Ioanna Krimili Takes Aim at 400 Threes as Cal Women Visit Stanford

She needs just two more shots from beyond the arc to become the 17th Division I women's player to reach 400
Ioanna Krimili, center, smiles alongside her Cal teammates
Ioanna Krimili, center, smiles alongside her Cal teammates / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

Cal senior guard Ioanna Krimili needs just two 3-point baskets to become the 17th woman in Division I history to reach 400 for her career. The 23-year-old native of Heraklion, Greece would be the first international player to reach that milestone.

Krimili could get there Thursday night when the 22nd-ranked Golden Bears (17-3, 5-2 ACC) take on Stanford (10-8, 2-5) at Maples Pavilion. And the looming achievement has her excited.

But making 400 threes is not the reason Krimili transferred from USF before last season, and it’s not why she opted to return for a sixth college season.

“This is probably one of the best seasons I ever had,” she said. “We also know in order for us to go to the next level, we have to get better every day.”

The “next level” was a not-so-veiled reference to the NCAA tournament. Krimili has never participated in the event and the Bears haven’t been there since 2019.

“For sure, that was one of the reasons (she transferred) . . . I knew (coach) Charmin (Smith) wanted that for the team. I knew that was one of her goals. So I wanted to be part of that. It’s so exciting. That’s one of the reasons I came back, why I took my sixth year. 

“I know with a lot of work, if we keep following the things our coaches tell us to do we’re going to get there.”

Growing up in Greece, Krimili admits she didn’t really understand or appreciate the NCAA tournament. “But since I’ve been here, that has always been a dream of mine. This is the first year I feel really close to that.”

The Bears beat Stanford 83-63 at Haas Pavilion last month and a win on Thursday would give Cal just its second-ever regular-season sweep of the Cardinal, its first since the 1981-82 season.

“That’s a huge opportunity, for sure. Everybody is real excited,” said Krimili, who scored 20 points in the first meeting this season. “We know Stanford is a real good team. We know how hard it is to go there and play on their home court. 

“They’ll be ready for us, but we’re going to be ready and I know it’s going to be a great game. It’s not something that happens every game — it’s the Battle of the Bay, so we’re going to be ready for Stanford.”

Stanford is sure to be acutely aware of the Bears’ 3-point shooting prowess. Cal made 18 shots from beyond the arc when the teams played last month, so they are expected to hone in defensively on Krimili and sophomore Lulu Twidale, each of whom has made 61 threes this season.

Krimili, like so many 3-point shooters, is a big fan of Stephen Curry and she and Twidale jokingly refer to themselves as the “Splash Sisters.”

At 398 for her career, Krimili is on the doorstep of an exclusive club. 

“It’s very special to me,” said Krimili, who is the nation's No. 4 active scorer with 2,408 career points. “I’ve always said this has come because I was so lucky to play for two schools with the coaches I’ve had. They trust me so much. I’ve had teammates who would screen for me, they would find me in transition. They know how I play.

“I was very, very lucky I had people who believe in me and they gave me the freedom to play basketball how I wanted to play.”

Curiously, both of her coaches — Molly Goodenbour at USF and Smith at Cal — are Stanford alums.

Krimili admits she was not a great perimeter shooter as a young player and didn’t really embrace the 3-point shot until she arrived at San Francisco in the fall of 2019.

“I was pretty bad. It’s not like I was born and I was a good shooter,” she said of her early days in the sport. “I was putting in the work and after a little while I was like, oh my God, I might be a shooter.”

She was encouraged from the start by Goodenbour, and Krimili made her first two 3-pointers in a 32-point college debut against Northern Colorado.

Her freshman season was cut short by injury, but Krimili returned to make 97 threes as a redshirt freshman to rank second nationally. She connected 76 and 84 times from deep the next two seasons. 

After crossing the Bay to Berkeley last year, she netted 61 shots from deep, a total she has matched three weeks into January this season.


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Jeff Faraudo
JEFF FARAUDO

Jeff Faraudo was a sports writer for Bay Area daily newspapers since he was 17 years old, and was the Oakland Tribune's Cal beat writer for 24 years. He covered eight Final Fours, four NBA Finals and four Summer Olympics.