Article: http://bearinsider.com/news/story.php?article=2231

Bears pulled away in the second half with better execution.

Lots of strong contributions. Davidson had a great stretch in the second half.

Don't know how you do it pearbear. By the time I get off the train after the games you have already completed a great write-up.

Exciting game, I thought. I like all this fun stuff they're doing on defense. I think we are gonna surprise some people this season.

Nerd_Vernacular;842761736 said:

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Don't know how you do it pearbear. By the time I get off the train after the games you have already completed a great write-up.

Exciting game, I thought. I like all this fun stuff they're doing on defense. I think we are gonna surprise some people this season.

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Thanks, NV! (Hey those are my initials, Vietnamese-style!) The stories are a little easier to write when events don't change too much, and the Bears got the lead early in the third and then kept it.

I think it's great that Cal has faced two teams who have tried to take away Kristine/inside game. Thomas got to show out right off, and that can only help the Bears' confidence. And still, in both games, Cal found a way to get the ball to Kristine in the second half.

Other positives:

Cal's defense has been very disruptive in spurts.

Cal has gotten contributions from different players already. If this can be a thing, the Bears will be so much harder to stop.

I thought Brown and West looked great at Saint Mary's, and tonight I liked what I saw from Cayton. When the Bears were making a comeback, I liked that Cayton took the ball aggressively to the rack, even when she turned it over. But it's good to see no hesitation, so often a trait of freshmen. And the there was a play where she was harassing a ball-handler bringing up the ball and she really showed her quick feet, just moving side to side and suffocating all movement until the double came and Cal got the turnover. I haven't seen that from a Cal player since Tierra Rogers (of course, that was never in a Cal uniform, only before she got to Cal).

GO BEARS!

pearbear;842761746 said:

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Thanks, NV! (Hey those are my initials, Vietnamese-style!) The stories are a little easier to write when events don't change too much, and the Bears got the lead early in the third and then kept it.

I think it's great that Cal has faced two teams who have tried to take away Kristine/inside game. Thomas got to show out right off, and that can only help the Bears' confidence. And still, in both games, Cal found a way to get the ball to Kristine in the second half.

Other positives:

Cal's defense has been very disruptive in spurts.

Cal has gotten contributions from different players already. If this can be a thing, the Bears will be so much harder to stop.

I thought Brown and West looked great at Saint Mary's, and tonight I liked what I saw from Cayton. When the Bears were making a comeback, I liked that Cayton took the ball aggressively to the rack, even when she turned it over. But it's good to see no hesitation, so often a trait of freshmen. And the there was a play where she was harassing a ball-handler bringing up the ball and she really showed her quick feet, just moving side to side and suffocating all movement until the double came and Cal got the turnover. I haven't seen that from a Cal player since Tierra Rogers (of course, that was never in a Cal uniform, only before she got to Cal).

GO BEARS!

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My only problem with last night's game is that I think it is too early in the year to go to the short bench. We will have at least temporary injuries at some point and also energy lulls over the long season. No one on the team is a stiff, so it will be best to keep everyone involved and ready to contribute.

annarborbear;842761812 said:

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My only problem with last night's game is that I think it is too early in the year to go to the short bench. We will have at least temporary injuries at some point and also energy lulls over the long season. No one on the team is a stiff, so it will be best to keep everyone involved and ready to contribute.

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I could be wrong, but I think we were trying to speed up the game. That would explain limited time for CJ and almost no time for Chen, but I don't know why Mo didn't play a little more.

annarborbear;842761812 said:

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My only problem with last night's game is that I think it is too early in the year to go to the short bench. We will have at least temporary injuries at some point and also energy lulls over the long season. No one on the team is a stiff, so it will be best to keep everyone involved and ready to contribute.

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Good point to bring up now as we started off pretty well last year 11-3 beating Louisville and UCLA (non-conference) in triple OT then we went 4-14 in the conference. We were short handed last year but if LG doesn't play West and Mosley more, we will be in the same situation. I remember some discussion last year why she did not provide more rest for the starters in the 106-44 win over Cal State Northridge as we lost 7 out of the first 8 conference games right after.

stu;842761846 said:

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I could be wrong, but I think we were trying to speed up the game. That would explain limited time for CJ and almost no time for Chen, but I don't know why Mo didn't play a little more.

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You're right; that's what Lindsay said as the reason--to match up with Santa Clara's 4 guard line-up.

Just for discussion's sake, whose minutes should have been reduced from last night's game to get more minutes for CJ, Chen, or Mo? Cowling (37mins) and Thomas (36) played a lot, but I'm not sure if I would have reduced their load, with the game very much in balance throughout. Maybe Mo for defense? But unless she has improved, that would be giving up some ball-handling and shooting.

That said, I don't know if Lindsay will ever play a deep bench. She has not shown that so far. Maybe she just is an 8-player rotation coach at heart. This is the year she finally has more pieces, though, so we will see. Much will depend on how committed she is to this high energy pressing defense. I think the next few games will provide some opportunities, especially if the Bears can get off to a fast start.

tnx viet.

