On Friday, the Bears will take on TCU in Fort Worth, who up until this week was getting votes for the Top 25. The Horned Frogs are at 2-2 for the season, having lost Tuesday’s game against in-town rival Southern Methodist University, squandering an 11-point second half lead. They also got stomped by then top-5 LSU 73-54 in the Preseason WNIT. Their two wins came against Radford (74-63) and Delaware (66-36).
Despite the shaky start to its season, TCU is expected to return to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth consecutive year. The Horned Frogs were picked to finish second in the Mountain West Conference by coaches and the media, behind Wyoming and ahead of BYU, New Mexico, and Utah. The MWC is strong at the top: Cal had its hands full with New Mexico, and Stanford needed double overtime to beat Utah last week.
TCU is led by senior guard Adrianne Ross, who was last season’s Conference co-MVP. Ross finished last season with 17.3 ppg while shooting 39% from beyond the arc. She also collected 93 steals. Ross has gotten off to a slower start this season, averaging 11.3 ppg, although she did hit for 17 in her last game. She is joined in double figures by senior guard Helen Roden (10.5ppg). Freshman Helena Sverrisdottir, a member of the Icelandic National Team, chips in 9.0 ppg, and she also has a team-high 12 assists. Lorie Butler-Rayford tops the team in rebounds at 9 a game. TCU has a deep rotation, with 9 players averaging at least 13 minutes a game.
Head Coach Jeff Mittie is in his 9th year at the helm, and his impressive record includes six 20-win seasons in the last seven years. He has also guided TCU into the second round of the NCAA Tournament five times. Under Mittie, the Horned Frogs are tough at home, compiling an 81% winning percentage at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, including a 15-1 record in 2006-2007.
If Cal plays its stout defense and Walker returns to her high-scoring ways, the Bears should be able to come away with the victory. Still, Cal would be well-advised not look past TCU to their nationally televised showdown with Baylor.
Two years removed from their national championship, Baylor (4-0) is currently ranked right below Cal at #13, according to the Associated Press, and is ranked #12 in the ESPN/USA Today poll.
Baylor has torn up the competition so far this season, winning by an average margin of almost 43 points a game, including a 101-47 blowout of the Gaels of St. Mary’s. Baylor is an explosive offensive team, average over 87 points a game. The Lady Bears shoot over 52% as a team, and they are out-rebounding their opponents by a whopping 18 boards a game.
Sophomore 6’3 center Danielle Wilson and junior 5’10 guard Jhasmin Player are leading the way for the Lady Bears at 15.5 and 14.8 ppg, respectively, but Baylor has terrific balance, with Angela Tisdale (13.0), Rachel Allison (11.8), and Sacramento product Jessika Bradley (11.3) also averaging double figures. Wilson hauls down 8.5 rebounds a game.
Cal will be Baylor’s first test of the season. Kim Mulkey’s team should be well-rested, as they will not have played in ten days before taking on California. The last battle of the Bears was two years ago, when Baylor, led by All-American Sophia Young’s 12 points and 15 rebounds, beat Cal 75-58 in the Caribbean Classic.
Baylor averages over 5,000 fans a game so far, so Cal will need to be ready for the challenge of playing in front of a hostile crowd. The Bears will also need to keep lightning-quick Tisdale in check, and Ashley Walker and Rama N’diaye will need to stay out of foul trouble. Alexis Gray-Lawson had 21 points and 7 rebounds the last time she faced Baylor, and a similar effort might be needed in order for the Bears to pull out a win in Waco. In any case, in facing Baylor, Cal has the chance to prove that even without star Devanei Hampton, it belongs in the upper echelon of women’s college basketball.
The Golden Bears take on TCU on Friday, November 23, at 4:30 p.m. PT and #13/12 Baylor (4-0) Sunday, November 25, at noon PT (televised by FSN).
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