CSUB Women Set for Pair of Games Against UCR and UCSD

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – The Cal State Bakersfield women's basketball team comes up against two opponents for the second time this year, first away at UC Riverside before coming home to host the fourth-place team in the Big West, UC San Diego. Although the Roadrunners have won just two of their ten conference games this season, they have played most of the top teams close, recently falling to UCSB and Hawai'i by just four points each. Tied for last in the conference, Bakersfield will surely be looking to turn things around soon and nab some wins before the Big West Basketball Championship in just over a month.

Upcoming Schedule

at UC Riverside, Thursday, Feb. 2, 6 p.m.
vs UC San Diego, Saturday, Feb. 4, 2 p.m.

Quotes from Head Coach Greg McCall

"Between our first game against UCR and this one, the teams have obviously changed a lot. We know where we are with our squad and injuries, and we hope that Kayla [Morris] can make it back into the lineup for the game but it's up in the air."
"UCR have good players on both sides, especially impressive and strong women on the boards. What kept Riverside in the game last time was their dominance off the glass, so we have to match that energy and crash the boards, which we've been working really hard on."
"So far this season, I think we are a missed assignment or missed shot away from taking these close games. It's not a consistency problem with playing in certain quarters, because we've had good periods in all four, so we can't pinpoint exactly what it is. We just have to stay consistent and driven for a full 40 minutes."

`Runner Notes

The `Runners are working as hard as possible with what they have at the moment. While some key players participate in a limited capacity or are still out altogether, the rest of the team does a wonderful job of filling in the gaps. Nseije Ortiz, in particular, has made the big step into earning more consistent playing time. She set career highs against UC Davis, with 31 minutes on the court, four steals, three assists, and 13 points on 5-of-7 from the field.
Despite still being hampered by injuries and not quite 100%, according to coach McCall, Hennie van Schaik is putting in work where it matters right now. Against Hawai'i, van Schaik led the charge in a narrow loss to the Rainbow Wahine, while scoring her second career double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds on top of two blocks and two steals in 34 minutes of playing time.
Echoing coach McCall, this team is seemingly just a few lucky bounces and small, fixable mistakes away from winning many of these close contests. Against both Hawai'i and UC Santa Barbara, the `Runners were defeated by late comebacks against undeniably good offenses. That primarily starts with decreasing the foul trouble that CSUB finds itself in, as both of those games saw the `Runners commit 21 personal fouls each time.
Keeping with this season's team philosophy, defense has been key in CSUB giving itself a chance to win any given battle. Sitting at 28^th in D1 for blocks-per-game and 35^th for field goal percentage defense, the `Runners held the Big West's best scoring offense, UC Santa Barbara, to just 56 points last time out, keeping Hawai'i even more wrapped up with 51 points.

Scouting the Highlanders

UC Riverside (4-16, 2-8 BW) is led by third-year head coach Nicole Powell.
As is already known by now, Powell and Greg McCall have a long and detailed past coaching against each other. When coaching for Grand Canyon in the WAC against Bakersfield, Powell was never able to beat McCall's `Runners. However, since coming to UCR, she had taken the reigns of being undefeated against McCall, that is until CSUB beat UCR in double overtime for the conference-opening game in late December.
The `Runners will be looking for the same drive and effort against the Highlanders as they had last time out against UC Riverside back in that 2OT win over a month ago. In a defensive slugfest that included 103 rebounds between the two foes, Taylor Caldwell enjoyed a double-double while Hennie van Schaik managed a double-digit effort as well.
UC Riverside is currently on a five-game losing skid but will surely lean on Matehya Bryant, who recently won Big West Player of the Week honors in early January. However, she has been quieter lately, scoring just 18 points over the last three games. CSUB will be looking to key in on that and shut her down as UCR's primary scoring threat.

Scouting the Tritons [National Women and Girls in Sports Day]

UC San Diego (10-10, 7-3 BW) is led by 11^th-year head coach Heidi Vanderveer.
Coach Vanderveer led one of the finest Division II programs during her run with UCSD from 2012-2020, making five NCAA tournament appearances in the process, including the 2018-19 season where she led the Tritons to a 30-1 record, undefeated in their conference.
Triton second-year assistant coach PhyNique Allen is a Cal State Bakersfield basketball alum, playing for the `Runners from 2009-2010 before graduating. In her final season at CSUB, she started all 29 games, averaging 16.6 points and 4.6 assists per game.
UC San Diego has experienced a very quick journey to success in the Big West. Although still barred from competing in tournaments due to NCAA rules regarding teams transitioning to Division I, UC San Diego currently sits at fourth in the conference standings.
Although UCSD is having a good season, the Tritons also have the second leakiest defense in the conference, so perhaps CSUB can put its newfound offensive skills to use against a team that the `Runners would love to take down.

How to Follow the `Runners

All Big West conference games are available on ESPN+.
Links for video, live stats, and tickets are available at GoRunners.com/Live.
Live updates will be shared during games on Twitter @CSUB_WBB.

~GoRunners.com~

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Players Mentioned

#3 Hennie van Schaik: F; 6' 3"; Sophomore

#11 Taylor Caldwell: G; 5' 9"; Senior

#14 Nseije Ortiz: G; 5' 6"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#3 Hennie van Schaik
: 6' 3"; Sophomore
: F

#11 Taylor Caldwell
: 5' 9"; Senior
: G

#14 Nseije Ortiz
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: G

California State University at Bakersfield Athletics

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CSUB Women Set for Pair of Games Against UCR and UCSD

Players Mentioned

#3 Hennie van Schaik

#11 Taylor Caldwell

#14 Nseije Ortiz

Players Mentioned

#3 Hennie van Schaik

#11 Taylor Caldwell

#14 Nseije Ortiz