Kristine certainly got her double-double, but she carried four fouls for quite a while. There could be future games when Anigwe is burdened with fouls and will need to be subbed-out for some critical minutes to save her fifth foul. I hope Chen and CJ are sufficiently confident and experienced then to carry that load for however much time may be needed.

smh;842762060 said:

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tnx viet.

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Thanks for asking, smh. It's different: a lot easier to see one end, but much harder to see the other end. I'm sure I'll adjust. One plus=not being kicked by spectators in the back!

puget sound cal fan;842762122 said:

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Kristine certainly got her double-double, but she carried four fouls for quite a while. There could be future games when Anigwe is burdened with fouls and will need to be subbed-out for some critical minutes to save her fifth foul. I hope Chen and CJ are sufficiently confident and experienced then to carry that load for however much time may be needed.

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Great point about foul trouble. That is another inevitability that requires subs to have experience and be ready.

I also think that Lindsay's offense really suffers when any of the players on the floor go tentative. When we are not in attack mode, which requires player confidence, in this system the ball then seems to get passed around endlessly on the perimeter. An example in this one was Davidson's game. She tried to do nothing in the first half, and our offense was ineffective. When she went aggressive in the second half, a lot of good things began to happen. Similarly, if a sub does not get playing time to build confidence, and then has to go in for injuries or foul trouble, this offensive system can become like trying to play 4 on 5. We have had some really bad offensive games when that has been the case.

We actually increased our lead when she was out. Same with the St. Mary;'s game. Range went inside along with West.

GATC;842761875 said:

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Good point to bring up now as we started off pretty well last year 11-3 beating Louisville and UCLA (non-conference) in triple OT then we went 4-14 in the conference. We were short handed last year but if LG doesn't play West and Mosley more, we will be in the same situation. I remember some discussion last year why she did not provide more rest for the starters in the 106-44 win over Cal State Northridge as we lost 7 out of the first 8 conference games right after.

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Let's not get overly concerned about player minutes after just two games. I've been to both games and saw different substitution patterns in each. Coach G is looking for the best match-ups and this season she has the flexibility to do so. CJ West was a huge help to Kristine against St. Mary's. Likewise, Penina Davidson sparked a surge in the second half of the Santa Clara game. The freshmen are getting valuable minutes now which will help later in the season. Mo Mosley will find her spot in the rotation in due time. I'm not the least bit worried. Go Bears!!

SFCALBear72;842762165 said:

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Let's not get overly concerned about player minutes after just two games. I've been to both games and saw different substitution patterns in each. Coach G is looking for the best match-ups and this season she has the flexibility to do so. CJ West was a huge help to Kristine against St. Mary's. Likewise, Penina Davidson sparked a surge in the second half of the Santa Clara game. The freshmen are getting valuable minutes now which will help later in the season. Mo Mosley will find her spot in the rotation in due time. I'm not the least bit worried. Go Bears!!

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..I think with the closeness of the SM's game ..it was more important to get the win. Just a FYI Taylor Berry (5' 11") of SC's top scorer & rebounder that night, was a teammate of Cowlings, Gabby, and Mo at SMB high school. Graduated same yr of Cowlings & Gabby. Think she probably had the game of career playing in front of her family. She is another one of those overachiever and was relentless going after the rebound.

wvitbear;842762140 said:

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We actually increased our lead when she was out. Same with the St. Mary;'s game. Range went inside along with West.

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The Play-By-Play shows:

In the 1st Anigwe out and Cayton in at 4:14, Cayton out and Anigwe in at 1:24. In that stretch we went from down 2 to up 2.

In the 2nd Anigwe out and West in at 5:33, West out and Anigwe in at 3:51. In that stretch we went from up 2 to down 2.

In the 3rd Anigwe out and Brown in at 6:31, Anigwe still out at 0:00. In that stretch we went from up 1 to up 8.

In the 4th Anigwe in at 10:00, Anigwe out and West in at 0:31. In that stretch we went from up 8 to up 15. Nobody scored in the last :31.

West played briefly and didn't increase our lead. In the 3rd we were +7 with Anigwe out, in the 4th +7 with Anigwe in. My take is Anigwe had a rough start when the team went to her too much but a strong finish when everyone else was contributing more.

OBear073akaSMFan;842762176 said:

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..I think with the closeness of the SM's game ..it was more important to get the win. Just a FYI Taylor Berry (5' 11") of SC's top scorer & rebounder that night, was a teammate of Cowlings, Gabby, and Mo at SMB high school. Graduated same yr of Cowlings & Gabby. Think she probably had the game of career playing in front of her family. She is another one of those overachiever and was relentless going after the rebound.

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It's Cowling, not Cowlings, but it sure would be nice to have two of her.

Actually, Cowling, along with Range and Davidson, are Cal's more versatile and effective players. They're great examples of experience and maturity breeding confidence.