Previewing Syracuse women’s basketball’s matchup vs. Cal
After riding a dominant second-half effort to its 79-60 road win over Virginia, Syracuse returns to friendly confines to host Cal Thursday. Joe Zhao | Senior Staff Photographer
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If Syracuse could perform how it did in its second half against UVA every single minute, the Orange might not have a loss on the books yet.
The Cavaliers looked to be in control early, taking a 34-28 lead into the halftime break, but it was as if SU flipped a switch after that 15-minute interlude. The Orange roared back with a dominant second-half effort, outscoring UVA 51-26 to close the game and secure a 79-60 win.
It gave Syracuse a desperately needed Quad 1 win as it attempts to build an NCAA Tournament-worthy resume. The Orange have another chance to add to that resume on Thursday, when they host Cal in the JMA Wireless Dome.
Here’s everything to know about the Golden Bears (10-8, 1-4 Atlantic Coast) before they square off against Syracuse (14-3, 4-2 ACC):
All-time series
Cal leads 2-0.
Last time they played
Twenty-two years elapsed between these two programs’ first two matchups. Because of conference realignment, less than a year has passed since their second and third.
On Feb. 16, 2025, Syracuse trekked to Berkeley for the second time ever and left with a loss for the second time ever. The Orange led 35-34 at the half but ended up suffering a 75-69 defeat at the hands of Kayla Williams, who led the Golden Bears with 21 points and five assists. Georgia Woolley had 23 points of her own, but it wasn’t enough for SU to secure a fifth ACC victory.
The Golden Bears report
Cal is in worse shape than it was at this point last year.
The Golden Bears had their best season of head coach Charmin Smith’s seven-year tenure in 2024-25, finishing 25-9 and qualifying for the NCAA Tournament as an eight-seed. Barring a miraculous turnaround, it seems like they’re destined to miss the Tournament this time around.
Four of Cal’s five starters departed in the offseason, either graduating or transferring. Lulu Laditan-Twidale — the lone starter who remained — currently leads the team with 13.1 points per game. There’s only one other player on Cal’s roster who even averages double digits.
In all fairness to the Golden Bears, their four ACC losses came to Stanford, North Carolina, NC State and Duke. Each of those teams has a Simple Rating System score above 20 points — a threshold the Orange have yet to cross this season.
How Syracuse beats Cal
It’s very, very repetitive at this point, but SU’s easiest path to victory against the Golden Bears seems to be through Uche Izoje.
Laditan-Twidale is going to shoot a lot Thursday, and with a 34.8% field goal percentage, she’ll likely miss a lot as well. Let her. The Orange will only have trouble if Cal can get the ball to Sakima Walker in the paint.
Walker ranks second on the Golden Bears with 11.8 points per game, and she does so with a very efficient 55.6% field-goal percentage. If Izoje can’t limit her, then Cal will be able to get easy buckets in the paint. If she can force Walker to kick the ball out to the perimeter, the Golden Bears will take a lot of tough shots — ones they probably can’t hit.
Stat to know: 4.4
Picking a statistic that stands out about Cal is remarkably difficult.
They rank outside the top 50 in most figures yet aren’t so abysmally bad at one facet of the game that it stands out. They’re just mediocre, and mediocrity is incongruent with notability.
But it is interesting to note Cal only concedes 4.4 3-point makes per game, a mark that ranks 15th in the nation. Sophie Burrows cleared that number herself against Virginia, with seven triples. The Orange aren’t traditionally a 3-point shooting team, but Cal won’t make it easy for them on the perimeter.
Player to watch: Mjracle Sheppard, guard, No. 1
Mjracle Sheppard’s name stands out on its own — it’s Miracle, but with a j. How intuitive? But her notability doesn’t end at her first name. At her third school in three years, the junior is finally coming into her own as a starter.
She’s one of two Cal starters currently shooting over 40% from the field. Sheppard also ranks third on the Golden Bears with 9.2 points per game, and her 1.6 steals per game lead the team. She spent the past two seasons playing sparingly at Mississippi State and LSU, but she’s thrived in a larger role as a junior.
