Category: Cal Bears

Ayrault, Michigan State Threaten An Unprecedented 7-0 Start To The Cal Women’s Season

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By Morris Phillips

Last season, Michigan State center Julia Ayrault’s inclusion to the All-Big Ten First Team was a no-brainer. Along with WNBA talents Caitlin Clark and Jacy Sheldon, Ayrault was one of the conference’s ten best players, averaging 15.4 points per game, 7.3 rebounds and 2.1 blocks.

This season, with Clark and Sheldon off to the pros, and some new, prominent names added from USC and UCLA, Ayrault’s name didn’t appear on the conference’s pre-season list. Given her talent, activity and versatility, the omission is glaring.

No confirmation here, but just assume Ayrault, the child of two former collegiate basketball players, might be taking all this personally. Her play in Michigan State’s dominant 6-0 start to the season would suggest as much. Ayrault has scored in double figures in all five games she’s played despite none of those games being in doubt after halftime.

On Tuesday morning in Palm Springs’ Acrisure Arena, Ayrault becomes the Cal women’s problem, as a big roadblock in the Bears attempt to forge a 7-0 start to the season for the first time under Coach Charmin Smith.

The meeting of undefeated teams comes as part of the Acrisure Classic, a four-team tournament that features Vanderbilt and Arizona in the second, opening day matchup.

Michigan State coach Robyn Fralick has her own concerns. Cal’s guard play and experience are worrisome to her, especially Ioanna Krimili and Lulu Twidale, who lead Cal in scoring, but more importantly, have hit big shots in key moments in the Bears’ 6-0 start.

“They shoot the three very well. I think when you watch them play, you can tell they’ve played a lot of basketball and make good decisions,” Fralick said of Cal’s backcourt of Krimili, Twidale and Kayla Williams.

In the combined 12 wins for both teams, neither have had many anxious moments. Michigan State is tied for the national-lead in quarters scoring at least 20 points with LSU. Their up-tempo style has overwhelmed their six mid-major opponents, with the margins of victory all falling between 37 and 65 points.

“At this point, I think we’re ready to see where we are,” Fralick declared.

Cal led by double digits throughout the second halves of their first five games, and against Auburn in their most recent outing, they finally had a game decided late, but Twidale hit a pair of threes in the final two minutes to create a winning margin.

The Bears-Spartans matchup features a familiar face as former Oregon Duck Grace VanSlooten, the Toledo, Ohio native, entered the transfer portal following her sophomore season, and agreed to join the Spartans and create a formidable post duo with Ayrault. VanSlooten has faced the Bears three times, winning the matchup as a freshman, while scoring 20 points with nine rebounds. Last season, VanSlooten suffered a pair of losses to Cal, missing 19 of her combined 26 shots from the floor in the process as the Cal defense proved formidable.

In an interesting juxtaposition, the 6’3″ VanSlooten plays the four in Michigan State’s scheme with the 6’2″ Ayrault in the post. When Fralick was named coach prior to last season, she approached Ayrault, then listed as a guard, regarding a change of position. Ayrault agreed, and that move may have been the key in the Spartans’ 22-9 record and surprising NCAA Tournament berth.

Ayrault’s father, Andrew, now an assistant coach at his alma mater, Wayne State, likely encouraged his daughter to be open-minded to the position switch. Also, Ayrault, now in her fifth season playing for the Spartans has declared that she’s fully committed to the university, thus her decision to return to school, and not test the waters in the transfer portal.

“Staying the course, believing in a place is important to me,” Ayrault said. “I love Michigan State, I love everything about it, so just being here and loving a place and loving the people… that would be it.”

The Spartans’ fast pace and pressure defense will cause Cal problems. The Bears have been prone to turnovers, and Michigan State creates them and turns them into points. The Spartans have scored at least 95 points in all but one of their games thus far. Offensively, the Spartans attack quickly, but prudently.

“You have to play with pace on both sides of the ball,” Fralick said. “Make sure we hunt good shots. But I tell our team that doesn’t mean we (necessarily) have to shoot fast.”

The Bears and Spartans tip at 11:00 a.m., with the game televised on TruTV.

