Cal WBB vs. Washington State: Gamethread

When: 6:00 pm PT
TV: Pac-12 Networks
Live Stats

At first blush, this seems like a good chance for a win - at home, against a team that's 3-5 in conference. But Washington State has suffered three very close losses and could just as easily be 5-3 as 3-5. The Bears will need a strongly improved effort to end their current five game losing streak.

All eyes will be on the Cal bench to see if Gabby Green is indeed back and available. Whatever chances Cal has of salvaging what is left of this season likely depends on getting her back to provide some relief to a group of players shouldering a heavy burden of minutes and on-court responsibilities that don't necessarily match their normal skill-set.

Washington State is led by Borislava Hristova, a freshman wing from Bulgaria averaging 17 points/game. She's going to be around to annoy us for a long while, I suspect. She's more of a slasher than a shooter, but she finds ways to get the ball in the hoop.

Wazzu is balanced behind her, with eight players averaging between 7 and 4 points/game. The Cougars will have an obvious advantage in depth, and it will be interesting to see if they try to push that advantage by playing fast, with lots of defensive pressure.