Record-sharer Galloway lauds Anigwe
Colleen Galloway says she never misses an opportunity to “brag about my Golden Bears,” and she’ll have a prime opportunity this week.
When Kristine Anigwe scores her first point against Oregon on Friday night, she will break a tie with Galloway for first on Cal’s all-time scoring list — the record of 2,320 points was established in 1981.
Galloway averaged 18.4 points per game during her Cal career and her No. 13 jersey was retired on Feb. 17, 1981. Now the dean of students at Moreau Catholic-Hayward, she marvels at what Anigwe is accomplishing.
“I have really enjoyed watching Kristine’s career and the growth of her game,” Galloway said in an email to The Chronicle. “In fact, the progression of amazing student-athletes, teams and coaching staffs over the past 20 years has been a joy to watch. I never miss an opportunity to brag about my Golden Bears!
“Kristine has given me so much more to brag about. And as impressive as her scoring and rebounding is (and it is record-breakingly impressive!), the way she goes about it is compelling. I have seen evidence of her hard work in the skills she has added to her game. I am rooting for her to break my career scoring record. She is a tremendous representative of Cal women’s basketball, and I consider it an honor for my name to be near hers.”
Coming off a two-game set against Stanford, during which she averaged 22.5 points and 22 rebounds, Anigwe was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week.
Having recorded double-doubles in 22 consecutive games, the fifthlongest streak in Division I women’s basketball history, the 6-foot-4 forward/center was added this week to the Naismith National Player of the Year list.
In addition to the scoring mark, Anigwe is 21 rebounds from passing Gennifer Brandon and 10 blocked shots away from passing Charlotte Lusschen atop the program’s charts.
When Anigwe makes that first basket or foul shot, Cal plans to make a mention of the record. At the first timeout following the record-breaker, the game-operations team will run a video montage highlighting some of the senior’s best plays.
Of course, the rebound and blocked shot records won’t easily fall this week against No. 3 Oregon on Friday and No. 7 Oregon State on Sunday. The Ducks (21-1, 10-0 Pac-12) are riding a 14-game winning streak behind Sabrina Ionescu, who is the nation’s all-time leader in triple-doubles.
The guard from Miramonte-Orinda, the reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year, is leading Oregon in points (18.6 points per game) and assists (8.4 per game) and had 28 points and 11 assists in the Ducks’ 91-54 win over the Bears in the teams’ last meeting, Feb. 2, 2018.
“My sophomore year, I had numbers, but we never won,” Anigwe said. “This year, I don’t really care if I have numbers. I don’t need to average 20. I don’t have to. Everyone knows I can score. What they don’t know is that I can also rebound, pass, be a good teammate and win.”
That’s something else Anigwe and Galloway have in common.
Asking about her fondest collegiate memories, Galloway breezed past her individual numbers.
“I do often share that the last two seasons I played we were conference champions and we split games with Stanford for my four-year career,” Galloway said. “There are teammates that I still keep in contact with. I remember the 7 a.m. practices at Hearst Gym, riding in vans to games since there wasn’t the money to fly.
“I have really appreciated how coach Lindsay Gottlieb and the current athletic administration reaches out to alumni and welcomes us back. I continue to feel like an important member of the Golden Bear family!”