HAAS PAVILION - The Bears continued to stay hot to close out their 2024 calendar with a decisive 89-63 win over Temple Saturday evening in Haas Pavilion.
Guards Lulu Twidale and Ioanna Krimili continued to shine from the perimeter in the win with both hitting 6 treys in the win on combined 12-of-26 from deep. The Bears also dominated the boards to the tune of 50-25, doubling up the Owls in the win. Cal played 12 players in all during the win and every player contributed at least one rebound in the victory, with reserves playing most every minute of the final stanza.
“Just really proud of where we are as we wrap up non conference, being 13-1,” head coach Charmin Smith said after the win. “This is a good spot for us to be in as we get to go home and get some rest.
“I thought this temple team was really good. They shot the ball really well in first half, and we just had to just keep pushing. Keep pushing and finally, kind of busted through against them. This is a good game for us, being a little short-handed (no Marta Suarez) and having people step up and do a really good job to get a great win.”
The 6-5 Owls got to tonight’s championship game by defeating Xavier 66-51 at Haas Pavilion with Tiarra East, who scored 20 points with the help of 4 of 6 from beyond the arc in their win last night.
The Bears took the lead 2:30 into the game and maintained it throughout in their win, raising their record to 13-1, their best start in seven seasons.
Guard Lulu Twidale was on fire in the first half, burying five 3’s on nine attempts. Senior guard Ioanna Krimili hit four 3’s of her own, including a buzzer-beating trey to send the Bears into the locker room up 40-35. The game was closer than it needed to be, with the Bears turning the ball over 12 team in the opening half.
“I think after six years, I've learned how to be patient,” Krimili said in reference to teams trying to take away her perimeter game. “And when I don't have my shot, I know other people are going to step up, and that's the really good thing with our team. I feel very confident that even if I don't hit one myself, somebody else will step up. So I think everybody's doing a really good job.”
A stellar third quarter saw the Bears outscore Temple to the tune of 29-13 to go up 69-48 heading into the fourth quarter. Center Michelle Onyiah led the way with a stellar Q3 with 8 points and 5 boards, physically dominating the smaller but aggressive Owls’ defense. Point guard Kayla Williams also chipped in a pair of 3’s in the third quarter blitz.
Even though the reserves played most of the fourth quarter minutes, the Bears were still able to generate ample offense, going 8-for-16 from the field, including 5 from frosh point guard Zahra King in the final stanza, including a WNBA highlight-worthy driving bucket with contact after breaking down her defender with a killer crossover. Frosh forward Kamryn Mafua also chipped in a pair of buckets in the final stanza.
The win was especially meaningful for Smith for both the substance of what the tournament stands for but also finally breaking through and winning the tournament for the first time.
“It’s just one way of just trying to keep the conversation surrounding social justice happening, and in our sport, representation is a big thing,” the head coach said. “And every time we do it, and I see the coaches, I'm reminded of how much it actually means. And then we had the panel discussion this year and to hear the stories of the three other coaches, it was really special for me and motivating for me as well.
“There's a lot that I could say about this tournament, but I just want it to keep growing. You know, we need sponsorships. We need people investing in this. We want it to be something that a lot of people know about paying attention to. We want it to be on TV, so we've got work to do. I think this was a great start, and I'm happy because this is the first year that we won it. So it's nice to win your own tournament.”
The Bears will next take the court for their first road trip in ACC play on January 2 at Clemson at 4 pm on the ACC Network.
Back from the game. sometimes when I read what people are saying on line after the game, i wonder if they are watching the same game as I was watching. For once they played the 1-3-1 zone well. Temple is not a great three point shooting team and that was the difference tonight. Plus we killed them on the boards. Always felt we were gong to win the game even when we were throwing it away. Win convincingly without our best player. With 20 turnovers. Always thought we'd win in double figures as they were shooting better than they were capable of the first half. And it showed the second half.
