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Cal Basketball

Bear Insider Video: Cal Guard MiCole Cayton

November 19, 2018
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It was a long year off but sophomore guard MiCole Cayton finally saw the court again last night in the Bears' 81-69 victory over Pacific yesterday afternoon in Palo Alto.

With the air quality in Haas Pavilion still poor with the ongoing Camp Fire in Paradise, the game was moved to Maples Pavillion, giving fans closer to the Peninsula and South Bay a chance to see the now 4-0 Bears play in person after returning from a successful road trip with a pair of 75-58 and 70-52 wins over Penn State and BYU.

Cayton was eased back into action, seeing eight minutes of floor time in the Bears’ win yesterday.

“It’s incredibly tough to go through an injury like that and come back,” said Cal post Kristine Anigwe after yesterday’s win. “Asha has done it, so she knows the grind. But I’ve just seen [MiCole] go through high and low and then back up. So just having her back on the court, I felt an extra boost, like I need to play for her...She’s been with us this whole year, and watching from the sidelines, that’s been hard. So I’m just really glad she’s back with us.”

The time off was a learning experience for the speedy and competive guard from Stockton, CA and it wasn’t always easy to watch her team compete, knowing she couldn’t help on the court.

“It didn’t really hit me till I came back from my injury (last season) and I was on the bench and cheering for the team and I was like, ‘Oh wow, I’m not physically able to play,” said Cayton. “It’s definitely been a mental battle and it’s been really challenging, but with the help of Cal fans, my coaches, my teammates -just the unlimited encouragement and the letters and all that, that definitely helped me. It went a long way and I just can’t wait to be back on the court.

“I value basketball so much more than what I did before, so thank you guys for all the shout-outs and the encouragement.”

Cayton loves what she sees in the ‘18-19 Bears this season and is expecting big things from her squad.

“I feel like we’re going to be unstoppable,” said Cayton. “We have Recee (Caldwell), an incoming grad transfer that instantly brought that energy that she brings on every play. She’s had an instant impact.

“Kianna (Smith) is so, so much better. Much more confident. And her dribble and shot is looking really, really good. We have Kristine -that’s my girl. She’s going to do what she’s going to do and she’s going to do it right. And we have Teezy (point guard Asha Thomas). Her current leadership has just been phenominal. Way more vocal. After Mikayla (Cowling) left, she instantly picked up that role like, ‘I know what I have to do. It’s my last year.’

“Other than that, with all my teammates, we’ve been grinding, finding a way to fit in and find our little roles and what we can do better. So we’ve been really good and we’re going to shock a lot of people this season.”

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Bear Insider Video: Cal Guard MiCole Cayton

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