Cal Women's Basketball @ Arizona State Game Thread

by norcalnick on Feb 27, 2010 2:00 PM PST in California Golden Bears Men's Basketball

Note: For the men’s open thread vs. ASU Scroll down!

Time: 2 PM PST/5 PM EST
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Few people truly know and understand the inner workings of the NCAA tournament selection committee. Comparing two teams from across the country with no common opponents to decide who plays who and where? But those rare few who claim to understand the process see Cal as a team right on the edge of an invitation to the NCAAs, which makes today’s game against Arizona St. potentially a functional play in game.

Nobody would punish Cal for losing to Stanford next Saturday. But they very much will punish Cal if they lose in the desert and get swept by the Sun Devils. If Cal wins they will probably end the season alone in third in the Pac-10. Lose and the Bears could fall as far as fifth. I don’t want to say that this game is the difference between the NCAAs and the NIT, but…this game is probably the difference between the NCAAs and the NIT.

Another intriguing plotline for this game is redemption for the one that got away. When Arizona St. came to Berkeley, Cal appeared to have the game in complete control after a strong second half run gave the Bears a 10 point lead with four minutes to play. But Cal’s offense stagnated, Danielle Orsillo caught fire, and the Bears missed a golden opportunity to put space between themselves and the middle of the conference. They will get one more chance today, with potentially even more on the line. So what does Cal need to do?

1) Win the rebounding battle. ASU is one of the better rebounding teams in the Pac-10 and they pulled down 13 more boards than the Bears last time. In a way it’s impressive that Cal should have beaten ASU anyway despite losing a battle that’s so integral for most of Cal’s success this season.

2) Get a better game from Alexis Gray-Lawson. For most of Pac-10 play Lexi has done a fantastic job of recognizing when she’s hot and taking over, and recognizing when she’s not and letting her teammates do the work. When Cal played ASU she only shot 6-20 from the field. Cal has shown in the past few games that they don’t need 30+ points from Lexi to win – they just need her to be smart and efficient. I think that’s what the Bears will get from her today.

3) Bottle up Danielle Orsillo. She’s the key to ASU’s chances. Against the Bears she shot better than 50% and nearly scored a third of ASU’s points, finishing with 20. But in shocking losses to UW and WSU Orsillo scored 4 and 6 points respectively. Take away Orsillo and you take away ASU’s chances.

Poll

If Cal beats Arizona St. are they in the NCAA tournament?

Yes

55 votes

Depends on the Pac-10 tournament

20 votes

No

4 votes

79 votes | Poll has closed

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Cal women lose 57-50

Tough game

Arizona State pulled within a point, 50-49, with 2:40 left in the game. The Sun Devils regained the lead, 51-50 on a putback after a missed three with just over a minute and a half left in the game. After Cal had two layup opportunities under their own basket and missed them both, ASU came up with the defensive rebound, giving them possession with 49.6 remaining. They answered with a jumper to give them a three-point lead, 53-50. Cal turned the ball over with 27.3 seconds left on the clock. The Sun Devils made four foul shots down the stretch, going away with the 57-50 victory.

With the loss, the Bears remain a half game up in the race for third place in the Pac-10, leading USC by one in the win column. The Bears are 11-6 in Conference play and 17-11 overall with one game remaining. USC has two left on their schedule, hosting the Arizona schools next week in Los Angeles.

I am a Vereenian.

by Ohio Bear on Feb 27, 2010 4:58 PM PST reply actions

A sad loss. That’s two heart-breakers against ASU. :(

Snobby Chick - Senior Division

by CalBear81 on Feb 27, 2010 5:07 PM PST reply actions

Sigh. This loss makes a number of things much tougher, including the Pac-10 tournament. Well, let’s move on and try to shock the world against the ’furd.

The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS

by norcalnick on Feb 27, 2010 7:45 PM PST reply actions

Man, I just looked at the box score and Cal didn’t do any of the three things I was hoping to see. They got outrebounded, Orsillo went for 17, and Lexi shot about 33% from the field.

The #1 greatest threat to America: BEARS

by norcalnick on Feb 27, 2010 8:29 PM PST reply actions

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Pacific-12 Conference Standings

(updated 1.2.2012 at 11:12 PM PST)

North	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
Oregon Ducks Addicted To Quack	8	1	12	2
Stanford Cardinal Rule Of Tree	8	1	11	2
Washington Huskies UW Dawg Pound	5	4	7	6
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Oregon St. Beavers Building The Dam	3	6	3	9
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South	Conf		Overall
	W	L	W	L
USC Trojans Conquest Chronicles	7	2	10	2
UCLA Bruins Bruins Nation	5	4	6	8
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Arizona St. Sun Devils House Of Sparky	4	5	6	7
Arizona Wildcats Arizona Desert Swarm	2	7	4	8
Colorado Buffaloes The Ralphie Report	2	7	3	10