annarborbear said:

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Sheppard and Puff were a solid combo today. For the team to become better, we will need to get more out of Walker.

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I like having two point guards playing at the same time since both can do other things. Those two combined for 33 points, 14 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals, and 2 blocks. I really liked Puff's hustle today on defense and on the boards.

Once our open threes started dropping the game was decided. And we had an incredible 20 assists on 24 baskets.

Finnish Oski said:

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The music they play during the third quarter "light show" is excruciatingly loud. I can't imagine many attendees of any age are a fan of heavy metal yet there it is assaulting our senses.

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I don't know if it's heavy metal or light metal or concrete but it sure doesn't sound like music.

Quote:

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We're not getting good crowds. Barely as much as last year. Maybe Cal should have a marketing department.

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How did the Valkyries do it?

As someone here posted recently, some folk expect a lot, and very quickly, from a cobbled-together team of rookies and newcomers. Hell, they've played--what, FIVE whole games in public? (The WNBA fans/clique at Rebkell.net do the same thing, and are even more harsh with the opening month of play.) True, the Bears weren't facing a top-25 team, but I was impressed by the way they pulled themselves together in the second half.

The Bears have some pieces.

Barnes will be good. Mjiracle is already good. Puff had her best game today. Walker got better as the game went along after a slow start defensively - 9 boards led everyone. Naya is intriguing...but seems to foul a lot at this point. Gisella plays well in spurts - I'd say both Naya and Gisella need to be in the rotation. Teams will leave Lola open until she can make some shots. When Lulu gets back, and with Claudia that's 9 deep. And the others not mentioned may make their way into the mix if there's foul trouble or an injury.

Defense was pretty solid. Ought to be Cal's strength this season and needs to lead to easy offense. Not a lot of help defense - they seem to rely on the 1-1 match up.

I can see them struggle to score in the half court...but I think they'll improve as the season goes. Would help if they didn't miss at least six layups. Shot FTs better, though. And 12 3s made? Without Lulu? Hope that continues.

Offensively, timing seems a bit off but not surprising given the fact they haven't played together all that much. When the guard is in a good entry pass position, Walker is out of position. By the time she gets there the moment has passed and ball gets reversed. Or Walker has her defender sealed but there's no angle to get her the ball...this should improve as the season progresses, I would hope. Walker did have a nice pass out of the post that led to a made 3 - that was encouraging.

Just looking for progress game to game.

Schroeder71 said:

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I couldn't make out what the announcer stated was the reason for her absence.

Niners win 1st quarter, 17-13. Cal shooting 27.8% from the field with Donez & Morris both are 0-3. Taylor Barnes has all three Bear turnovers. Charlotte's post players dominating inside. At halftime, 22-22 tie. Cal still cannot throw a rock in the ocean. Both teams have 10 turnovers. Sakima Walker shutout. Niner posts, Gage & White, combine for six points.

Bears are taking mostly three-point shots (16 out of 29 attempts) but average only 25%. What type of strategy is that?

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Back from the game. OK S71, you asked the question, I will answer it. In basketball when your opponent is consistently playing a zone defense in most cases it will lead to more three point attempts being made by the offense. This "strategy " that you questioned was not predetermined, it was an answer to what Charlotte was doing on defense. In the first half the Bears were missing open looks. They were 4 for 16 so you made it a point to question Charmin's strategy. They stuck with it and in the second half they were 8 for 11 from 3 point land. Pretty good ""strategy", right? So here's my question: Why in the world did you question it?

When I was coaching at Campo, I had a guard who could really shoot it. Annie Ward made eight threes in one game. The next game she was one for 12. After the second game, people wondered why I let her shoot so much.

Sometimes the threes go in and sometimes they don't. That's the gamble teams take when they feel they can't play you man-to-man. They give you threes and hope you miss. Your hope is that the percentages even out and you punish that strategy. Most of the time you do, but you never know ...

If the defense gives you threes, they're taking away something else -- and you just have to make those threes.

ClayK said:

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When I was coaching at Campo, I had a guard who could really shoot it. Annie Ward made eight threes in one game. The next game she was one for 12. After the second game, people wondered why I let her shoot so much.

Sometimes the threes go in and sometimes they don't. That's the gamble teams take when they feel they can't play you man-to-man. They give you threes and hope you miss. Your hope is that the percentages even out and you punish that strategy. Most of the time you do, but you never know ...

If the defense gives you threes, they're taking away something else -- and you just have to make those threes.

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I hope all posters are reading this.

I think she was our starting off guard because Lulu didn't play.

Did we notice Cal had 20 assists on 24 field goals?

MoragaBear said:

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The attendance today is pretty much the same as the men have been getting

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While I obviously hope attendance improves (and I believe it will as season progresses) I have noticed when watching a number of women's college games on ESPN thus far this season with few exceptions, arenas are pretty empty. This includes other ACC teams. Of course there are exceptions (UConn, LSU, ND v Michigan) but the true test will come for league play imho. Also interested in game at Chase. I bought my tickets for that a while ago.

Go Bears!

CalWSportsFan said:

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MoragaBear said:

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The attendance today is pretty much the same as the men have been getting

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While I obviously hope attendance improves (and I believe it will as season progresses) I have noticed when watching a number of women's college games on ESPN thus far this season with few exceptions, arenas are pretty empty. This includes other ACC teams. Of course there are exceptions (UConn, LSU, ND v Michigan) but the true test will come for league play imho. Also interested in game at Chase. I bought my tickets for that a while ago.

Go Bears!

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I'm going to Chase also plus a freakin' friend.