California

Arizona women’s basketball ends 4-game skid with complete performance against California

Published

8 months ago

January 27, 2024

Arizona women’s basketball ends 4-game skid with complete performance against California

What happens when you take 16.7 points per game out of your lineup? That was the question facing the Arizona Wildcats against California on Friday night. The answer turned out to be winning 66-55 with a complete team game.

“I was feeling like it was more together today,” said forward Esmery Martinez. “We were helping more each other. We were communicating more. We were ready to win the game.”

Arizona’s starting lineup included usual starters Martinez, Jada Williams, Breya Cunningham, and Helena Pueyo, but they were not joined by leading scorer Kailyn Gilbert, who was held out by head coach Adia Barnes. Instead, freshman Skylar Jones got the first start of her career.

“[Gilbert] wasn’t available today,” Barnes said. “So just the decision not to play her…I could have tried to possibly but it would just risk injury.”

It was a nerve-racking experience for Jones. She found out at practice that she would start. She had to find out a way to get over her nervousness before the game.

“I went to sleep,” Jones said. “I had to sleep it off. I took a quick little 45-minute nap.”

Those nerves were still there early on. Jones had a steal and an assist to start Arizona’s scoring, but she followed that up with some mistakes.

“I was actually frustrated at the beginning of the game because I had two turnovers that I shouldn’t have had early,” Jones said. “And Es knows I was frustrated with it and she told me to snap out of it, get it out of my head, and then the rest of the game was smooth from there.”

The changes didn’t stop with Jones’ start. Junior guard Courtney Blakely played 26 minutes, the most since she transferred to Arizona in the offseason. Her teammates were impressed by her contributions.

“I love Courtney,” Jones said. “Courtney’s just a dog…and she played like it.”

Late in the game, Blakely dove on the floor for a loose ball. She appeared injured and stayed down for an extended period of time. Martinez picked her up.

“She’s the type of player that I don’t want to play against,” Martinez said said with a laugh. “She’s annoying.”

Barnes was also impressed by the effort of Blakely, whose confidence she has been concerned with in recent weeks.

“I thought Courtney played the way Courtney can play today,” Barnes said. “She didn’t take as many risks defensively. I thought she was super tenacious on the ball. Great energy. Good finishes. Some brilliant plays that she kind of bobbed and weaved—it reminded me of Aari [McDonald]—through defenses and just found a way to make the layups. I thought she jump-stopped and finished strong, and that’s something we were working on in practice because before she would just go up and miss. But you saw her jump-stopping and gathering—and she can jump. I thought she was really good tonight.”

With just seven players, the Wildcats leaned on Martinez, who scored a season high 20 points. She added seven rebounds, three assists, and two steals. More importantly, she had just one turnover, something she has struggled with of late.

“To be honest, I was feeling in the last couple games, I was…rushing too much, I was trying to play real fast,” Martinez said. “And because I was watching film, I was thinking that’s not my game. So I stopped. Tried to sit down and control and see what they give to me. So I just feel as though I’ve realized my own way and play my own way.”

It wasn’t just Martinez, though. Williams scored 13, nine of which came from the free throw line. She also had two rebounds, two assists, and one steal.

“Everybody scored and contributed,” Barnes said. “That’s what you want. You don’t want a big imbalance. You won’t win games like that. You may score some points but you’re not going to win like that.”

Each of the seven players scored at least six points each. The team outrebounded Cal 29-25. They had 13 assists to the Bears’ 11 and 12 steals to the opponent’s six.

On defense, Arizona held Cal to 34.9 percent shooting, five percent below its season average. The Bears ended with 13.8 points fewer than their season average.

“I think we also came in the locker room talked about how we want to win…we want to come together,” Jones said. “We need to do this. We need to get out of this losing streak. And that’s what we did today. What we did, we stood on business. That’s what we put on the locker room. and we stood on business and stood on 10 toes and we all came together.”

