SMU (9-20, 2-15 ACC) at California (17-13, 8-9 ACC)
Haas Pavilion – Berkeley, Calif.
Sunday, March 1, 2026– 4 p.m. CST / 2 p.m. PST
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DALLAS (SMU) – The SMU women's basketball team closes out its 50^th season in program history on the road, facing Cal on Sunday at 4 pm CT inside Haas Pavilion, the team's final game of the regular season. Fans can watch the game on ACCNX, listen on the SMU Mobile App or SiriusXM or follow along via live stats found here.

The Mustangs will look to end the regular season on a high note after dropping their last three games. SMU enters the game 16^th in the ACC standings and did not qualify for the ACC tournament next week in Duluth, Georgia.  

SMU picked up its second ACC win of the season after the Mustangs defeated Pitt for the second time this season, holding on for a 79-78 home victory. Zahra King led the way with 25 points, while Ayanna Thompson made a career-high five three-pointers and had six assists in the game as well. SMU earned its first ACC win of the season after the team defeated Pitt 83-76 on the road in Pittsburgh. Zahra King scored 40 points while Anaya Brown dropped 20 in the team's first ACC win under Adia Barnes.

The Mustangs have been dealing with injuries all season long and had only eight players available last time out. Zahra King, Anaya Brown, Ayanna Thompson, and Grace Hall have been leading the way for the SMU during ACC play and are the only four Mustangs to start in at least 13 ACC games this season.

Zahra King is coming off recording her sixth 20-point game of the season after she led SMU with 23 points against Notre Dame.

King has been incredibly efficient, shooting 44.0% from the field, the third-best mark among ACC guards.  She ranks 11^th overall in the ACC in field goal percentage, 10^th overall in total points (424) and 12^th in points per game (14.6).

The Brooklyn, N.Y., native leads SMU in points scored with 424 total points and has recorded 19 games scoring in double figures, including scoring 25 points at home versus Pitt.  She is averaging 15.9 ppg in ACC play and has scored over 20 points in five ACC games this season.

Zahra King made history in the team's first game against Pitt, as she became the third ever Mustang to score 40 points in a game, as she went 7-of-12 from three-point range, which is tied for the second most three pointers made in a single game in school history.

Anaya Brown has stepped up for the Mustangs during ACC action. Brown scored 20 points in back-to-back games (22 vs VT, 20 at Pitt). Against Pitt, Brown led the charge on defense with four blocks, tying her season high. She ranks 8^th in the ACC in total blocks with 41 this season.

During ACC play, Brown is averaging 8.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. She has scored in double figures in five of her last nine games, including a team-high 19 points against Boston College.

Ayanna Thompson has posted double-digit scoring performances in her last four games, including scoring a career high 18 points last time out at Stanford. Thompson made a career-high five three-pointers in the win over Pitt.

On offense, SMU enters the game 10^th in the ACC in three point percentage (31.9). The Mustangs made 179 three-pointers this season, the third-most in a single season in program history and most since the 2009-10 season (186).  SMU has also had 10 games with over 30 points in the paint this season, with the most recent occurrence last time out against Stanford, with an ACC season high of 42.

SMU's defense has been causing havoc for other teams this season as the Mustangs rank third in the ACC / 59^th in the NCAA in steals per game at 10.3. SMU also ranks sixth in the ACC / 42^nd in the NCAA in blocks per game (4.4) and sixth in the ACC in turnovers forced per game (16.8).

SMU is third in the ACC in total steals with 292 and has recorded double-digit steals in 17 games this season, most since the 2012-13 season (18). SMU is coming off recording 10 steals against Pitt. The team's 84 steals in the first seven games were the most since the team had 89 during the 2012-13 season.

SMU is 9-20 under head coach  Adia Barnes. Barnes, a former WBCA Coach of the Year Finalist and Naismith Coach of the Year Semifinalist, was named Head Women's Basketball Coach at SMU on April 5.

