11/2/2026 10:14 AM | Women's Basketball
Bears Aiming For Return To NCAA Tournament
In this day and age of college basketball, having four returning players on a roster can seem like a bonus. Having four returning starters? That's a luxury Cal head coach Charmin Smith truly appreciates.
As the Bears have prepared for their season opener against Washington State at Haas Pavilion on Monday night, they have been buoyed by the program familiarity of guards Lulu Twidale, Mjracle Sheppard and Gisella Maul and forward Taylor Barnes.
Those four started on the 2025-26 Cal team that went 21-15 (9-9 ACC) and reached the quarterfinals of the WBIT.
"We're so far of ahead of where we were last year, just in terms of what we have in and what we can do," Smith said after practice Tuesday afternoon. "It took a lot of time last year because there were so many new pieces and now, I'm like, 'Lu, G, Taylor, we're doing it like this.' They're like, 'Yeah, OK. Let's go.' "
Twidale, now a senior, was the lone returning starter last season. She believes the collective Cal experience of the four returners this season "will really help us down the stretch in the close games against the better teams."
A preseason All-ACC selection, Twidale averaged a team-high 16.2 points per game and knocked down a program-record 101 3-pointers last season. The Australian takes pride in having spent her entire career in blue and gold.
"Knowing that I have had a really positive impact on the team and the culture and the teammates around me is what is really important to me," said Twidale, already the program's career leader in 3's with 236.
"I'm a very loyal person and I'm glad that I stuck with what Charmin's trying to achieve here. I'm just excited that I get to finish out this year with her."
Twidale had game highs of 25 points and nine rebounds in the Bears' 78-76 exhibition loss at No. 3 USC on Oct. 25. Cal played markedly better than it did in its first exhibition game, an 87-53 loss to No. 11 UCLA at Haas on Oct. 14.
"I loved our fight and our competitiveness" against the Trojans, Smith said.
Sheppard, a point guard, has been sidelined by an injury. Sheppard's absence led to Ruby Perkins, a freshman from Sydney, playing 31 minutes against USC.
"I love how Ruby is helping our team right now," Smith said. "This is going to bode well for us in February when we've got this freshman point guard who had this baptism-by-fire moment, playing minutes that she wouldn't have played. …
"She's so feisty and tough. … She doesn't back down from anyone -- and we need that competitiveness."
Smith expects Barnes to build off her freshman season of 2025-26 when she averaged 8.7 points and 5.1 rebounds. Smith likes Barnes' "confidence, her aggressiveness. I think she's going to be really special for us."
The lone starter from last season the Bears need to replace is center Sakima Walker (12.5 points, 6.9 boards). Albina Syla, a 6-foot-5 junior who spent the past two seasons at Rhode Island, got the start against USC. Smith said Jovana Jevtovic, a 6-4 freshman from Serbia, Anna Lagonikaki, a 6-3 freshman from Greece, and Naya Ojukwu, a 6-1 junior who's usually a forward, all could get minutes at center in addition to Syla.
"We've got options," Smith said.
Few, if any, teams head into a season without question marks. Smith addressed the main areas in which she'd like the Bears to improve.
"We've talked about toughness a lot lately," Smith said. "We know we've got shot-makers. We have to be better defensively."
All in all, Smith and her staff are pumped to begin the season. When asked why fans should come to Haas to watch the Bears, Smith replied, "We push the ball. We play with pace. It's an exciting style of basketball and these young women … deserve the support, and I'm really excited to be coaching them."
