This Week We Play Cal - Twice - in the Battle of the Bay

The Battle of the Bay usually brings out the best in both these great rivals - and you can usually throw out both team's records, rankings, and stats. This is always a battle royal and the team that wants it the most wins. Thursday evening we play at Haas at 8PM, then Saturday afternoon in Maples at 4PM.

Often a player who isn't near the top of the Scouting Report goes off and makes the difference - a la Erika Bean last Sunday in Utah. The seniors usually perform way beyond their usual games because they've played in these rivalry games so many times through the years and really want to win these games as they near the end of their college careers.

Senior Kristine Anigwe

And this time around do we ever have a couple of 6'-4" athletic seniors to watch and enjoy. Kristine Anigwe and Alanna Smith are at the top of their games and at the top of their sport. Anigwe is the centerpiece of the Cal team on both ends of the court. As Kristine goes - so go the Golden Bears. She's always doubled and often triple-teamed, which has made her become an excellent passer. She averages 22.4 points and 15 rebounds per game. Both players are on most of the Watch Lists this year and are expected to go early in the WNBA draft.

Here's how the Cal Bears preview the "Battle of the Bay".

Here's a highlight video from a recent Cal Bears win --- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX5u7f6En-w.

Alanna is equally important to her team and equally skilled, but she gets more help from her teammates both in scoring and rebounding. So, if Smith has an off game or foul trouble, Carrington has sometimes stepped up to fill the gap - and so has Williams. Also Alanna is more of a long distance shooter than Kristine, who does most of her scoring in the paint.

And here's a recent highlight video of Stanford's win over WSU in which Alanna starred and Tara got her 900th Stanford win --- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fzy9VjxPQQ

Their games are different, but the results are the same - usually low-20's in scoring and double digits in rebounding. Both will leave huge holes to fill next year - but this week we have two incredible seniors to appreciate and enjoy.