As SMU enters year two in the ACC, it will do so with an entirely new roster and coaching staff, signing 15 new players ahead of the 2025-26 season. Of the 15, eight players transferred in from a Power 4 institution. The Mustangs will also be one of the more experienced teams in the nation, having added eight seniors/graduate students to the roster this season.

// THE MATCH UP

• SMU enters the game 2-15 in the ACC, while Cal is 8-9 in league play.  Cal fell at home to Clemson last time out and is currently 11^th in the ACC standings. The Golden Bears are 12-4 at home this season, while SMU is 2-9 on the road.
• Sunday's game will be the fifth all-time meeting between SMU and Cal.
• SMU leads the overall series 3-1 and holds a 2-0 advantage inside Haas Pavilion. SMU defeated the Golden Bears 70-56 in 2022 last time the teams met in Berkeley.
• Last season, Cal defeated the Mustangs inside Moody Coliseum 81-66.

// KING'S COURT

• Zahra King has been a bright spot for the Mustangs all season long, but dazzled in the team's victory over Pitt in January.
• King reached 40 points on an efficient 11-of-19 shooting and went 7-of-12 from beyond the arc and 11-of-13 at the line. She scored 29 of her 40 points in the second half to lead SMU to victory. King also had four steals and three assists in the game.
• Her historic 40-point performance is the third-most points scored in a single game in program history and the most since Shawna Ford scored 42 against TCU in 1997. Her seven made three pointers are also tied for the second most in a single game in school history.
• As a sophomore, King is also only the third ACC underclassman to score 40 points in a game this century, joining Jewel Spear (40-Wake Forest vs. ETSU 12/13/2) and Tiana Mangakahia (44-Syracuse vs. Georgia Tech 1/4/18). It was also the 38^th time an ACC player has ever scored 40 points in a game and is one of three players to do so this season.
• King is averaging 14.6 points per game overall (10^th in the ACC) and 16.2 points per game in ACC play (9^th in the ACC). She has made 157 field goals (11^th in the ACC) while shooting 44.0% from the floor this season (11^th in the ACC). Her 424 total points also rank 10^th in the conference.
• King is also shooting 39.8% from downtown this season and leads the team in made three pointers with 45.

// (ACC)OMPLISH GREATNESS

• ACC teams finished the regular season with a combined 144 nonconference victories.
• The ACC has played 31 nonconference games against AP Top 25 opponents this season (32 against USA TODAY Coaches Poll teams), the most among peer power conferences.
• Three ACC teams are currently ranked in the AP Poll: Louisville (No. 10), Duke (No. 12), and North Carolina (No. 21), while Syracuse, Notre Dame and NC State received votes.
• Three ACC teams appear in the latest USA TODAY Coaches Poll: Louisville (No. 11), Duke (No. 14), and North Carolina (No. 19). Notre Dame also received votes.
•  The ACC currently has 10 teams in the top 50 of the NET: Duke (No. 10), Louisville (No. 12), North Carolina (No. 19), NC State (No. 23), Notre Dame (No. 25), Virginia (No. 36), Clemson (No. 37), Syracuse (No. 39), Virginia Tech (No. 42), Stanford (No. 46).

// ARIZONA DUO

• Sahnya Jah and Paulina Paris, who transferred from Arizona to SMU, have excelled as Mustangs, with each averaging over 9 points per game this season.
• Paris has reached double figures in four ACC games, including a 20-point performance against Louisville.
• Sahnya Jah scored 22 points in back-to-back games against Syracuse and Arkansas and had a team-high 16 points in the win over Coppin State. She led SMU with 14 points against FSU and had 15 points against Miami and Pitt.  

// KYLA 1K DECK

• Kyla Deck scored her 1,000^th career point on the road at Sam Houston State.
• Deck scored her 1,000th career point at the end of the third quarter and finished the game with 14 points. Deck made two three-pointers, including a clutch three-pointer in the fourth quarter, to help seal the win for SMU.

