BERKELEY - Cal got its first look at a packed Haas Pavilion scene this season, and the opponent was about as stiff as it gets.
Facing reigning national champion UCLA in the Jason Kidd Foundation x Verderia Tipoff, the Bears lost 87-53 in an exhibition game before an estimated crowd of nearly 4,000. Jason Kidd and Hall of Famer Gary Payton were among those in the building.
Senior guard Lulu Twidale, a preseason All-ACC selection, paced Cal with 13 points and knocked down three 3-pointers. Freshman guard Ruby Perkins, the Australia native, added 12 points and five assists.
The matchup marked the 84th meeting between the former Pac-12 rivals and the first since Feb. 2, 2024.
UCLA, which went 37-1 last season and finished 18-0 in the Big Ten, has a very different look this year after losing its top six scorers to eligibility. Even so, the Bruins were in control, led by junior Elina Aarnisalo’s 20 points and seven assists.
Cal enters the season coming off a 21-15 year and was picked 10th in the preseason ACC poll. That followed a preseason prediction of 12th a year ago, when the Bears finished 10th in the league at 9-9.
The Bears do bring back experience around Twidale, including returning starters Gisella Maul, Mjracle Sheppard and Taylor Barnes.
Cal’s next exhibition comes Sunday, Oct. 25 at USC, where the Trojans will have All-America guard Juju Watkins back after she missed last season with a knee injury. The Bears open the regular season Monday, Nov. 2 at home against Washington State.
In Other News...
Cal Defense Faces A Brutal Test Against Wake Forest's QB
Cals defense is bracing for one of its toughest assignments yet with Wake Forest quarterback Gio Lopez coming into view this week. Tosh Lupoi and his staff have spent the buildup stressing the same point: Lopez can beat a defense in more than one way, with the kind of passing accuracy that keeps drives alive and the rushing ability that punishes any lapse in contain. For a Cal group that has had trouble handling the run this season, that makes the prep as much about discipline as it is about scheme.
Lupoi and the Bears have talked about mixing looks and staying sound across the board, because Lopez is the sort of quarterback who can turn a single breakdown into a long night. Cal knows it cannot afford to get pulled out of position chasing one part of Wake Forests offense while the other part keeps moving the chains, and the challenge now is translating that recognition into a defense that holds up for four quarters. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Defense Faces Its Toughest Test Yet Against Wake Forest
Wake Forests staff is already treating Cals defense like the standard it will have to measure itself against this week, with head coach Jake Dickert praising the Bears before the matchup and framing the unit as the toughest one the Demon Deacons have seen since Miami. That kind of respect fits the way Cal has played on that side of the ball, where Tosh Lupois group has shown real bite in pass coverage and a knack for attacking the football while making opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable.
The challenge now is less about recognition and more about matchups, because Wake Forest brings a mobile quarterback in Gio Lopez who can change the geometry of a play when the pocket breaks down. Lupoi has acknowledged that the Bears have been strong against dropback passers, but the moving parts that come with scrambling quarterbacks create a different test, and one Cal will have to handle better if it wants its defense to keep the same edge it has shown so far. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Faces A Telling Test Against One Of The ACC's Hottest Teams
Wake Forest arrives in Berkeley riding a three-game winning streak and carrying the kind of profile that makes this a useful measuring stick for California. The No. 21 Demon Deacons sit near the top of the Atlantic Coast Conference, so Saturday night gives Cal a chance to see how its recent win stacks up against one of the leagues hottest teams.
For California, the matchup comes with some extra moving parts after injuries have forced adjustments on the offensive side. The Bears will have to sort through those changes against a Wake Forest team that has been in good form and has already shown it can make opponents pay when things get rolling, which is exactly what makes this one worth watching in Berkeley. [Read more 🡒]