Golden Nuggets: Courtney Range Invaluable To Cal’s Hot Start

Women’s Swimming & Diving

Men’s Basketball

Bears Edged By No. 12 Virginia In Defensive Showdown

BERKELEY – The Cal men's basketball team could not defend its home winning streak Wednesday night because of the job the Virginia Cavaliers did defending them.

The 12th-ranked Cavaliers, who entered the night leading the nation in scoring defense and ranked second in field goal percentage defense, out-defended the Golden Bears in a 56-52 victory in front of 11,092 at Haas Pavilion.

Cal, which also ranks in the top-10 nationally in field goal percentage defense, almost matched Virginia's stinginess. But the Cavaliers made just a few more defensive plays to dash the Bears' hopes of the upset in Berkeley.

"That was two of the better defensive teams in college basketball going at it tonight," Cal coach Cuonzo Martin said. "Neither team shot great, but that was to be expected in my opinion. I thought we had some opportunities but didn't make shots."

Women’s Basketball

Bears Remain Perfect On The Season

LAS VEGAS – The Cal women's basketball closed out its non-conference schedule with an 80-55 win over Arkansas State on Wednesday night at the South Point Arena in Las Vegas to remain perfect on the season. At 12-0, the Golden Bears have extended their program-best start and matched the second-longest winning streak in Cal women's basketball history.

Sophomore center Kristine Anigwe continued her dominant start to the season, leading all scorers with 39 points and a career-high 16 rebounds for her second 30-point, 15-rebound performance in as many nights. Anigwe now has six career 30-point games, tied for the second-most by any player in Cal women's basketball history, and her three 30-point performances this year are second-most by any player in the Pac-12 this season. The 6'4" center averaged 29.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per game in the Bears three wins in Las Vegas, despite averaging only 27.7 minutes per game over the stretch.

Do-it-all game makes Range invaluable to Cal women

Since starting her basketball career in the fourth grade, Courtney Range has almost always been tallest player on her team, but not always the best.

As a senior at Cal, she isn’t quite the tallest, but she finally might be the best all-around player.

“Courtney is one of the most versatile players in the country,” Cal head coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. “Her height makes her tough to stop inside, yet her perimeter ball-handling and shooting skills make her a legitimate wing player.”

Mostly playing in the shadow of All-America candidate Kristine Anigwe, Range has checked all of the boxes for Cal as it’s off to a 9-0 start — the best opening in program history.