Cal edges Sac State 83-77 in wild and tougher-than-expected battle for fifth win

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Cal Bears guard Andrej Stojakovic (2) takes the ball up the floor against the Sacramento State Hornets guard Julian Vaughns (24) and guard Emil Skytta (10) at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Sun Nov 24, 2024 (Cal Bears X photo)

Sunday, Nov. 24, 2024

Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California

Sacramento State Hornets 77 (1-4)

California Golden Bears 83 (5-1)

By Stephen Ruderman

BERKELEY–The Bears are now off to a 5-1 start, but it was much tougher for them than anticipated, they battled through a wild game to pull off a 83-77 win over the Sacramento State Hornets at Haas Pavilion.

The Bears returned home from their first road trip to beat the Air Force Falcons Thursday night by a final of 78-69. Today, they welcomed in the Sacramento State Hornets, who came into today’s game at 1-3. The matchup seemed to be an easy one for the 4-1 Bears, but that would hardly be the case.

Cal got off to a fast start, as Christian Tucker hit a three right out of the gate. Emil Skytta was fouled and hit the first of two from the line to put the Hornets on the board, and then Mady Sissoko was fouled and hit both from the line to extend Cal’s lead to 5-1.

The Hornets then scored nine unanswered points to take a 10-5 lead, as Skytta led the way with a pair of layups, and Jacob Holt hit a three. After being fouled and hitting both shots from the line to make it 12-7, Skytta had scored seven of the Hornets’ first 12 points.

The Bears charged right back to score nine unanswered points of their own to go ahead 16-12. Jeremiah Wilkinson, fresh off his 23-point night on Thursday, checked in and hit a jumper and a layup, and Andrej Stojakovic hit all three from the line after he was fouled going for three. Lee Dort then slammed one down.

Joshua Ola-Joseph then hit a pair of threes, and Cal started to pull away, as they went up 27-18. The Bears would make it a 12-point game at 36-24 after a layup by Stojakovic with 4:04 to go, and they seemed to have this game under control.

However, the Hornets came out of nowhere to go on a 9-1 run, and that cut the Bears’ lead to just four at 37-33. Cal got a brief reprieve when Ola-Joseph was fouled going for three and hit all three from the line, and the Bears went into the half up 40-33.

The Hornets kept their momentum going into the second half, as Holt scored seven points in the first two minutes and 34 seconds, and the Hornets came back to tie it at 43-43. The next few minutes would be back and forth with Sac State taking the lead, and the Bears taking it right back.

The Bears would then pull away again, as they opened their lead all the way up to 15 at 73-58 with 5:52 to go. However, Sac State would charge back once again, as they went on a 17-7 run to close the deficit to 80-75 with 28 seconds to go.

The Bears would end up winning it by a final of 83-77. The game was much closer and tougher for the Bears than expected, but a win is a win nevertheless, and they are now off to a 5-1 start.

The Bears will close out the homestand when they take on the Mercyhurst Lakers on Wednesday. Tipoff will be at 7 p.m.

Cal Bears podcast with Stephen Ruderman: Cal stays ahead of Sac State with six point win 83-77 at Haas Pavilion

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Cal Bears Ryti Petraitis forward (31) and guard Andrej Stojakovic (2) exchanges high fives during their game against the Sacramento State Hornets at Haas Pavilion on Sun Nov 24, 2024 (Cal Bears X photo)

On the Cal Bears podcast with Stephen Ruderman:

#1 The Cal Bears (5-1) and the Sacramento Hornets (1-4) played some tight basketball at Haas Pavilion. Although the Bears had led for most of the game and came away with a 83-77.

# 2 Cal leading scorer Ryti Petraitis had the right touch on the ball making his shots and leading Cal in scoring Andrej Stojakovic with 20 points to defeat the Sacramento State Hornets.

#3 Cal has won five of their last six games and won three in a row and having the home floor the Bears heard the Hornets footsteps behind them in earlier parts of this game.

#4 The Hornets leading scorers Julian Vaughns and Jacob Holt were keeping Sac State in the game but Cal were able to do enough to keep the Hornets away with a ten point gap.

