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Cal Women's Basketball

Bears Take Down #21 NC State 78-71 in 2nd Top-25 Victory of the Season

January 9, 2025
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BERKELEY - The Bears continued their impressive season with their second Top-25 victory of the year, fending off the 21st-ranked NC State Wolfpack for a 78-71 victory in front of 1,874 excited fans at Haas Pavilion.

The Bears were led by forward Marta Suarez with 17 points and 12 rebounds along with 15 a piece from center Michelle Onyiah (10 rebounds), point guard Kayla Williams (6 assists) and guard Ioanna Krimili. Guard Lulu Twidale pitched in 11 points, as well, to give the starting five all double-digit points in the win.

"I'm really proud of our team," head coach Charmin Smith said after the game. I think this is a great program win. I think this is one of the biggest wins for Cal basketball in some time. NC State is a really good team. You know, those guards have been to a Final Four and just really proud of how we showed up and stayed together and weathered the storm and came up with a with a really good win.”

The Wolfpack, a Final 4 participant last season, came into the game at 11-3 and on a seven-game winning streak, starting 2025 with a 91-52 win over Boston College to start 3-0 in ACC play and were one of five schools in the ACC to start 3-0 in league play. The game marked the first-ever meeting between the two programs was the first Top 25 matchup at Haas Pavilion since Dec. 22, 2018 (#14 Cal vs #1 UConn).

"You gotta start by giving Cal a lot of credit," NC State head coach Wes Moore said after the game. I mean, they're a very explosive offensive team. We knew that coming in, four starters shoot over 40% from three. And I thought their post player (Onyiah) really did a nice job for them tonight as well. So they had a great balanced attack, five people in scoring double figures, but we have got to do a better job."

The Bears got out of the gate fast, scoring the first five points on a Krimili jumper and a Twidale 3 and held an early 7-point lead after a Suarez trey pushed the lead to 12-5 4:31 into the game.

NC State fought back, taking the lead themselves, closing the quarter with a 10-0 run to go up 20-14 at the break.

The Bears came back strong in the second stanza, going on an impressive 16-0 run fueled by consecutive treys from Krimili and three by Suarez to go up 30-22 with 5:32 left in the half. The Bears eventually settled for a 6-point halftime lead on a Williams 3 to end the half up 39-33.

The third quarter saw the Wolfpack whittle down the Bears’ lead, eventually tying the game at 52 on a Zoe Brooks layup with 2:09 left in the quarter but the Bears responded with an 8-0 run to close out the quarter on a pair of threes from Twidale and Krimili and a final bucket from Onyiah to head into the fourth quarter up 60-52.

NC State would not go down easily, cutting the Cal lead down to 4 on a Tilda Trygger 3 with 25 seconds remaining, 75-71, but three final free throws from Suarez and Twidale closed out the impressive win. 

NC State was led by guard Aziaha James with 21, forward Tilda Trygger with 19 points and 10 rebounds and guard Zoe Brooks with 14 points in the loss.

The Bears moved to 15-2 (3-1) on the season while NC State falls to 11-4 (3-1) with their first conference loss.

Bears Take Down #21 NC State 78-71 in 2nd Top-25 Victory of the Season

1,707 Views | 29 Replies | Last: 44 min ago by WhatABonanza
BearBint
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10:25p, 1/9/25
Thank you, MoragaBear. Palms of Freakin' Victory.
"Don't get distracted, myself. Don't get distracted." Self-talk from a young relative
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wvitbear
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10:35p, 1/9/25
Bearbint, how did your husband view the game. Too bad he wasn't there.
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Ashfield63
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11:03p, 1/9/25
The BEARS victory was covered on Channel 4 Sports at the end of the 10 o'clock news tonight. Good coverage and highlights. Usually, it's Stanford WBB games, but both WBB teams made the show tonight!
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CalWSportsFan
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11:06p, 1/9/25
Here's the SF Chronicle story by Marisa Ingemi. Out of gift links for the month so sorry if you hit paywall: https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/college/article/surging-cal-women-fend-nc-state-season-s-third-20022848.php

Here's an excerpt:

" Kayla Williams pushed herself up off the floor and casually strolled through a line of high-fives from her Cal teammates. She had just picked up an and-1 after spinning to her left to beat NC State's 6-foot-6 center Tilda Trygger and bank in a difficult-angle shot high off the backboard.

It was the kind of turning point moment that, earlier in the season, might have been met with tentative optimism and desperation to hold on with conservative play. In Thursday's 78-71 win over No. 21 NC State, however, Williams seemed unsurprised by her big moment and ready for another. A possession later, with the clock winding down in the first half, Williams dribbled, stepped back and landed a 3-pointer well before the shot clock was done. The No. 24 Bears (15-2, 3-1 ACC) went to the half ahead 39-33 following a 25-point second quarter.

