Cal Women Hope to Exceed ACC Expectations Once More

The Cal women’s basketball team hopes to exceed outside expectations in Atlantic Coast Conference play just as the Bears did a year ago.

Cal was tabbed 12th in a preseason poll of the league’s 18 coaches and a blue ribbon panel, just as it was a year ago.

But the Bears zoomed past that modest projection, assembling a 12-6 conference record to finish seven in the ACC standings. The Bears also were chosen to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2018 and posted a 25-9 overall record.

A veteran team last season, the Bears return just one starter in junior guard Lulu Twidale, who averaged 13.2 points last season.

One of Twidale’s new teammate, freshman guard Puff Morris, was chosen Tuesday to the six-player ACC preseason all-freshman team.

Morris, a McDonald’s All-American at Etiwanda High School, was rated as the 22nd-best prospect in the country by ESPN.

She led Etiwanda to three straight California state open-division titles, and was named the MaxPreps state player of the year after averaging 24.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game.

Duke, which reached the Elite Eight round of the NCAA tournament last season, was chosen as the ACC favorite. The Blue Devils earned 40 of 70 first-place votes.

NC State and North Carolina finished second and third, respectively, in the ACC poll, followed by Louisville, Notre Dame and Stanford.

Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo, the reigning ACC Player of the Year and the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, was the clear choice as the preseason ACC Player of the Year.

Hidalgo was a unanimous All-America pick last season when she led the ACC at 23.8 points and 3.7 steals per game.

ACC Women’s Basketball Poll
(First-place votes in parenthesis)

1. Duke (40), 1525
2. NC State (25), 1487
3. North Carolina (1), 1374
4. Louisville (2), 1276
5. Notre Dame (2), 1255
6. Stanford, 1041
7. Virginia, 987
8. Miami, 889
9. Florida State, 857
10. Virginia Tech, 813
11. Clemson, 738
12. California, 669
13. Syracuse, 540
14. SMU, 483
15. Georgia Tech, 447
16. Pitt, 299
17. Boston College, 211
18. Wake Forest, 157

Preseason ACC Player of the Year
Hannah Hidalgo, Jr., G, Notre Dame

Preseason All-ACC Team (70 voters)
Hannah Hidalgo, Jr., G, Notre Dame 833
Zoe Brooks, Jr., G, NC State 606
Kymora Johnson, Jr., G, Virginia 577
Toby Fournier, So., F, Duke 535
Ashlon Jackson, Sr., G, Duke 333
Tajianna Roberts, So., G, Louisville 326
Khamil Pierre, Jr., F, NC State 285
Reniya Kelly, Sr., G, North Carolina 276
Nunu Agara, Jr., F, Stanford 275
Laura Ziegler, Sr., F, Louisville 78

Preseason ACC All-Freshman Team
Emilee Skinner, G, Duke 415
Hailee Swain, G, Stanford 324
Nyla Brooks, G, North Carolina 310
Lara Somfai, F, Stanford 185
Aliyahna "Puff" Morris, G, California 114
Leah Macy, F, Notre Dame 79

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