Cal Sports Report

Three Games Emerge as Elite on Cal Women's ACC Home Slate

Golden Bears return minus four starters from their NCAA tournament team
Jeff Faraudo|
Lulu Twidale
Lulu Twidale | Photo by Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images

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California Golden Bears

The ACC revealed its conference schedule for women’s basketball, and Cal’s home schedule features three games that stand out as go-to events at Haas Pavilion this season:

— The Bears’ ACC home schedule tips off on Thursday, Jan. 8 against Duke, which won 29 games last season and reached the Elite 8 round of the NCAA tournament before losing by four points to eventual national runnerup South Carolina.

— Cal faces rival Stanford in the 106th edition of the Battle of the Bay on Sunday, Jan. 25. The Bears twice defeated the Cardinal last season on the way to a 25-win season and a berth in the NCAA tournament.

— Defending ACC champion Notre Dame visits Haas on Thursday, Jan. 29. The Irish won 28 games last season before losing in the Sweet 16 the NCAA tournament.

Cal also has home conference matchups against Wake Forest, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Virginia, Clemson and SMU. The conference slate includes nine games each at home and on the road. 

After the regular season, the ACC tournament will be contested from March 4-8 at the Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia.

Including its non-conference slate, Cal will face 10 teams that reached the NCAAs last season.

The Bears open their non-conference schedule on Nov. 3 against Vanderbilt at Paris, France. They play their first non-conference home game on Nov. 9 against Sacramento State.

Cal returns just one starter — junior guard Lulu Twidale of Australia, who was second on the team with a 13.2 scoring average.

Coach Charmin Smith begins her seventh season leading the Cal program. Last spring, she signed a five-year contract extension through the 2029-30 season.

Cal's 2025-26 ACC women's basketball schedule
Cal's 2025-26 ACC women's basketball schedule | ACC

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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. 

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