"I think this is one of the biggest wins for Cal women's basketball in some time," said head coach Charmin Smith. "NC State is a really good team. Those guys have been to a Final Four. I'm just really proud of how we showed up and stayed together and weathered the storm."

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CalWSportsFan
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11:17p, 1/9/25
Really interesting post-game:

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MoragaBear
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11:35p, 1/9/25
Staff
Quotes and videos from both Cal and NC State now added to the story.
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gljone
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11:51p, 1/9/25
Thanks for posting the press conferences.

I listened to the NC State coach (Wes Moore) and he is a good interview. Gave Cal a lot of credit and I thought his best point was when asked about the cross country travel. His reply was they only had to do it once. Cal has to go back east SEVERAL times. A pretty thoughtful answer.

He has a pretty good sense of humor. A good listen, as is the Cal press conference where both Marta and Kayla provide some pretty good insight.
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Shocky1
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11:53p, 1/9/25
appreciate your coverage, jim
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wvitbear
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5:21a, 1/10/25
Wes Moore was great. "One day your the wind shield and the next day you're the bug." Great quote.
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ClayK
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6:51a, 1/10/25
That's from a Mary Chapin Carpenter song called, not surprisingly, "The Bug."

Announced attendance 1,874, which means probably fewer than 1,500 for a game between two top 25 teams.

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Shocky1
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6:58a, 1/10/25
clay, that's just complete marketing incompetence & lack of innovation

1,874 attendance: the worthless lazy bureaucrats of markeisha, simon-o'neil & knowlton should all be fired today

wut r u waiting for, rich??
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SFCALBear72
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In reply to ClayK • 7:08a, 1/10/25
ClayK said:
That's from a Mary Chapin Carpenter song called, not surprisingly, "The Bug."

Announced attendance 1,874, which means probably fewer than 1,500 for a game between two top 25 teams.

Why the negativity?

They scan tickets at the gates which gives them a count. If anything, it's more than 1,874 because students get in free, so they don't have a way to track them.

My section (16) was full. And the sections on both sides were also nearly full. There were also quite a few NC State fans in attendance. Surprisingly.
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ncbears
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7:43a, 1/10/25
For reference, per the Cal Bears site, which only has stats going back to 2016-2017, average attendance

16-17 - 2542
17-18 - 2330
18-19 - 2889
19-20 - 2168 (Smtih's first year)
20-21 - no attendance
21-22 - 1415
22-23 - 1232
23-24 - 1639
24-25 - so far 1863

The 2018 match with Connecticut drew 10,818 - the then Haas record for a women's basketball game.
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BearBint
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In reply to wvitbear • 7:52a, 1/10/25
wvitbear said:
Bearbint, how did your husband view the game. Too bad he wasn't there.
Thanks, wvitbear. He didn't view it. After the game, I called the nurses' station to convey the news, and will show him highlights today.
"Don't get distracted, myself. Don't get distracted." Self-talk from a young relative
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Shocky1
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7:54a, 1/10/25
72, there should be 10,000+ at every game, are u familiar with the tix sales for the wbna franchise which has never won a single game in the basketball starved bay area??

clay is not being negative, he's pointing out the obvious that in a cosmopolitan area of millions of potential tix buyers that the 100% incompetent cal athletic department got only 1,874 to haas pavilion last nite which is abysmal by any sales metric

if u think paying a head coach half a million bucks a year plus a staff of almost another dozen is financially sustainable with the current attendance failures & the looming state of california funding reductions to the university then ur really not paying attention

let's be real here, cal has the smallest fanbase of any top 25 team in the nation & it's not even close

fyi, student attendance is tracked & counted towards attendance figures nationwide

expect more, amigo

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drizzlybear
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7:55a, 1/10/25
Very fun! Go Bears!!
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BearBint
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In reply to CalWSportsFan • 7:56a, 1/10/25
CalWSportsFan said:
Here's the SF Chronicle story by Marisa Ingemi. Out of gift links for the month so sorry if you hit paywall: https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/college/article/surging-cal-women-fend-nc-state-season-s-third-20022848.php
Three or four posts about Cal from Marisa I. on her Blue Sky account: https://bsky.app/profile/mingemi.bsky.social (Cal WBB needs one there as well; thus far, it's a good place.)
"Don't get distracted, myself. Don't get distracted." Self-talk from a young relative
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SFCALBear72
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In reply to Shocky1 • 8:08a
Shocky1 said:
72, there should be 10,000+ at every game, are u familiar with the tix sales for the wbna franchise which has never won a single game in the basketball starved bay area??

clay is not being negative, he's pointing out the obvious that in a cosmopolitan area of millions of potential tix buyers that the 100% incompetent cal athletic department got only 1,874 to haas pavilion last nite which is abysmal by any sales metric

if u think paying a head coach half a million bucks a year plus a staff of almost another dozen is financially sustainable with the current attendance failures & the looming state of california funding reductions to the university then ur really not paying attention

let's be real here, cal has the smallest fanbase of any top 25 team in the nation & it's not even close

fyi, student attendance is tracked & counted towards attendance figures nationwide

expect more, amigo

lol. I'm not familiar with the wbna. hmmmm. And that comparison is ridiculous.

blah blah blah! I stick by my negativity comment.
Gosh, the almighty Stanfurd Cardinal had only 2,660 at their game last night.
Don't they pull from the same "millions of potential tix buyers"?
Their athletic department must be incompetent too.

