big matchup against a hot Bears squad
After a rough matchup against Stanford this past Sunday, the Bulldogs have returned home to Spokane and spent the week preparing to take on a surging California Golden Bears team.
As highlighted in my preseason non-conference, Cal came into this season with a veteran squad and looking to propel the team and Coach Charmin Smith, a branch from the Tara VanDerveer coaching tree, to their second straight winning season in her five years at the helm.
Three games into the ‘24-25 season, the Golden Bears are looking pretty good as they stand at 3-0 with victories over Saint Mary’s, Idaho State, and San Jose State by an average margin of 38 points.
Looking at their numbers, the Zags better be ready for an onslaught of three pointers as Cal is averaging nearly 28 three-pointers per game compared to just 32 two-pointers per game. Not only are the Golden Bears pulling up from deep often, they’re also converting those shots at an extremely efficiency clip of 39.8%, a number that ranks in the top 50 nationally at this early stage in the season.
That should sound scary after what we just watched Stanford do to the team in the last match, but it’s possible this represented a down game given the Zags’ performance against Montana in the home opener where they held the Lady Grizz to just 5-17 from deep. Additionally, the Golden Bears haven’t really faced what one might call “strong” opponents as St. Mary’s barely squeaked by Denver 69-64 in their next match, Idaho State went on to fall by double digits to San Diego State, and San Jose State has only beat Xavier, a team that won a single game last season, and DII San Francisco State.
So as much as the Golden Bears look impressive on the stat sheet, I have to wonder how they will show up when faced against a Gonzaga team that possesses players with a higher talent floor and an established coaching staff that prepares their team well.
Things to watch for:
- Allie Turner — are we watching the emergence of the next great Gonzaga guard? It’s far too early for such lofty statements, but the freshman has gone off in her first two collegiate games with 36 points on 12-20 overall shooting, including 9-14 from deep, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists. Those performances earned her the WCC Player of the Week award and a spot in the front of our minds. She will need to cut down on the turnovers (6), but Allie’s initial collegiate performances are certainly impressive, particularly the second match against Stanford when nobody really got into the flow
- Yvonne Ejim — she may have extended her stretch of double-digit scoring against Stanford, it was not pretty and Yvonne seemed frustrated with that performance during the game. She will need to brush that rough performance off her shoulder as this team needs her at the top of her game to maximize their odds. Additionally, I think that Yvonne needs to show continued success despite being the focus of every defense this team will face across the season in order to secure a slot in the WNBA. If people like Kaylynne and Brynna can get drafted, but get cut, I’m worried the same could happen to Ejim if she doesn’t show those executives progression from last season’s memorable performance.
- Defense — as highlighted above, Cal will most likely be jacking up shot after shot from deep. While three games against sub-par teams may not be the best sample size to draw from, it’s pretty striking that they’re shooting splits from two/three are essentially 1:1. The Zags will need to guard the perimeter much, much, better compared to their match against the Cardinal to secure a victory. They need to fight over screens, communicate better, and make quicker decisions. Hopefully this team can rebound on this front on Thursday.