#5 Next game for the Golden Bears is against the Mercyhurst Lakers (4-3). The Lakers were crushed today by the Air Force Falcons (2-4) 82-48. The Bears should have a shot at getting this one Wednesday night at Haas Pavilion.

Stephen Ruderman is the Cal Bears MBB beat writer at http://www.sportsradioservice.com and wherever you get you podcasts

Cal Comeback: Mendoza, Bears Respond Late To Win the 127th Big Game, 24-21 Over Stanford

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Anything with 127 occurrences is likely to produce one crazy, jaw-dropping outcome that trumps all the rest.

For Stanford and Cal, this wasn’t it. That Play took place a few years back. But for 30 Golden Bears’ seniors playing at Memorial Stadium for the final time, this was it.

For that group, a 24-21 come-from-behind win cements an extremely rare college career without a loss to hated rival Stanford.

“I’m glad we get to send everyone off the right way and keep the Axe where it belongs,” said Lu-Magia Hearns, one of the 30 triumphant seniors.

Cal played lethargically into the third quarter, trailing 14-0 after Stanford’s first two possessions, and 21-7 after the Cardinal fashioned a third, lengthy scoring drive after halftime.

Cal’s Nohl Williams took a hard hit on the ensuing kickoff and fumbled, which set up Stanford with a short field. With the Cardinal threatening to fashion a three-score lead, the Bears finally responded.

Three plays without a first down left Stanford to attempt a 35-yard field goal. But placeholder Connor Weselman mishandled the snap and attempted a pass instead. That pass fell incomplete, and Cal regained possession and new life.

A 12-play Bears’ drive culminated with Ryan Coe’s 46-yard field goal, and Cal trimmed the deficit to 21-10 with 47 seconds remaining in the third quarter.

After a three-and-out possession by Stanford, the Bears got moving with Fernando Mendoza’s 30-yard touchdown pass to Jonathan Brady on a 3rd-and-6 play. After a non-productive first half, Mendoza said he honed in on Cal’s advantages with their top receivers battling an inexperienced Stanford secondary. Brady’s catch made it 21-16 after the Bears failed to convert a two-point attempt.

Another brief Stanford possession gave Cal the ball, but punter Aidan Flintoff pinned the Bears at their own 2-yard line. An 11-play drive, aided by a pair of Stanford penalties, covered 98 yards and gave Cal their first lead with 2:40 remaining. Again, Mendoza partnered with Brady on a third down pass play that left the receiver single covered in the end zone. This time, Cal picked up a critical, two-point conversion on a catch by Jadyn Ott to lead 24-21.

“I’ve never felt something so exciting,” Brady said. “It means so much to our fans. It was exciting to see a smile on their faces.”

“We never quit, and we found a way to win,” coach Justin Wilcox said. “That means a lot. There was a time when small people or weak people could have tried to find a way out… that it’s not going to be our day. A lot of people would have quit, honestly. It’s human nature.”

Aaron Rodgers, Marshawn Lynch and Ron Rivera headlined a vested group of Cal football alumni that attended the game, and Rodgers spoke to the team on Friday, which reportedly ramped up the team’s intensity.

The last time the Bears (6-5, 2-5) captured four consecutive meetings with Stanford was 2006. Under Wilcox, the Bears have won five of the previous six editions of the Big Game.

The Cal regular season concludes on Saturday against SMU in Dallas with the Bears afforded an opportunity to play spoiler to the Mustangs’ national title aspirations.

Stanford game wrap: Cardinal UnAble to Capture the Axe from Golden Bears, 24-21, in Big Game #127 & Senior Day in the East Bay

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The Cal Bears offense lines up against the Stanford Cardinal defense in the battle for the axe at the Big Game at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley on Sat Nov 23, 2024 (photo by Stanford Athletic Department)

By Michael Roberson

BERKELEY, Calif. — The Stanford Cardinal (3-8, 2-6 ACC) failed to confiscate the Axe from the longtime rival California Golden Bears (6-5, 2-5 ACC), 24-21, in the 127th matchup of the two historic Bay Area schools.

