Cal defeats Eastern Washington 91-58

The win makes Cal 4-0 for the first time since the 2009-2010 season.

The Bears now face Georgetown (4-1) in the championship game. The Hoyas defeated Cal State Fullerton 53-51 on Saturday.  The final is scheduled for 3:15 p.m. at Haas Pavilion. 

Most Influential Player:  Brittany Boyd managed 13 points, 10 assists and eight steals in just 23 minutes and was on the floor when the Bears broke the gain open.  In games like this, when a tight game becomes a blowout later in the second half, a lot of those players' numbers will become exaggerated, especially as both teams get into their benches, with Cal's bench being considerably deeper than the Eagles' bench.

Run of the game:  After Eastern Washington gave as good as they got in the first half and managed to enter the half trailing by six, 42-37, the Bears went on a 14-0 run to open the second half to push the lead to 19 at 56-37. During that stretch, Cal's defense held Eastern Washington to just two field goal attempts while forcing seven turnovers during a 4:50 stretch. 

Moment when people might have started to get nervous: Eastern Washington was 5-of-7 on three-point shooting in the early going to take a 21-16 lead with 12 minutes left.  It was never likely that the Eagles were going to be able to sustain that shooting over the course of an entire game, but every once in awhile, a team gets ridiculously hot and manages it to sustain it over a period that's out of whack of what they've done in the past.  Fortunately for the Bears, this was not the case.  For the rest of the game, Eastern Washington was 5-of-13 on three-point shooting over the remaining 32 minutes.

23 turnovers. Cal's defensive intensity was just too much for the Eagles as the Bears forced 23 turnovers.  It wasn't a matter of one of two key lineups that caused problems - the Bears had nine players play 17 minutes or more, and whichever personnel grouping they used caused problems.

PLUS/MINUS

LINEUPS

OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY

(This number looks at how many points a team scores when a particular player is in the game and compares them with how many points the team scores when that player is out of the game.  The resulting point per minute paces are then extrapolated over a 40 minute basis.  Although some players will have similar offensive productivity numbers - their numbers when either player is out of the game could vary wildly depending on how many minutes each player plays.)  

DEFENSIVE EFFICIENCY

(This number looks at how many points a team allows when a particular player is in the game and compares them with how many points the team allows when that player is out of the game.  The resulting point per minute paces are then extrapolated over a 40 minute basis.  Although some players will have similar defensive productivity numbers - their numbers when either player is out of the game could vary wildly depending on how many minutes each player plays.)  

BAD OUTCOMES

(The BO (Bad Outcome) Number is still in the testing phase and will evolve as the season continues. The idea is to take all of the bad outcomes - missed field goals, missed free throws, turnovers, and fouls, and divide them my the number of minutes played.

This isn't meant to be a complete measure of a player's performance.  For example, Boyd contributed so much, with her scoring, playmaking, and defense that one wouldn't question her value to the cause.  But as the quality of opposition improves, the Bears can't afford to have Boyd makes as many turnovers and fouls.)