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California

Newsom gives $131M more to clear homeless encampments to CA cities, counties

Published

5 hours ago

October 5, 2024

Press Room

Newsom gives 1M more to clear homeless encampments to CA cities, counties

Gov.Gavin Newsom is hoping his latest round of homeless encampment resolution funding will not just help clear the state’s sidewalks — but also hold cities and counties more accountable for making it happen.

Newsom on Friday doled out $130.7 million to 12 cities and six counties, aiming to clear homeless encampments and provide shelter, care and support. Among the recipients are Riverside and San Bernardino counties, Pasadena and Los Angeles cities, but missing this round was Los Angeles County.

Newsom said L.A. County’s absence is not an oversight, nor is it a political maneuver.

“A disproportionate share has gone to L.A. City and L.A. County, as well as their C.O.C. (Continuum of Care), so they’ve been well resourced,” Newsom said. “It’s not intentional. I wouldn’t read between the lines.”

L.A. County received $51 million of homelessness funding from the state in May.

Newsom said so far, the state’s $1 billion encampment resolution program has doled out more than $737 million to clear encampments across California.

As part of this latest round of funding, Newsom said he’s also stepped up accountability measures and promised to claw back funding if the cities or counties fail to meet the requirements. The new standards, he said, are essential to reduce encampments and reclaim California’s public spaces.

Related story: Newsom makes good on threats against Norwalk for its ban on homeless shelters

“We need to re-democratize our streets and do it in a compassionate way, with our values intact, support the people who are out there and the underlying causes,” Newsom said. “But, we need to take back the streets.”

Newsom said the encampment resolution program is working. Since July, 991 encampments have been removed and more than 12,000 have been removed over the past three years.

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California

Albertsons ordered to pay $4 million for overcharging California shoppers

Published

13 hours ago

October 4, 2024

Press Room

Albertsons ordered to pay million for overcharging California shoppers

Riverside District Attorney’s Office found faulty scales and scanners that regularly overcharged for food.

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Originally Published: October 4, 2024 at 2:33 p.m.

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California

Citizens to expand and branch into California

Published

20 hours ago

October 4, 2024

Press Room

Citizens to expand and branch into California

Citizens Financial Group has entered the next phase of its West Coast expansion strategy, appointing a private banking team in Southern California, and announced plans to open new private bank offices in the region.

This move follows prior announcements regarding Citizens’ California development plan, which aims to serve the market in an integrated and comprehensive manner that fosters growth across Private Banking, Wealth Management, and Corporate & Investment Banking.

In an effort to expand its clientele, Citizens has launched two new Private Banking locations in Mill Valley and Downtown San Francisco, California.

These locations mark the bank’s first West Coast locations. The new offices of Citizens Private Bank offer high-net-worth individuals, families, businesses, entrepreneurs in the innovation economy, and charitable organisations comprehensive, personalised private banking and asset management services.

The sites stand out as centres of excellence within Citizens’ portfolio, delivering an assortment of tailored financial services suited to the unique needs of clients in the Northern California market. For their regular banking needs, all Citizens clients in the area are welcome to visit the new Private Banking locations.

In order to better serve the San Diego and Newport Beach regions, Citizens Private Bank has expanded its footprint by adding a highly skilled Private Banking staff to Southern California.

Victor Mena, a private bank market executive with deep ties in the area, substantial area expertise, and a track record of providing outstanding client service, leads the new team.

Mena will work with a group of seasoned bankers to increase Citizens Private Bank’s presence in California, reporting to Susan deTray, Head of the bank.

By the middle of 2025, Citizens Private Bank plans to open more Private Banking locations around California, notably in Newport Beach, San Diego, and Silicon Valley.

Susan deTray, head of Citizens Private Bank stated: “We’re pleased to continue executing against the Citizens Private Bank growth strategy with the opening of our first two Private Banking offices in the San Francisco Bay Area, and the addition of experienced bankers in Southern California. We look forward to deepening our presence and delivering a robust suite of comprehensive banking and wealth management services with an emphasis on personal relationships, extraordinary service, and tailored solutions and advice.”

“Citizens to expand and branch into California” was originally created and published by Private Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand.

The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site.

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