Cal Defeats St. Mary's 77-61

Rama N’diaye had a career-high 18 rebounds and 16 points as No. 12/13 California beat St. Mary’s 77-61 in the opening game of the Contra Costa Times Classic. With the win, the Golden Bears improve to 6-1 while the Gaels fell to 5-3.

“It was a great game [by N’diaye],” said Cal head coach Joanne Boyle. “I think she’s starting to find her rhythm. I think she did great job—finishing, rebounding, getting putbacks.”

Ashley Walker contributed 20 points and 12 rebounds. Alexis Gray-Lawson had a game-high 6 assists along with 8 points and 6 rebounds.

St. Mary’s was led by guards Jontelle Smith and Serena Benavente, who had 22 and 19 points respectively.

The Gaels ran out to a 19-6 lead, fueled by five treys, including four in a row. #22 and #20 combined to score all of St. Mary’s points.

“I was really disappointed in how we came out,” said Boyle. “I told my team that if we did not come out and set the tone, we’d be in trouble, and that’s exactly what happened. We did not adjust. We ran back in transition, and we fell into the paint; we did not match up. They hit a three. You let that go one time, it’s no big deal. You let that go two, three, four times, it’s unacceptable. So pretty much during one of the time-outs, I chewed them out and I challenged their heart.”

“We came out flat,” said forward Ashley Walker. “We should have been ready for it; we’ve been working on it all week. But we came out flat. They came out hot.”

The Bears responded by putting on a 15-3 run of their own and took their first lead (23-22) at the 9:10 mark.

“We calmed down,” said Walker. “It was just a matter of calming down and getting our own rhythm going. They couldn’t stay in their press the whole game.”

Serena Benavente then took over. Not content to launch only from the outside, she broke down the Bears’ defense with strong drives to the hoop, hitting three straight baskets.

Ashley Walker blocked a shot, but the Gaels came up with the ball after the ensuing scramble, and Suzie Davis hit a found-money three to put St. Mary’s up 34-28.

“They’re a very good shooting team,” said Ashley Walker. “Everybody down to their post players can shoot the ball.”

That turned out to be the Gaels’ final score for the half, however, as the Bears tightened their defense. On the offense, the Bears began to attack the basket, getting easy looks inside. Alexis Gray-Lawson and Ashley Walker combined for ten as the Bears scored the final 12 points of the half to earn a 40-34 lead at intermission.

The Bears continued their momentum in the second half, extending their lead to double figures (44-34), forcing Thomas to call a time out with a little more than a minute into the stanza.

“We always talk about winning the first five and the last five [minutes] of every half,” said Walker. “It’s actually something we haven’t been doing that well with. But in this game, our starting five just looked at each other and said, ‘We know what we need to do. Just play.’”

Rama N’diaye hit a shot over her left shoulder to extend Cal’s lead to 14 (53-39). N’diaye also grabbed five rebounds in the first four minutes to give herself a double double. Walker soon joined her with an offensive board, which earned the Bears another possession that eventually led to a Lauren Greif three. Greif, who sat most of the first half with two fouls, continued her trend of hot second-half starts with 8 quick points, including 2 three-pointers.

The Bears then held the Gaels at arm’s length for the rest of the game, keeping the lead in double digits.

Shantrell Sneed gave the Bears significant minutes, collecting six points and seven rebounds.

The only real suspense left was whether Rama N’diaye would get a career-high in rebounds. With under a minute left, N’diaye had two rebounds slip out of her hands. Then, with under 30 seconds left, N’diaye grabbed her 18th board off a Lindsay Ellis miss. The Bears ran out the clock to notch the 77-61 victory.

“They’re a good team, and they did a great job finishing the game off,” said St. Mary’s head coach Paul Thomas. “That’s what good teams do. They pounded us on the inside. You can’t get out-rebounded like that and expect to win.”

On a night when the Bears shot poorly (38.4%), they were saved by their rebounding. Cal grabbed 28 offensive rebounds and held an astonishing 62-32 advantage on the boards.

“In the locker room, Coach said, ‘If you’re not going to make your lay-ups, better get the rebounds!” said Walker. “And that’s what we did. Rama was out there killing the boards both offensively and defensively, and the guards all helped out.”

N’diaye alone had ten offensive boards for the game.

“The great thing about Rama is that she’s a sophomore, and she’s only going to get better,” said Boyle. “When she puts some good minutes together, that’s the best thing for her.”

“Now I’m trying to be more focused in defending and getting the rebound,” said N’diaye. “I’m trying to play like the drill we’ve been working on. When you did good defense, you can get more transition and more chances to get points.”

The Bears will next take on No. 23/18 Vanderbilt on Sunday at 1 p.m..

“It’s another good game for us,” said Walker. “It’s a chance to play another big team at home. They came off a great win. It’s great to have that caliber of a team coming to your home gym. It’s exciting, and we hope people come out to see us play.”

NOTES:

• Ashley Walker collected the 26th double-double of her career. She also had three blocked shots, which give her 109, good enough for third place all time at Cal.

• Walker fell to the ground crawling with cramps in both her calves with eight minutes to go. She hobbled off the court but soon returned to the line-up.

• Besides Gray-Lawson, Natasha Vital, Lauren Greif, and Kelsey Adrian all finished with 8 points each.

• The Bears’ 62 rebounds were two off the school record.

• Boyle was impressed with St. Mary’s effort. “Paul is doing an unbelievable job at St. Mary’s. They’re trying to build their program into what we have. He gets everything out of his players; they’re so well-coached. And they do exactly what they need to do with their personnel.”

• Injured center Devanei Hampton warmed up before the game. Boyle hopes that Hampton might be available for the game at Rutgers on December 10. “That Rutgers game is a carrot for her right now.”

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