No. 19 Cal heads into Pac-12 play on high note; Gabby Green notches a triple-double in 106-44 rout of CSUN
BERKELEY, Calif. – No. 19 California (9-2) never trailed against California State University Northridge (2-11) Wednesday night, routing the Matadors 106-44 at Haas Pavilion. It was the last non-conference game of the season for the Bears before they start a two-game road trip to open their Pac-12 slate.
Four Bears scored in double figures, an achievement that included a triple-double from sophomore guard Gabby Green (11 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists).
“That was a really positive away to end non-conference play,” said Cal head coach Lindsay Gottlieb. “Obviously the numbers are great and our offensive efficiency was really good, but moreso, I challenged our team to raise the bar ourselves before the game and not need some outside influence to challenge us…just to say ‘We want to be at a higher level than we’ve ever been,’ and for a young team that’s sometimes hard to do.”
Both teams started off slow, with only one field goal each for the first four and half minutes. Cal made a shot right away but didn’t score from the field again until sophomore forward Mikayla Cowling made a layup at 4:55. Cowling’s shot sparked a 13-7 run by Cal to finish out the quarter and go into the second period with a 19-11 lead.
Gottlieb addressed Cal’s slow start before her team pulled away.
“We’re learning that if something isn’t going the way we want it to, we need to make it happen, and I feel like I used our timeouts effectively and they responded well, creating the run that snowballed into the win.”
The second quarter began with an offensive onslaught by Cal, a 13-0 run single-handedly accomplished by freshman forward Kristine Anigwe. Overall, the Bears outscored the Matadors 27-12 in the second period and shot 70.5 percent from the field (12-of-17). In contrast, CSUN shot 29.4 percent (5-of-17). The Bears went into the locker room with a 46-23 lead.
Cal continued to completely dominate CSUN in the second quarter, holding their opponents to just eight points in the third period and outscoring them 25-13 in the fourth.
In addition to Green’s stellar performance, Anigwe finished with 30 points and six rebounds. Cowling was close behind with 29 points plus five rebounds and four assists. Junior forward Courtney Range contributed 12 points and six rebounds. Freshman point guard Asha Thomas scored seven points and dished out 11 assists.
Senior forward Jasmine Johnson led CSUN 14 points plus seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Serafina Maulupe was also in double figures with 13 points. Sophomore forward Tessa Boagni added 10 points.
CSUN heads home to host Seattle on Jan. 2 in the last non-conference game for the Matadors.
The Bears finished non-conference play with their second-best record under Gottlieb at 9-2 (.818), behind 2012-13’s 10-1 (.909) start. Cal goes on the road to face Arizona State on Jan. 2 at 6 p.m. PT and Arizona on Jan. 4 at 7 p.m. PT. Both games will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.
Notes
- The game featured two members of New Zealand’s women’s national team: Penina Davidson (Cal) and Tessa Boagni (CSUN). The duo competed for their country in the FIBA Oceania Championship last summer.
- Cal freshman Chen Yue is out of commission as she recovers from a broken bone in one of her feet.
- The 62-point victory marks the largest victory margin of the 2015 season for the Bears and is three points shy of the program record of 65, set Jan. 7, 1978 against UC Santa Cruz (90-25).
- This is the first time Cal held an opponent under 50 points since Feb. 8, 2015, when the Bears defeated Arizona State 59-40.
- This is Cal’s third 100+ point game in the last four games.
- The Bears non-conference record under Gottlieb is now 44-12, including 29-3 at home.
- Mikayla Cowling has scored 10 or more points in six consecutive games and eight total this season.
- Mo Mosley’s 7 rebounds represent a career high.
- Gabby Green’s 10 rebounds, 14 assists and 11 points mark her first career triple-double. Her 14 assists mark a career high and 10 rebounds mark a season high.
- With 12 points, Courtney Range marks her fourth consecutive and seventh game of the season in double figures.
