By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–By the time Kayla Williams went washing machine, and put N.C. State defender Zoe Brooks into a spin cycle at the elbow before finishing over fast closing  post Tilda Trygger, the Golden Bears shot making display was already in full effect.

Coach Wes Moore hinted to Thursday’s game as being a continuation of his opponent film study that clearly demonstrated Cal’s basketball team as exceptional shooters. The game validated Cal, and the show started early and continued late.

Ioanna Krimili struck first with a floater in the game’s first 13 seconds. Then Lulu Twidale buried a three as soon as Kayla Williams’ pass arrived on a rope. Marta Suarez casually dropped a three. The Haas Pavilion crowd, minus a few friends, perked up fast and got loud.

The No. 24 Golden Bears would limp through the remainder of the opening quarter, then suddenly seize control early in the second. Suarez’s three 3-pointers in less than a minute neatly erased the visitors’ lead, put Cal in the driver’s seat, and frustrated Moore, who abruptly called a timeout.

“They’re a very explosive offensive team,” Moore said. “We knew that coming in. Four starters shoot over 40 percent from three. I thought (Michelle Onyiah) really did a nice job for them tonight as well. So they had a great balanced attack.”

In the first, authentic big game at Haas since 2018, Cal showed out. Coach Charmin Smith knew it and expressed joyous relief.

“I’m just really proud of this team. I think this was a great program win,” Smith said. “Those (N.C. State) guards have been to a Final Four.”

“That’s what we do. That’s what we say. We make threes in tough moments. I was just feeling it,” Suarez said.

“Having shooters all around the floor, it creates a lot of space for everybody, so that was what coach kind of mentioned.”

On a night where the referees effectively kept both teams away from the free throw line (only 16 free throws were attempted in the game), shooting was the key to victory. Both teams displayed Top 25 shot making, but Cal had the ball in Williams’ hands, and she was either efficient or spectacular all night.

For the entire 40 minutes without a substitution, Williams probed, attacked, and dechipered. Each time down the floor, and with the ball in her hands, she broke the Wolfpack defense and found her teammates. When the defense relaxed, she got to the basket with a series of jaw-dropping finishes.

“I thought Williams killed us off the bounce,” Moore admitted.

Suarez led Cal with 17 points. Krimili, Onyiah, and Williams each added 15. Twidale contributed 11, and Gabrielle Obigor and Jayda Noble provided critical play off the bench.

N.C. State’s unflappable duo of Saniya Rivers and Aziaha James combined for 33 points, but they missed 19 shots, and couldn’t string together a flurry of buckets that would have surely given the hosts pause.

Cal (15-2, 3-1) hosts Florida State on Sunday at 2 p.m. The game provides Cal an opportunity to remain connected to league-leader Notre Dame, the only conference team that’s undefeated in league play. The Bears visit the Irish on February 9.