// OFFENSIVE PRODUCTION

• As a team, SMU is shooting 37.9% from the field and has shot over 40% in 12 games this season, including shooting 43.1% against Pitt.  
• SMU has had six games with four or more players reaching double figures, most recently against Pitt.  
• The Mustangs had five players reach double figures in their win over Grambling State, a feat achieved only twice last season. SMU defeated GSU 96-70, the most points scored in a game since SMU scored 96 against Alabama State in 2023.

// DOMINATE DEFENSE

• SMU has forced 489 turnovers this season and has forced 20 or more in 11 games, including 21 against FSU and at Pitt.
• SMU tied its season high, forcing 24 turnovers in the win over Coppin State.  SMU's 11 games with 20 or more turnovers are now the most in a single season since the 2019-20 season (12).
• The Mustangs also forced 24 turnovers and recorded a season high 16 steals against GCU. Four mustangs finished with three steals in the game.
• SMU has recorded 292 steals this season and ranks third in the ACC in steals per game (10.1) and third in the conference in total steals. The Mustangs have recorded 17 games with double-digit steals, the most since the 2012-13 season (18).
• Before suffering a season ending injury, Kyla Deck has 49 and has recorded 215 steals in her career.  Deck has totaled five games with five or more steals this season, including two six-steal games and a seven-steal game against Southern.
• Deck recorded six steals against Grambling State, which was tied for the most by any ACC player in their team's season-opening game.

// LETTING IT FLY

• The Mustangs have shot over 35% from three-point range in 10 of the last 19 games, including a season-high 47.4% (9-19) against Southern.  SMU has shot over 40% from three in 10 games this season, including three games of its last four games against Pitt (43.1%), Boston College (40.9%) and Notre Dame (42.9).
• SMU enters the game 10^th in the ACC in three-point percentage (31.9). The Mustangs made 179 three-pointers this season, the third-most in a single season in program history and most since the 2009-10 season (186). 
• SMU knocked down a season high 11 three pointers against Texas Tech. The team was 11-33 from behind the arc. The 33 attempts are tied for second-most in program history.
• SMU has made double-digit three-pointers in four games this season. SMU tied its season high, going 11-24 from beyond the arc against Pitt last time out.

 // IT'S A BLOCK PARTY

• SMU has totaled 127 blocks this season, the sixth most in the ACC and the most since the 2017-18 season (148). The team's 4.4 blocks per game also ranks sixth in the conference.
• SMU has now had three games with eight blocks this season after achieving the feat against Pitt.  Anaya Brown leads the team in total blocks with 41 and had her second four-block game this season at home versus Pitt. Hall, who also had four blocks against Virginia Tech and Miami, is second with 38.  
• Brown has had four games this season with three blocks and has totaled 21 career games with three or more. She has now totaled 173 blocks in her career. Her 41 blocks and 1.41 blocks per game this season rank 8^th and 10^th in the ACC, respectively. Grace Hall is second on the team with 38 blocks and ranks 9^th in the ACC in blocks per game (1.46).
• SMU is the only school in the ACC with two players inside the top 10 in blocks.

// GETTING TO THE LINE

• The Mustangs have made getting to the line a point of emphasis recently, making 10+ in six of their past 11 games, including going 19-28 from the line at Pitt. SMU is 9th in the ACC in free throw attempts per game (17.2) and 13^th in the conference in free throws made per game (11.5).  The Mustangs were 16-20 from the line against UNC.
• The team was 23-of-28 (82%) from the line against Southern Miss. Tyi Skinner (7-8), Zahra King (4-5) and Kyla Deck (4-4) led the way at the stripe.
• SMU got to the line a lot against Grambling and was 28-37 from the stripe in the game. The Mustangs' 28 made free throws are the most since the team made 40 at Memphis during the 2023-24 season.

// POINTS IN THE PAINT

• The Mustangs have been attacking the paint this season. The team scored a season-high 50 points in the paint against Arkansas. It was the first time the Mustangs had scored 50 points in the paint in a game since the team scored 52 against Air Force in 2023.
• SMU has had 10 games scoring 30 or more points this season, as the team recorded 42 points in the paint at Stanford.