Stanford wasted no time at all in continuing their momentous play from the previous game’s upset. The Cardinal capitalized on their first possession gift, despite losing the coin toss. Cal deferred their possession until the second half, but may have soon regretted that decision.

Stanford took that drive down the field and scored midway through the quarter. Quarterback Justin Lamson rushed into the end zone for a one yard keeper. Right away the Cardinal were up 7-0. That was not the end of their first quarter scoring either.

On Stanford’s second possession, they duplicated the prior drive, with a little deviation. Lamson scored again on a keeper, but the second one was from two yards away. After two drives, with 1:27 left in the quarter, the Cardinal were up 14-0 in front of a full Memorial Stadium. The same score was in place after 15 minutes of play.

In the second quarter, with the teams switching sides of the field, Stanford’s consecutive scoring streak halted, and Cal managed to get off the goose egg. Redshirt-Sophomore QB Fernando Mendoza got his Bears going with a 50 yard scamper, deep into Cardinal territory. He later tossed a 16-yard TD pass to redshirt-junior receiver Trond Grizzell. California cut the deficit in half, 14-7.

Both teams had missed field goals from 50+ yards from the goal posts. After 30 minutes of regulation, Stanford led 14-7, but Cal was set to receive the kickoff at the beginning of the third quarter.

In the third stanza, not much happened for most of the quarter. Stanford used a trick play to expand their lead, with 6:33 left in the period. Running back Micah Ford threw a two yard touchdown to freshman WR Emmett Mosley V.. Stanford was up by two touchdowns (21-7), with a great deal of momentum.

Subsequently upon the kickoff, Cal fumbled the return, giving Stanford the ball on their own 20-yard line. A minute later, the Cardinal botched a FG attempt, and turned the ball over to the Golden Bears.

The home team parlayed that miscue into three points on their behalf, with :47 left in the quarter. Redshirt-senior kicker Ryan Coe converted a 46-yarder, which brought them within 11 points, 21-10. At the end of third quarter, Stanford still led 11, 21-10.

The final quarter had California continue to claw their way back into the contest, Mendoza threw a dart 30-yard touchdown pass to junior WR Jonathan Brady, to the delight of the Cal faithful. The Golden Bears were within five, but could not complete the two point conversion attempt, They were trying to get within three, which would only require a field goal to tie.

The Golden Bears were on a drive late in the quarter, putting themselves in position to win the Big Game And keep the Axe. With 2:40 left in the game, Mendoza to Brady happened again. The second time was for 22 yards, and they converted the two point conversion, putting the Bears up by three, 24-21.

Cal stole all the momentum from their arch rivals from across the bay, and got the raucous crowd into a frenzy. The Golden Bears completed the very unlikely comeback, after being down by 14 twice, and won by three, 24-21.

The Axe remains in Berkeley!

Stanford will next be in action Friday, November 29 in the Capital City of the Silicon Valley, to take on the San Jose State Spartans at 1:00 PM PST on CBS. Cal travels to Fort Worth, Texas to take on the Southern Methodist Mustangs, November 30, at 2:30 PM CST on ESPN2

Cal Women Pass Another Test: Bears Survive Auburn In 63-59 Win

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Wet spots on the floor, silver shoes, experienced players showing their nerves were part of an unusual night of basketball with Auburn and California Friday night at Haas Pavilion.

That describes the first 38 minutes of action. Then, in the final two minutes of close game, things really became unsettled with missed defensive assignments that led to missed layups by Auburn, followed by missed free throws by Cal.

A water-logged, rain-weary crowd was made to pause and likely ask, “Who wants this?”

The answer was Cal, who overcame a couple of two-possession deficits in the final quarter to prevail, 63-59, and improve to 6-0 on the season.

“I wasn’t proud of how we played, but I’m proud of how we fought,” coach Charmin Smith said.

After falling behind 57-51 with 5:11 remaining, the Bears responded with back-to-back 3-pointers from Lulu Twidale to tie, the start of a 12-2 finishing run that left the visiting Tigers empty handed.

