UW Opens Pac-12 Play Against Cal On Friday
SEATTLE - Washington (2-0) will put their unbeaten streak on the line this week in the Bay Area as they face California (0-2) on Friday night to open up Pac-12 play, followed by a Sunday matchup against No. 2 Stanford. The Huskies and Bears will square off at Haas Pavilion in a 6:00 p.m. tip. The game will air live on the Pac-12 Network (Bay & WA). As usual, the game will be available via stream and fans can also listen to Gary Hill Jr. on the UW/IMG College Network on KKNW 1150 AM, on the TuneIn App, or GoHuskies.com.
Leading The Break...
• Tameiya Sadler had quite the debut week for the Huskies. She hit the game-winning bucket in the season-opener vs. San Diego State and tallied a team-high 23 points in a win over BYU. For the week, she averaged 17.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg and shot 60% from the field to earn Pac-12 Freshman of the Week. It was the 14th time a Husky has been named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week, but the first time a UW player took the honor in their debut week. Side note, Kelsey Plum earned the honor seven times in 2013-14.
• The Huskies hit 12-of-28 (.429) attempts from 3-point range in their 77-48 win over BYU. They only eclipsed the 40% mark five times in 2019-20 and it was their highest percentage from distance since last Nov. 13, 2019 against Weber State (11-23/.478). It was also the team's most makes from downtown since Dec. 20, 2019 vs. San Francisco (12-30/.400).
• The Huskies have a 29-9 advantage on the offensive glass through two games, including an 18-2 differential against San Diego State. Not surprisingly, UW also has a 26-7 advantage in second-chance points scored.
• Freshmen Alexis Whitfield and Sadler were the Huskies' top two scorers vs. BYU, with Whitfield scoring 12 and Sadler 23. In all, freshmen accounted for 43 of UW's 77 points with Nia Lowery chipping in 5 and Jayda Noble adding in 3.
• Sophomore Quay Miller made quite a splash in her 2020-21 debut. She set new career highs with 19 points and 10 rebounds to record the first double-double of her career.
• Senior Khayla Rooks leads all Huskies with 92 career games played. In the first two games, she logged a career-best 32 minutes in each.
Scouting the Bears
The Bears started the season by dropping back-to-back home games against San Jose State (L, 48-56) and CS Bakersfield (L, 52-60).
Cal's roster is composed of 10 underclassmen and one senior and junior. There are four sophomores and six freshmen on the roster. The six newcomers comprise ESPN's No. 7 rated recruiting class and includes Dalayah Daniels out of Garfield HS in Seattle.
Freshman Alma Elsnitz scored 14 points in her lone game and Leilani McIntosh averaged 11 points in two games. Daniels averaged 9.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in the first two games.
Cal is led by second-year coach Charmin Smith, who is 12-21 overall. She is 1-1 against the Huskies.
All-Time Series vs Cal
Washington leads the all-time series 47-28, but Cal has won 6-of-the-last-7 games to cut into that all-time advantage. The teams split the series last season, each winning at the other team's home court. UW's win on Jan. 3 snapped a five-game win streak for the Bears.
Last Time Out
An impressive offensive display by Tameiya Sadler and stifling Husky defense led Washington to a decisive 77-48 win over the BYU Cougars last Saturday. Sadler scored 23 in just her second college contest giving her 35 total in two games.
Defensively, Washington put on a clinic, routinely forcing BYU (1-1) into scoring droughts that stretched minutes on end. UW held BYU to 27% shooting from the field and 26% from three. Only two Cougars shot over 45% in the game and only one managed to score in double figures. Washington forced 11 turnovers and allowed just eight assists. The Huskies held BYU to 17 second half points.
Washington's bench keyed the big victory. The Huskies scored 30 points off the bench while allowing just 17. Alexis Whitfield, another one of the trio of UW' true freshmen stars, led the way with 12 bench points, while Callie Lind added a career high eight on 3-for-5 shooting. Redshirt-freshman Nia Lowery chipped in five on perfect 2-for-2 shooting. Nine of the 10 Huskies to see action scored in the game, while every Husky recorded at least one rebound. Five Huskies set career highs in scoring.
Up Next
The Huskies continue Pac-12 play with a game against Stanford on Sunday. Due to Covid-19 restrictions in Santa Clara County, tip is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and a place for Sunday's contest have yet TBD.