Cal women’s basketball will host the Raising the B.A.R. Invitational at Haas Pavilion from Friday to Saturday. Preceding it, the Bears are undefeated as they come off a two-game road trip to Auburn and Florida A&M.
Cal’s arguably biggest test of the season came last Friday against Auburn — its first Power Five matchup. The Tigers are also the biggest team, literally, the Bears have faced this season with three players standing at 6’4” or taller.
Cal passed the test with flying colors to triumph 67-53 in SEC territory. Junior transfer forward Marta Suárez and senior center Michelle Onyiah both had career-high nights.
Suárez scored 27 points, going 5-9 from the three-point line and 47.4% from the field. She added seven rebounds as well. For Onyiah, it was a statement performance. Fouling out against Santa Clara and Cal Poly, Smith was confident that the athletic center could excel against the more physical Tigers.
The senior went on to absolutely dominate the paint with 19 total rebounds — controlling offensive and defensive boards.
“This was a freaking great win for Cal women’s basketball. Michelle, 19 rebounds … Marta good job, 27 points, ” said Cal head coach Charmin Smith to her locker room in an Instagram reel after the game. “You guys showed them what Pac-12 women’s basketball is about. I’m really proud. We need to build upon this. Good job. Good job. Good job!”
Graduate student guard Leilani McIntosh also moved up to No. 7 in Cal’s all-time career assists leaderboard with six assists at Auburn. The Bears’ locker room was loud and palpably motivated following the triumph.
Cal next shifted eastward to Florida A&M on Monday, who they beat 88-58 last season at Haas Pavilion. It was a career-high night for another Bear this time in the dominant 76-38 win.
McIntosh scored 25 points, shooting a blistering 5-7 from the arc and 70% from the field. Suárez and her traded spots as the second-leading scorer. McIntosh contributed 19 points against Auburn and Suárez added 16 points at Florida A&M.
“This is what I expect from (McIntosh). She’s been shooting the ball well these last two games as we really needed her to and just being a floor general and leading us,” Smith said. “So I’m very pleased with her play and hoping that it can stay consistent as we move deeper into nonconference action.”
As for Onyiah, she continued her unstoppable display with 18 rebounds against Florida A&M, nearly tying her career-high from the game before.
The two games keep the Bears’ record perfect to start the season. They’ve already almost totaled the three away games they won last year, in just their first road trip of the season.
“I’m happy that we got a road sweep. It’s been a while since we swept two games on the road so it’s good to get the two wins and come back 5-0,” Smith said.
Cal will now prepare to host the third annual Raising the B.A.R. Invitational from Friday to Saturday. Beyond basketball, the tournament’s platform highlights Black female coaches and their lack of representation in collegiate basketball.
The tournament features teams all led by Black female head coaches in Smith, Texas A&M’s Joni Taylor, San Jose State’s April Phillips and Winthrop’s Semeka Randall Lay.
The Bears will ultimately look to embody the “B.A.R.” in the Invitation, which stands for “Basketball, Activism and Representation.”
“I just really envision our team continuing to raise the bar and get better and better,” Smith said as she previewed this year’s tournament last season. “Next year, we have Joni (Taylor) and Texas A&M. I’m super excited about bringing in some of the best teams that have Black females as their head coaches.”
Cal will face San Jose State University at noon, and Winthrop and Texas A&M will follow at 2:30 p.m. The losing teams will then play in a consolation matchup on Saturday at noon, and the championship will take place after at 2:30 p.m.