“We missed a couple of layups there when we’re up, and we became impatient toward the end,” Auburn coach Johnnie Harris admitted.

What was frustrating for Harris was invigorating for Smith, who found the silver lining to match her silver shoes in what was a grit over substance-type ballgame.

“I think we really locked in at the end when we needed to and made some crucial plays, and got some crucial stops in order to get the win.”

Twidale led Cal with 22 points, and Ioanna Krimili added 14. The pair combined to make seven threes, all of which seemed to come at critical times with Auburn bearing down.

The Tigers and Bears currently project to qualify for the NCAA Tournament with the only previous loss by either team belonging to Auburn at Oregon on Wednesday. But the fast season starts by both have come without late, close game experience. That was apparent as the mistakes arose in the final two minutes with the game on the line.

“You learn from it. You learn from these losses, and you get better,” Harris said.

Deyona Gaston (16 points) and Taylen Collins (13) were the leading scorers for Auburn. Tahlia Scott, who scored 28 points against the Ducks, and 26 against Arkansas-Little Rock, was held to 7 points on 3 of 9 shooting.

The Bears next take the court in Palm Springs at the Acrisure Arena, meeting Michigan State on Monday morning at 11:00am.

Wilkinson and Stojakovic combined for 44 points, as Bears beat Air Force 78-69 to continue hot start

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Cal Bears guard Jeremiah Wilkinson (0) takes the ball up the floor against the Air Force Falcons at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley on Thu Nov 21, 2024 (Cal Bears photo)

Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024

Haas Pavilion, Berkeley, California

Air Force Falcons 69 (1-4)

California Golden Bears 78 (4-1)

By Stephen Ruderman

Jeremiah Wilkinson had his coming out party, as he scored 23 points, and along with a 21-point night by Andrej Stojakovic, led the Bears to a 78-69 win over the Air Force Falcons at Haas Pavilion to continue the team’s hot start.

While out on the road last week, the Bears suffered their first loss of the season at Vanderbilt last Wednesday. However, they bounced back by pulling off a 71-66 win at USC on Saturday.

The Bears returned home and welcomed the Air Force Falcons to Haas Pavilion, as they looked to build on their strong start to the season. The Falcons got off a quick 4-0 lead out of the gate, as Ethan Taylor hit a jumper, and Byron Brown laid one in. Andrej Stojakovic then hit a turnaround jumper to get the Bears on the board just over two minutes in.

Cal jump ahead 8-4, but the Falcons quickly came back to take an 11-9 lead. Jeremiah Wilkinson, who checked in with 13:08 to go, made a layup to tie it at 11-11.

The Bears then jumped out to a 30-15 lead with 5:26 to go. The Falcons then closed out the first half with a 12-5 lead to cut Cal’s lead almost in half, and the Bears took a 35-27 lead into the half.

Wilkinson had only scored 13 points in the Bears’ first four games, but he scored nine points in the first half tonight. Rytis Petraitis led the Bears in scoring in the first half with 11 points.

Andrej Stojakovic only scored five points in the first half, but he came alive in the second half. Stojakovic scored seven of the Bear’s eight points in the opening five minutes of the second half, but the Falcons had cut the lead to 45-40.

Wilkinson, who had checked back in early in the second half, carried his mojo over and hit a pair of layups to make it 49-41. However, the Falcons scored six unanswered points to close it to just a two-point game at 49-47.

From there, the Bears would start to pad their lead again. Wilkinson, Stojakovic and Dort led the charge, and in a matter of minutes, the Bears were back to a 10-point lead at 62-52.

The Bears made it 66-52. Like in the first half, the Falcons made a late run to close the lead to seven, but Cal still won comfortably by a final of 78-69.

Stojakovic scored 16 points in the second half, and was 6-for-9 in field goals after going an abysmal 2-for-10 in the first half. Lee scored eight points in the second half, and he, Stojakovic and Wilkinson combined for 38 of the Bears’ 43 points in the second half.

Wilkinson scored 14 in the second half to cap off his 23-point night. He was 8-for-12 in field goals on the night, including 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. Stojakovic finished just behind Wilkinson with 21 points, and Lee ended up with 12.

