Cal’s women’s basketball team kept its unbeaten start intact Saturday, turning its first true road test into a one-sided 79-47 win over UC-Santa Barbara on the Gauchos’ floor.
The Bears moved to 4-0, while UCSB dropped to 3-1 after entering the game unbeaten and fresh off a preseason exhibition win over Stanford. Cal never let the home team settle in, and the gap ballooned quickly as Santa Barbara struggled to find any rhythm.
By midway through the third quarter, Cal was already ahead 46-16, and the game was effectively over from there. UCSB opened by hitting just 5 of its first 33 shots, a stretch that included an 0-for-12 start from three-point range. The Gauchos finished at 24.2 percent from the field and made only two of 20 attempts from deep.
Cal’s offense had plenty of punch to make the early lead stand up. Lulu Twidale scored 19 points and went 4-for-9 from three-point range, while Gisella Maul added 15 points and hit 4 of 6 shots from beyond the arc. The Bears shot 48.2 percent overall and connected on 11 of 27 three-pointers.
The Bears did give it away 21 times, but UCSB never made enough shots to turn that into a real issue. Cal led 36-16 at halftime and pushed the margin further early in the third quarter before settling into cruise control.
The trip itself was no small thing. Because of the nationwide fight stoppage on Friday afternoon, Cal had to take a bus from Berkeley to Santa Barbara Friday evening.
Even with eight first-quarter turnovers, the Bears still finished the opening period in front 14-6. UCSB’s shooting was that cold: the Gauchos missed 14 of their first 16 shots and were just 3-for-18 from the field, including 0-for-5 from three-point range, in the first 10 minutes.
Shannon Dowell did not start for Cal, but she led the Bears in scoring in the first quarter with seven points.
Cal’s next stop is Oahu for the North Shore Showdown on the campus of BYU-Hawaii. The Bears will play Hawaii on Friday, November 20, and then face preseason Pac-12 favorite Gonzaga on Monday, November 23.
Last season, Cal was 3-1 after its first four games and went on to finish 21-15.
In Other News...
Cal Schedule Scare Forced One Unusual Move Before Saturday
A nationwide flight stoppage briefly put Cals weekend travel plans in limbo, but the Bears got the all-clear around 5:30 p.m. and kept their Saturday slate intact. The football team was already in Charlottesville, Virginia, getting ready for its game against Virginia, while the mens basketball teams matchup with Utah Tech and the womens basketball game against UC-Santa Barbara remained on track.
The one unusual wrinkle came with the womens team, which had to adjust after Bay Area flights were grounded. Rather than wait on the airport situation to clear, the Bears took a bus to Santa Barbara, a reminder of how quickly a routine travel weekend can turn into a scramble when schedules are at the mercy of the skies. [Read more 🡒]