The Cal women’s basketball team started two freshmen in its season opener on Monday in Paris, France, and although Cal lost to No. 19 Vanderbilt 74-65, the two freshmen provided hope for the coming season.
Freshman Puff Morris was the more publicized of the two Cal freshmen since she was a McDonald’s All-American last year, and she came through with 10 points and four assists. However, she scored just two points in the second half when she took some low-percentage shots while Vanderbilt took control. She finished shooting 4-for-13 from the field, including 2-for-8 on three-pointers.
It was the other freshman starter, Taylor Barnes, who was best player on the court for Cal during this Oui-Play Paris 2025 event to begin the women’s basketball season.
Barnes had a team-high 17 points on 7-for-13 shooting, including 3-for-7 from three-point range. She also had a team-high five assists and six rebounds.
She helped Cal take a nine-point lead in the second quarter, but the was not enough as Vanderbilt took control of the game at that point.
Vanderbilt preseason All-SEC guard Mikayla led all scorers with 27 points, although she was just 9-for-27 from the floor.
As was the case last season, turnovers were a problem for the Bears, who turned the ball over 17 times on Monday.
The other problem for Cal was the poor shooting night by Lulu Twidale. She is the only returning starter from last season’s Cal team that earned a berth in the NCAA, and she was the Bears’ second-leading scorer for Cal that year, averaging 13.2 points.
She ended up with 11 points on Monday, but most of those came in the closing moments when the Commodores had a commanding lead.
Twidale finished shooting 4-for-13 overall and 1-for-11 from long distance, and she was 1-for-11 from the field, including 0-for-8 on three-pointers three minutes into the second half when Vanderbilt was in the midst of its game-changing run.
Cal led by nine points at 33-24 with two minutes left in the first half. But from that point until 1:47 remained in the third quarter, Vandy outscored the Bears 30-4. That included a 19-0 Vanderbilt run to end that spurt, enabling the Commodores to take a commanding 54-37 lead.
Cal relied heavily on its three-point shooting to finish last season with a 25-9 record, including 12-6 in the ACC. But the Bears made just seven three-points in 28 attempts on Monday, suggesting that might not be Cal’s strength this season.
Cal center Sakima Walker, a transfer from South Carolina, finished with 14 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
The Bears dominated the offensive glass in the early going, helping them take the early lead, but Vanderbilt finished with a 27-20 edge in offensive rebounding.
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