Cal Women at ACC Tipoff Event: Experience Is the Difference

Cal women’s basketball coach Charmin Smith noted during the 2026 Tipoff basketball media event in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Tuesday that experience is the Bears’ strength this season.

“Yeah, I think returning seven people from last year's roster and four starters has really catapulted us,” she said. “We're a lot further ahead than we were at this point last year.

“Things moved really fast. You know, the drills that we're doing, where we are with our defense, everything is just a lot further ahead than last year, and I think that's going to help us be ready sooner obviously.

“So I'm excited about what we can do this year.”

There are reasons for high expectations. The Bears finished 21-15 last season with a lot of new faces, but the experience in the Cal system that this year’s roster has resembles the experience and veteran leadership Cal had in 2024-25, when the Bears went 25-9 and got their only NCAA tournament berth since 2019.

Smith is hoping this experience on this year’s squad will help the Bears win close games after dropping a lot games that came down to the wire last season

“You know, it was tough last year,” she said. “We were in a lot of big games. You know, we had chances, and again, I think the veterans that we have returning will remember that and we'll be better because of it.

“I think we just keep gaining experience. And people know our system now. People are more familiar with how we want to play and what we want to do. I think that will get us over the hump in those close games.”

The Bears lost their first four ACC games last year before gaining momentum and finishing with a 9-9 conference mark. Much of that early slow start was accompanied by Lulu Twidale’s early-season shooting slump.

“This offseason it was [about] consistency,” Twidale, Cal’s top scorer last season, said. “Last season didn't start how I wanted to. It came in conference and at the end of conference, so my goal is just to be really consistent this year and come in ready to go from jump.”

Gisella Maul, who stepped into the starting lineup midway through last season, proved to be an asset who can perform a number of tasks. She is being counted on to even more productive this season.

“Yeah, I mean, definitely consistency, like Lulu said,” the left-handed Maul said. “I think for me the biggest thing that -- the biggest jump I wanted to make this offseason was, like, my leadership. I just wanted to work on being a more vocal leader and just being there for my team in a more vocal way.

“I think for me it was just kind of, like, getting better in the areas that I knew that I needed work on. So for me it was mainly my off hand. I think the offseason I took that as the opportunity to just, like, in my workouts alone just do everything with my right hand and just, you know, grow in that area. That's where I needed growth.”

Cal will play exhibition games against national powerhouses UCLA (on October 14) and USC (October 25), both in Los Angeles, and will open its regular season on November 2 at home against Washington State.

The Bears’ key nonconference games include a game against Gonzaga in Hawaii on November 23, a December 3 home game against Texas A&M and a December 20 game against Nebraska at the Chase Center in San Francisco.

Cal’s first ACC game will be against rival Stanford on December 13 at Haas Pavilion.

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