And we are far, far away from ever being amigos.
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Shocky1
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8:23a
agreed 72, we're far from evah being amigos

fyi, stanford averaged 4,152 attendance at maples pavilion last season

the wnba franchise in san francisco got 20,000+ season tix deposits

do u work in the cal athletic dept or something??
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Finnish Oski
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8:26a
SFCalBear72: piece of advice re: Shockey, utilize the ignore user function, you'll be much happier.
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Shocky1
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8:31a
and finnish u will be happy with a wbb program that has its budget severely slashed in upcoming years due to the university's impending financial tsunami unless it exponentially grows the fanbase??

to each their own, ignorance is bliss for some people who are scared to tackle complex issues head on

head in the sand (is not an effective life problem solving solution)#
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CalWSportsFan
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In reply to Finnish Oski • 8:42a
I'll second that....ignore is bliss...also, let's stop quoting him so we aren't subjected to his posts indirectly please.
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SFCALBear72
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8:56a
Indeed. I should know better.

Done.
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going4roses
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9:11a
Coach Smith has her squad ballin !!!

Go Bears
"Tedious Repetition of routine actions are what make us great"
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GATC
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In reply to BearBint • 11:17a
BearBint said:
CalWSportsFan said:
Here's the SF Chronicle story by Marisa Ingemi. Out of gift links for the month so sorry if you hit paywall: https://www.sfchronicle.com/sports/college/article/surging-cal-women-fend-nc-state-season-s-third-20022848.php
Three or four posts about Cal from Marisa I. on her Blue Sky account: https://bsky.app/profile/mingemi.bsky.social (Cal WBB needs one there as well; thus far, it's a good place.)


Rich Lyons (after the game showing the excitement and asking people to join him) on Instagram was nice.
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Shocky1
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11:30a
agreed gatc but it's not gonna materially affect future attendance (his followers are mostly old blues that have never been to a wbb game), the key to growing the fanbase is outreach to the greater bay area/nor cal potential wbb fanbase that got zero berkeley affiliations that will appreciate the lady bears as a FUN value play with fascinating/engaging players!!
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ncbears
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11:38a
Now that there is a WNBA franchise in the Bay Area, one marketing ploy would be to encourage people to see the college players before they become professional stars. That has, implicitly, been one of the draws of men's basketball and football.
Simply, the players you see at Haas will be playing in the Bay Area next year and years thereafter.

But, it is not just WBB that has attendance and marketing woes. Cal has one of the top gymnastic programs. Other top schools have thousands attending gymnastic meets. But, not Cal. I'd wager that few even know that Cal has a top gymnastic program that was national runner-up last year. Sigh.
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RedlessWardrobe
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In reply to Shocky1 • 12:21p
Shocky1 said:
and finnish u will be happy with a wbb program that has its budget severely slashed in upcoming years due to the university's impending financial tsunami unless it exponentially grows the fanbase??

to each their own, ignorance is bliss for some people who are scared to tackle complex issues head on

head in the sand (is not an effective life problem solving solution)#
Shocky, let me say this as a voice of reason.

In almost every case, nobody here has any serious issues with your messages, but maybe you could tweak the tone of your delivery? Things might be a bit easier. Make sense?
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WhatABonanza
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1:12p
Shocky,

I get that you think Cal's marketing sucks. But when you make certain claims, I don't think you help your case.

Like when you say Cal should have at least 10,000 people at every game. It's just not a reasonable statement. (I think I'm being very polite here.) I know the Valkyries have twice that in potential season ticket holders. But how about a reality check, using the current season:

  • Were Cal to average 3,000 people, they would be 7th in the 18-team ACC -- a conference that takes its basketball seriously.
  • UCLA is undefeated and ranked Number 1. They average 5,078 attendees at home games.
  • USC is Top 5 and has a transcendent, high-scoring lead player. They average 4,873.

Saying we should have 10,000 people in the seats over and over and over just doesn't make a lot of sense.

FYI, only 1 women's team west of the Rockies has ever done that. It was Oregon in 2019-2020, the team that looked headed to the Final Four that was cancelled by the pandemic. And that team not only was top ranked, it had three players named either first or second team All American.

And singling out people by name and blaming them for failing to meet a standard that only one women's basketball program west of the Rockies has met is tiresome.
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