Cal's Gisella Maul Named One of Five National Players of the Week

Cal junior guard Gisella Maul was one of five players named to the U.S. Basketball Writers’ women’s national players of the week.

Maul recorded a pair of double-doubles in the Golden Bears’ road wins over Georgia Tech and Pitt last week.

In a 63-56 win over Georgia Tech, she had 17 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. She was particularly productive at the end of that game, scoring nine points in the final six minutes.

In the Bears’ 95-80 victory at Pitt, Maul had a career-high 20 points and 11 rebounds. She was effective from long range, making 5-of-8 three-point shots.

What is interesting about Maul’s production is that she did not become a starter until freshman point guard Puff Morris was sidelined by a knee injury. Maul has played in all 25 games, but has only started 11 games. For the season, she is averaging 9.0 points and 6.8 rebounds.

Morris returned to action against Pitt, but was not a starter. Starting forward Taylor Barnes has started all 22 games in which she has played, but has missed the past three games with an ankle injury.

It’s unclear what Cal’s starting lineup will look like when both Barnes and Morris are ready to play a full game.

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