On Thursday at 7:00 PM PT on ACCNX, Stanford women’s basketball will take on No. 22 Cal at home. Stanford comes in at 10-8 overall and 2-5 in the ACC while Cal comes in at 17-3 overall and 5-2 in the ACC.
Last time out: On Sunday, Stanford fell to No. 16 Duke on the road by a final score of 74-49. It was one-way traffic for the Blue Devils after a tight opening quarter.
RECAP: Cardinal get crushed at Cameron
On Cal: The Golden Bears are having the best season they’ve had in the Charmin Smith era. They move the ball well, they play as a team, they hustle, etc. They’re a fun team to watch. All three of their losses this season have come away from Berkeley and two have come on the road in ACC play. They’re especially tough to beat at home but have shown some vulnerabilities on the road. Last week, they fell to Duke on the road by a final score of 72-38 before bouncing back at Wake Forest by a final score of 67-55.
What makes the Bears so tough is they have five players scoring in double figures. All of which are starters. Their bench doesn’t give them much, but their starters are fantastic. Leading the way is graduate student guard Ioanna Krimili (15.1 points) and sophomore guard Lulu Twidale (14.1 points). The two of them are playing excellent basketball along with the rest of the starting five.
As a team, the Bears are averaging 75.0 points per game on 45.9% shooting from the field, 37.0% shooting from 3-point range, and 70.2% shooting from the foul line. They average 39.4 rebounds, 15.4 assists, 7.0 steals, 3.9 blocks, and 18.6 turnovers per game. They also average a +5.0 rebound margin and a -2.7 turnover margin per game. Their opponents average 61.6 points per game on 37.0% shooting from the field, 32.7% shooting from 3-point range, and 67.0% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is simply defend better than they did in Berkeley. Cal won their first meeting by a final score of 83-63, putting up 30 points in the 3rd quarter. Three Cal players scored 20+ points while the entire team made 18 threes. That cannot happen again. Stanford has to play better defense and make Cal work harder for their shots.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is get their 3-ball to fall. If players like Brooke Demetre, Tess Heal, and Elena Bosgana get into a nice rhythm from deep, that’ll really help Stanford win this game.
Finally, Stanford needs to do is get to the foul line and make their foul shots. Home teams typically get a free throw advantage. It’s just the nature of basketball. If Stanford can get more trips to the foul line and make their foul shots at a 70% clip or better, that would give them a real chance to win this game.
Prediction: I gotta roll with Cal. They’re simply the better team right now and took care of business against Stanford in their first meeting. That said, I do think Stanford has a legit chance to win this game. It’s just that on paper, Cal has to be the favorite here. As for a final score, I’ll say Cal wins 74-70.
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