The Bears improve to 4-1, and they will look to keep it going when they take on the Sacramento State Hornets at Haas Pavilion on Sunday. Tipoff will be at 1 p.m.

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips: Stanford-Cal all set to battle for the axe this Saturday at Memorial Stadium

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Cal Bears running back Jaivian Thomas (25) takes off for a 75 yard touchdown in the second quarter against the Syracuse Orange at Cal Memorial Stadium in Berkeley on Sat Nov 16, 2024 (AP News photo)

Cal Bears podcast with Morris Phillips:

#1 Morris talk about how the two interceptions by the Syracuse Orange defenders helped protect Syracuse’s lead and did it at all play with Cal quarterback Fernando Mendoza psyche.

#2 The Orange did have a dominating defense stopping the Bears ground game and that made a difference in winning by an eight point edge.

#3 The Bears had a tough time getting to Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord who was 29-46 for 323 yards. The Golden Bears defense had a tough time trying to stop Syracuse running back LeQuint Allen who ran for 109 yards and two touchdowns.

#4 Much respect in spite of the Bears struggle Syracuse head coach Fran Brown said that Mendoza was tough to figure out at times, “Mendoza, he’s very crafty,” said Brown. “He’s got a strong arm and a quick trigger finger, so we knew we had to switch the picture up a lot for him.”

#5 Morris, it’s the Big Game this Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley. The Bears (5-5) and the Cardinal (2-8). The Bears have won two of their last four games and the Cardinal snapped a six game losing streak after winning last Saturday 38-35 against the Lousiville Cardinals.

Morris Phillips podcasts Cal Bears football Thursdays at http://www.sportsradioservice.com

Made Baskets And Turnovers: Cal Runs Past Grambling 86-63 Despite 26 Turnovers

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Coach Charmin Smith needs her Cal team to clean up their ball handling and cut down on the turnovers. But on Wednesday, Smith scheduled Grambling, a conundrum disguised as a basketball team that lives and breathes by forcing their opponents to cough up the ball.

The result: an 86-63 win for the hosts, but the Bears committed 26 turnovers, which set off alarms inside Haas Pavilion.

“We have to take better care of the ball,” Smith admitted. “We know that. We’re living dangerously right now. We have to clean it up.”

The Bears are 5-0 with a signature win at Gonzaga. As a testament to how well they’ve played overall, the Bears have spent every second of their five second halves so far with at least a 10-point lead. That’s noticeable and impressive enough to capture ESPN Bracketology’s attention, which projects the Bears as an NCAA qualifier as a No. 11 seed.

Of course, the season is young, and bigger tests are on the immediate horizon, starting with Auburn’s visit to Berkeley on Friday night. Following Auburn, the Bears  will see Michigan State and either Arizona or Vanderbilt in Palm Springs. All three schools are also projected as NCAA teams, meaning the jockeying for postseason position starts now.

What Smith liked was just as apparent as the unsightly turnovers: a five-minute stretch in the third quarter in which Cal made eight 3-pointers. That ballooned Cal’s 13-point lead to a 67-41 advantage that effectively ended the visiting Tigers upset aspirations.

Lulu Twidale led Cal with 19 points, a total boosted by her efficient 4 for 7 shooting from distance. Marta Suarez added 16, Ioanna Krimili had 15, and freshman post Gabrielle Abigor scored 11 on 4 for 4 shooting.

Kahia Warmsley led Grambling with 16 points, and Douthshine Prien and Lydia Freeman had 10 each. The Tigers were the SWAC regular season champions last season, winning 23 games. Coach Courtney Simmons concedes that her group, with 10 new faces this season, doesn’t shoot it well, but they do commit to a tremendous amount of defensive activity across all 94 feet, which explains how they succeed in the SWAC. But against Cal, the disparity in made threes (12-1 for Cal) and 32 percent shooting for the Tigers made for a lopsided result.

“If you research and do your homework on this, we probably shot 30 something percent last year and won 23 games,” Simmons said. “The key to the way we play is to rebound the basketball. In this system, there’s no such thing as a bad shot. We don’t go out and recruit kids that can only shoot the basketball. I recruit athletes to give the kids that can shoot the ball a little bit of problems.”

