Arizona Wildcats @ Cal Bears Game Preview
By Vince Senick
Game Information: Arizona Wildcats (7-9, 0-5 in Pac-12) @ Cal Bears (11-5, 3-2 in Pac-12)
Date/Time: Sunday January 18, 2015 @ 2:00 p.m (MST)
Arizona: 7-9 (2-4 away)
Opponent: Cal (7-2 at home)
All-Time Series: Series tied 29-29
TV: Pac-12 Networks (Anne Marie Anderson and Mary Murphy)
Radio: Arizona IMG Sports Network/KTUC AM 1400 (Derrick Palmer)
Live Stats: Here
Twitter: @ArizonaWBBall
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Arizona Probable Starters
SG: Candice Warthen
SF: Keyahndra Cannon
PF: Alli Gloyd
PF: LaBrittney Jones
California Probable Starters
G: Gabby Green
The Wildcats return to the court, Sunday, to face the California Golden Bears. The Wildcats are still looking for their first conference victory; they are 0-5, while Cal enters with a 3-2 record in Pac-12 play.
Last Time Out:
The Wildcats hit the road for the first the second consecutive game, against #13 Stanford, and fell 77-47. This one was over before it started as Stanford got out to a 21-point lead early in the first half and eventually led by 17 at the half. Breanna Workman, 12 points, and Charise Holloway, 10 points, led the Wildcats in this one.
Cal faced the #14/17 Arizona State Devils, in Berkeley, and fell 67-52. This one was close through the first half, but ASU used a 12-point advantage in the second half to get the 15-point win. Reshanda Gray, 17 points, and Gabby Green, 13 points, led the Bears in this one.
Scouting the Wildcats:
The Wildcats are in a tough part of their schedule and the wins are proving hard to come by, as they have dropped six of their last seven games, and the last five in a row. Shooting guard Candice Warthen leads the team in scoring (12.6), assists (3.1), and steals (1.1) and is third on the team with 5.6 rebounds per game. The leading rebounder for the Wildcats is LaBrittney Jones who averages 6.1 rebounds per game, to go along, with her 8.0 points per game. The Wildcats use a nine-player rotation with all nine players averaging 14 minutes or more.
The Wildcats score 59.4 ppg (11th in the conference) and give up 64.2 ppg (fifth in the conference), for a -4.8 scoring margin (last in the conference). Arizona shoots 37.2% from the field (last in the conference) and 26.4% from behind the arc. (last in the conference) The defense forces opponents to shoot 40.2% from the field (10th in the conference) and 27.4% from behind the arc (third in the conference).
Scouting the Bears:
The Bears are led by the quadruple threat of Brittany Boyd. She is 12th in the pac-12 in scoring (13.5), sixth in rebounding (8.2), leads the league in assists with 8.4 per game, and Boyd is second in the Pac-12 with 3.2 steals a game. She makes an impact in every facet of the game, but is not the only weapon on this team. Reshanda Gray is the fourth leading scorer in the conference, averaging 18.5 ppg, and she also chips in 6.9 rebounds per game. Courtney Range, 12.9 ppg, and Mikayla Cowling, 11.7 ppg, also average double figures for this explosive Cal Bear team.
The Bears average 75.2 points per game (third in the conference) and give up 67.2 (10th in the conference), for a +8.1 scoring margin (sixth in the conference). They shoot 45.6% from the field (third in the conference) and 31.6% from three (eighth in the conference), while holding their opponents to 37.4% shooting from the field (fifth in the conference) and 35.4% from three (last in the conference).
Prediction:
Arizona: 56
Cal: 77
A Look Ahead
The Wildcats return home next weekend to face the two Oregon schools. On Friday they will play host to the #9 Oregon State Beavers and then will welcome the Oregon Ducks on Sunday. We will have previews for both games up on the site on game day!