Marta was walking around just fine but she was not warming up. Lola had a brace on her ankle. Can't remember which foot. With Drosouni playing better, she can take her spot. Anastasia has long arms. She and Jada played the point on the zone. Krimili ws underneath for the posterior of the zone.
Had to get home to the cat so missed the last minute or so of the game. Didn't see the awards.
I have season tickets to Cal Football and Men's Basketball, but I have been starving for Cal teams that can actually frequently beat decent or even good opponents. So I started following WBB this year. What a fun squad!
I took my son (high school freshman) to Haas tonight. It was my first time watching WBB in person in several years and his first time ever (he frequently goes to football and MBB games). He and I both had a blast. Obviously the three-pointers were great. Twidale's first half barrage and Krimili's buzzer beater had my son up and out of his seat. As did Zahra King's sweet move to the basket.
But what I thought was the difference in the game was Coach Smith going to a 1-3-1 zone when Onyiah was on the bench in the 3rd quarter. I noticed it right away.
Temple had been doing a decent job on offense in the first half against our man-to-man getting open mid-range shots, or even layups for their scorers, especially when Onyiah was not on the court. But the 1-3-1 absolutely masked that defensive deficiency while protecting our backup posts, Abigor and Ackerman. It seemed to confuse Temple, goading them into some bad decisions. The Owls got a couple wing 3s out of it, but overall, it stymied them.
The zone D was so effective that Coach Smith appeared to go back to it even with Onyiah in the game after that, switching back and forth between it and man-to-man to keep Temple off balance the rest of the game while the Bears kept pulling away on offense. Great stuff!
Seeing the Bears play in person will make you a firm believer in the quality of this team. The pieces mesh so well together. And they are obviously fun to watch.
Hope you and your son return to Haas once the Bears start conference play. You've already endeared yourself to Charmin by "bringing a freakin' friend". lol. That's her mantra to the crowd after each game.
I have season tickets to Cal Football and Men's Basketball, but I have been starving for Cal teams that can actually frequently beat decent or even good opponents. So I started following WBB this year. What a fun squad!
I took my son (high school freshman) to Haas tonight. It was my first time watching WBB in person in several years and his first time ever (he frequently goes to football and MBB games). He and I both had a blast. Obviously the three-pointers were great. Twidale's first half barrage and Krimili's buzzer beater had my son up and out of his seat. As did Zahra King's sweet move to the basket.
But what I thought was the difference in the game was Coach Smith going to a 1-3-1 zone when Onyiah was on the bench in the 3rd quarter. I noticed it right away.
Temple had been doing a decent job on offense in the first half against our man-to-man getting open mid-range shots, or even layups for their scorers, especially when Onyiah was not on the court. But the 1-3-1 absolutely masked that defensive deficiency while protecting our backup posts, Abigor and Ackerman. It seemed to confuse Temple, goading them into some bad decisions. The Owls got a couple wing 3s out of it, but overall, it stymied them.
The zone D was so effective that Coach Smith appeared to go back to it even with Onyiah in the game after that, switching back and forth between it and man-to-man to keep Temple off balance the rest of the game while the Bears kept pulling away on offense. Great stuff!
Go Bears!
it's great you and your son went to their first WBB game. WBB is trending, and this team is special. The stanford game and the school haas rock had a lot of fans, but we absolutely need to expand the fan base ...
it's also good to see coach mix up the defense. I'm concerned that Michelle will get in foul trouble as she goes up against the bigger/better and deeper talent in the ACC, and the drop off to the second team is pretty big. We also absolutely need Marta back as she provides a completely different dimension to our offense and defense.
Agree about the 1-3-1. I was at the game, and I believe when Jayda came back in in the second half, Charmin had her at the top of that zone. Can't think of anybody else better to use there.
Time for Charmin bashers to step up and show some humility. She's doing a great job. This is one of the best Cal coached teams I've seen in a real long time.