Simmons, intently dissecting the numbers with a scoresheet in hand, conceded that her Tigers fell short of 30 offensive rebounds, their average which leads the nation. Grambling managed “just” 19 o-boards, which wasn’t enough to compensate for their poor shooting.

“It’s the discipline factor. It’s not finding the shooters in transition, which was the same thing that happened to us at Tulane (in their previous game),” she said.

Auburn, a physical, defensive-minded group as well, arrives on Friday in a rematch of last season’s meeting in Alabama that went to Cal, 67-53 with Suarez scoring 27 points.

Syracuse Comes West To Bear Hunt In Capturing 33-25 Win Over Cal

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By Morris Phillips

BERKELEY, CA–Coach Fran Brown’s preparation–for the post-game press conference–was flawless.

Accordingly, his Syracuse football team was best prepared to counter Cal’s momentum, built off consecutive wins, and took control of what could have been a tight game early.

“I was with coach (Kirby) Smart, and he told me, ‘we will not be hunted,'” Brown said. “And I told the team before the game, ‘we will not be hunted. We do the hunt.’ I’m not walking out here, scared.”

Not scared, and not preoccupied with tough results versus Boston College and Pitt, Syracuse surprised the Bears early and held on for a 33-25 road win. Cal’s bowl aspirations were put on hold with the loss, as was their path out of the cellar of the ACC standings.

For the first time in a season of jarring results, Cal was beaten from start to finish, with little to say had one or two plays gone their way.

Fernando Mendoza was intercepted twice in the first quarter, and the tone was set. Mendoza’s game shrunk, and the confidence on the visitor’s sideline grew.

“You can’t turn over the ball like that… It was my worst turnover game of the season by far, and [it] just simply was not my day,” Mendoza said.

“To start fast and get up early, that was big. And both sides of the ball did it,” Syracuse quarterback Kyle McCord said.

McCord triggered a quick passing attack and effective run game to the extent that Cal’s defense was gassed early. Play action pass plays were especially successful as the Orange led 13-0 and extended that lead to 27-7 at halftime. McCord and the offense racked up 299 yards in offense in the first half, while skillfully navigating away from Cal’s defensive playmakers.

“We certainly were outplayed today. There’s no doubt about that,” coach Justin Wilcox said. “I don’t see anything we did very well.”

Two lengthy run plays highlighted Cal’s attack with Jaivian Thomas’ 75-yard dash trimming Syracuse’s lead to 13-7 in the second quarter. On Cal’s first offensive snap of the fourth, Jadyn Ott broke free for 53 yards. But that drive stalled, and Cal could only cut the deficit to 30-17 after Ryan Coe converted a 44-yard field goal with 12:43 remaining.

Jackson Kennedy’s 32-yard field goal capped a 13-play Syracuse drive that effectively ended Cal’s afternoon by taking a chunk of the time remaining. Mendoza connected with Jonathan Brady on a five-yard TD pass, but Cal failed to regain possession with a successful onside kick in the final minute.

In his first year at Syracuse after a fulfilling season with Georgia as defensive backs coach in which the Bulldogs won the National Championship and Brown was named the #1 national recruiter by 24/7 Sports, Brown’s Orange have been confident despite mixed results on the field. Their damaging loss at Pittsburgh on October 24 was a nationally-televised embarrassment, but Brown refused to reference it after beating Cal.

Instead, the ebullient Brown celebrated Cal’s picturesque campus, stated his respect for Wilcox, and his team’s emphasis on limiting Nyziah Hunter (three catches for 42 yards) and not getting victimized by Bears’ cornerback Nohl Williams. With all boxes checked regarding Syracuse’s first visit to Berkeley since 1968, Brown concluded by celebrating himself.

“I should have let y’all hear my song,” Brown said before powering up his hand-held, Bluetooth speaker cued to Lil Durk’s “100 Grand,” a reference to his disclosure that to his wife’s dismay, he doesn’t shower after losses.

“Smelling like a hundred racks,” Brown mimicked confidently.