Cal Women Upset No. 19 Alabama

Cal’s women’s basketball squad looked like an NCAA tournament team on Thursday night when it pulled off a significant victory by beating 19th-ranked Alabama 69-65 at Haas Pavilion in the SEC/ACC Challenge.

Alabama is the highest ranked team Cal has defeated since the Bears beat then-No. 12 Arizona 55-54 on March 1, 2020. It is also the fifth win against a ranked opponent under Cal coach Charmin Smith.

Alabama entered the game with a 9-0 record, and none of those games had been close. The Tide defeated ACC team Clemson 73-39 last week

"This is a huge win for our program and what we have been fighting for," Smith said. "To have this opportunity in the SEC/ACC Challenge means a lot. It was a great game for Marta [Suarez] on both ends of the floor. And then Kayla [Williams] making plays, hitting dagger threes and responding. These guys didn't hang their heads and they responded. That's the true sign of winners."

This season Cal has now played five games against teams that reached the 2024 NCAA tournament, and the Bears are 4-1 in those games.

At 8-1 Cal is off to its best start since Smith became the Bears' head coach.

Kayla Williams led Cal with 21 points while hitting 3-of-5 three-point shots, and Ioanna Krimili added 19 points.

Cal won despite a poor shooting night from Lulu Twidale, who entered the game as Cal’s top scorer, averaging 18.5 points. But she scored just four points on Thursday on 1-for-9 shooting.

However, Cal countered that by limiting Alabama star Sarah Ashlee Barker to seven points. She was a first-team all-SEC selection last year, but she was 2-for-10 from the field, including 0-for-3 on three-point attempts on Thursday.

Alabama led by 12 points in the second quarter, but Cal got the margin down to six points at halftime. Cal took the lead for good with 6:55 left in the fourth quarter on a three-pointer by Krimili. Cal pushed the margin to six points, which was the Bears’ largest lead of the game, then held on for the win.

Nearly half of Cal’s 57 field-goal attempts were three-pointers. Although the Bears were just 9-of 27 from long range, it was better than the Tide’s 4-for-17 from beyond the arc.

Turnovers had been a major problem for Cal in recent games, but the Bears had a tolerable 15 turnovers against Alabama.

Marta Suarez added 16 points and six assists for Cal.

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