC State is a solid team - they don't beat themselves.

Cal had to play a buttoned up game and they did. Again, at least 3 of their TOs were on picks (not really screens but after the DHO, Gabby ran through the coming defender - can't do that!) so with 11 TOs, probably the reason why Cal won.

Michelle owned the boards at the end, going for and getting O-boards/putbacks and sweeping the defensive glass. She played BIG tonight (15/10, O TOs and only 2 fouls!) even though the NC State center was their most prolific 3-point shooter. Who would have thought, especially only shooting 12.5% coming into the game (according to ESPN stats)? Even with that, I'll take Michelle owning the boards in crunch time. Most of her rebounds came in the second half.

#10 for NC State was pretty darned good. Efficient, gets to her spots.

Marta more than even that up. Had a double/double by half and really helped Cal turn the game around in the 2nd Q. Only had one FG in the 2nd half but it was pretty play where Kayla set a screen (and paid for it) to allow Marta to turn the corner and led to a backdoor layup.

Cal got good minutes from Abigor (who had to be carried off the court, scary moment but it seems it was probably leg cramps since she was up and about soon thereafter) and Noble (so solid!) while NC State seemed reluctant to play their bench. Might have made a difference at the end.

A very solid win against a solid NC State team.

Now the Bears need to beat FLA St on Sunday to complete the sweep.

Go Bears!

---

23good summary ... some many players had good/great games

Marta was all world, including 4-4 from downtown

Michelle was a huge key with another double-double, pulling down and scoring in the clutch ... she is so athletic that she caught some bad passes. I think she should take those 8-10 foot shots when teams leave her open

Williams ran this team like a vet

Jayda didn't take a single shot in 23 minutes, but she was another big key to the win

This is clearly the best 3 point shooting team Cal's had in last decade, maybe ever

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Without a doubt. When she's on the court, real good things happen.