Shannon Dowell: The Missing Piece for Cal Women's Basketball

Shannon Dowell is back at her natural position at Cal this season, and having her at her best position may the final element in a 2026-27 season that makes the Golden Bears women's basketball team a contender for the ACC title.

Dowell was forced to play point guard at Missouri last season when Averi Kroenke, the returning starter at point guard, suffered a season-ending knee injury just a few days before the start of the 2025-26 season.

She called playing point "an adjustment," and although she finished second on the team in both scoring (14.9 points) and assists (2.3), Dowell said she was "playing out of position last year."

Based on Cal's ongoing summer practices, Dowell expects to be a wing position this season. with Mjracle Sheppard back as Cal's starting point guard.

Dowell provides the perfect complement to Lulu Twidale's outside threat. Twidale made 101 three-pointers last season, the second-most in the ACC, and that accounted for more than 53 percent of her team-leading 16.2 points per game.

The 5-foot-10 Dowell adds a different dimension with her ability to penetrate.

“I think I’m good at getting to the basket, drawing fouls," said Dowell, "I can knock it down when I’m open. I’ve been working more on my midrange game.”

When Cal reached the NCAA tournament in 2025, all five starters averaged double figures in scoring. Last year only Twidale and 6-foot-6 center Sakima Walker scored more than 10 points a game, and Walker is gone after exhausting her eligibility.

“With Dowell, we needed someone that can get buckets," said Cal head coach Charmin Smith, " and she clearly got buckets against us, and was extremely successful in the SEC in getting to the rim, getting to the free-throw line, and I think you’ll see more of that from her with us.”

Dowell scored 20 points against Cal last season, and she hit the game-winning shot with one second left on a drive to the basket, giving Missouri a 68-67 victory.

She scored 30 points against Southern Illinois and 33 against Oklahoma, and made the decision to transfer to Cal after spending two years at Illinois State and one at Missouri.

“I really like what they’ve been building here, just kind of being another piece into something that’s already being built," Dowell said of her choice of Cal. "Coach Charmin, I just really liked that she’s a black female head coach, that really stuck out to me.”

The other key addition is 6-foot-5 Albina Syla, a transfer from Rhode Island who played her best basketball at the end of the 2025-26 season.

“In losing Sakima, we lost a lot of size," Smith said. "[Syla] brings that size, and rim protection and that length in the paint, she can finish on the block, so definitely excited about having a five.”

Low-post offense has always been an important part of Smith's offense at Cal, and she is hoping Syla, who is from Finland, can make the step up in competition level to be a scoring threat this season in the ACC. She averaged 9.2 points and 7.1 rebounds as a sophomore at Rhode Island last season, but averaged 14.7 points and 10.0 rebounds in the three games of the Atlantic-10 tournament. Rhode Island won the tournament and Syla was named the tournament MVP.

With four starters back from last season's 21-win team, Cal now has the weapons to be a contender in the ACC with the addition of Dowell and Syla.

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