By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Now 18 games into a magical season, the Cal Bears are settling in, refining their methods, and embracing the responsibility of publicly voicing their goals.

Beating talented Florida State 82-70–after leading by as much as 34 points–made for a big statement, as did the bigger challenge of limiting Ta’Niya Latson, the nation’s leading scorer. Cal accomplished both by winning their third straight conference game and holding Latson to 13, more than 14 points below her average.

“Our goal is to make the NCAA Tournament, and that means we have to beat some ranked opponents, got to protect the home court, and were doing that,” coach Charmin Smith declared. “The growth for us is making sure that we don’t have any letdowns. We understand there is a target on our back now.”

Right now, Golden Bears’ opponents are struggling to locate a moving target, a metaphor embodied by Cal’s five starters and their balanced offensive attack that is highlighted by superior 3-point shooting. Cal buried seven threes in Sunday’s first half, and those makes were a major reason Cal built an insurmountable 50-25 halftime lead.

“They’re a really good basketball team,” coach Brooke Wyckoff said. “They play well at home, and we let them get out to a hot start, which is what you can’t do against this team. They’re really confident right now.”

Wyckoff explained that Latson’s struggles came from Cal committing several players to keep tabs on her and not letting the Seminoles get their running game unleashed. That last part is simply a battle of wills. If Florida State wanted to run, Cal’s objective was to make shots in part to slow the Seminoles in transition. Mission accomplished as FSU missed 23 of their first 31 shots from the floor, a product of Cal’s early success.

In all 18 games thus far, the Bears have shot the ball terrifically. Their shortcomings have centered around turnovers and defensive lapses. But increasingly, the team has limited its issues in those areas and seen its stock grow. In their next five games, Cal will see its two most prominent opponents in Duke and No. 3 Notre Dame, both on the road. Picked 14th in the ACC pre-season poll, the Bears didn’t figure to impact either team. Now, they might be ready for both, despite both contests being on the road.

“This year, the biggest difference that I see is we’re finishing games. We had some leads against really good teams last year, and we let them slip away. And this year, we’re able to get the wins.”