Jayda Curry Flirts With Triple-Double in Cal Women's Basketball Win
Cal coach Charmin Smith had a major decision to make in the fourth quarter of the Bears' 84-51 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff in Saturday's women's basketball game.
Midway through the fourth quarter Jayda Curry had 19 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists. The Bears (6-1) had already assured themselves of their fifth straight win, and they knew a tougher challenge would come on Sunday when they faced SMU in a 1 p.m. game at Haas Pavilion in the second day of the Raising the B.A.R. Invitational.
But opportunities for triple-doubles don't come around often, so Smith had to weigh the pros and cons of letting her star stay in the game for a chance to get the three assists needed to achieve a triple-double.
Ultimately, Smith took Curry out with 5:51 left.
"I thought a lot about leaving Jayda in," Smith said, "then I say, 'You know, we've got to be smart.'
"Honestly, I want us to work on pounding people. I wanted us to score 90, and wanted them to score 40. But we have a game tomorrow and I have confidence in our roster that we have depth now and we can finish the job.
"It's more important that Jayda be ready for tomorrow than it is that she have a triple-double. She's the first to say that she just cares about the wins, and I appreciate that about her and our team."
Curry did her damage in just 28 minutes of court time, but there was never any doubt that Cal would win this game over a Arkansas-Pine Bluff team that is 1-6 and whose only win came against Philander Smith.
Somewhat surprisingly, Curry's 19 points were her second-highest scoring total of the season, behind only her 24-point effort in the 90-79 loss to No. 9 Notre Dame.
She led the Pac-12 in scoring last season, averaging 18.6 points per game, but entered Saturday's contest averaging 13.0 points.
But the Bears have more offensive weapons this season, as four Cal players scored in double figures on Saturday.
Jadyn Bush came off the bench to score 15 points, Evelien Lutje Schipholt had 13 points and Leilani McIntosh added 11 points.
Cal dominated every statistical category, the most noticeable edge coming in rebounding. The Bears had 21 offensive rebounds and outscored the Golden Lions 24-5 in second-chance points.
They will need to be even better on Sunday when they face SMU, which was 5-2 before Saturday's second game against Gardner-Webb. Perhaps the Mustangs most impressive result was a three-point loss to perennial powerhouse Baylor.
The B.A.R. Invitational features four teams with female African American head coaches, and the B.A.R. stands for Basketball, Activism and Representation.
Smith talked about the importance of the event in the video below:
.
Follow Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53
Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport
